On Sept. 26 VIU professor and author Kathy Page was named a finalist for the $50,000 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for her latest novel, Dear Evelyn.
“I was completely gobsmacked, very surprised and of course really pleased,” she said of the honour. “It’s a great thing to feel some ackowledgement of what you’ve done, quite aside fromt the prize element. Just that people have read it and selected it is very satisfying.”
Page is one of five finalists for the award, which recognizes the year’s best Canadian novel or short story collection. The other nominees are Toronto writer Craig Davidson for The Saturday Night Ghost Club, Victora’s Esi Edugyan for Washington Black, Montreal writer Rawi Hage for Beirut Hellfire Society and Vancouver’s Jen Neale for Land Mammals and Sea Creatures.
Dear Evelyn tells the story of a relationship spanning decades, including a period during the Second World War when the couple keeps in touch through mail. Page was inspired to write the book after reading through the love letters her father sent her mother during his time as a soldier.
Page has previously been nominated for a number of high-profile book awards like the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award.
All finalists get $5,000. The winner will be named on Nov. 7.
Read more about Dear Evelyn here.
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