Westwood Creative Artists is pleased to congratulate Trevor Herriot, winner of the 2017 Cheryl and Henry Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence for his body of work. The award-winning author and naturalist has published five books, including Globe and Mail bestseller Grass, Sky Song, Governor General’s Award shortlisted Jacob’s Wound and most recently, Towards a Prairie Atonement.

The jury said, “Trevor Herriot takes as his subject matter the land we live on and live off, that which our modern society, blinded by colonial arrogance and corporate greed, has so sought to dominate and push into the background, to our loss, personal and collective. With wisdom and grace, with a head for facts but a poet’s heart, with an attention to scientific detail yet a willingness to soar into the transcendental, with a voice that is personal but has a universal resonance, Herriot tells us that natural history — those birds, that river — is our history, that we cannot escape it, nor should we want to. He seeks to bring us back to a sound relationship with the land, and succeeds in ways that are moving and memorable. In awarding the 2017 Kloppenburg Award to Trevor Herriot, we heartily agree with the judgement of one critic: that he is the pre-eminent prairie naturalist of his generation.”

The Cheryl and Henry Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence recognizes Saskatchewan writers who have written a substantial body of literary work and had a significant impact on writing in Saskatchewan. The prize consists of an award of $10,000 donated by Cheryl and Henry Kloppenburg and a framed print of a work of art by Saskatchewan artist Dorothy Knowles.

Karen Connelly discusses her latest novel on CBC’s The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers. “I decided one day to just write something that made me happy,” Connelly says of The Change Room in which she tackles love, lust, and sex. Listen to the full interview here.

We are delighted to announce Kyo Maclear’s Birds Art Life and James Maskalyk’s Life on the Ground Floor are both shortlisted for this year’s Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

The Prize celebrates the best in Canadian nonfiction writing, from history to biography, essay to memoir, and commentary to criticism. The prize winner will be revealed November 14th.

In this positive review from the Toronto Star, Robert Wiersema writes, “A Mariner’s Guide to Self Sabotage serves as a potent reminder that Gaston is one of the finest writers of the short story at work in this country today. And even that is likely selling him short.” See the full review here.

We could not be more thrilled to announce that Indian Horse, based on the late Richard Wagamese’s award-winning novel, will premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Executive Producer, Clint Eastwood praised the film as, “powerful, important storytelling, authentic and moving; it is a compelling film that is beautifully realized and stays with you for a long time.”

Producers Christine Haebler, Trish Dolman and Paula Devonshire said, “Our dream for Indian Horse was to make a lasting tribute to the Indigenous people of our country and to acknowledge a great injustice perpetrated against them. It has been a most humbling and amazing experience which we look forward to sharing with audiences everywhere.”

Congratulations to Toronto Book Awards finalist James Maskalyk! In his nominated book Life on the Ground Floor the author draws upon his experience treating patients in emergency rooms across the globe. The judges said, “Dr. Maskalyk has a gift for distilling a pivotal life moment into almost painful clarity, capturing heartbeats of intermingled triumph and tragedy from a career that spans decades and continents.”

The 2017 Awards will be handed out October 12 at the Toronto Reference Library’s Bram and Bluma Appel Salon.

Since it’s May release, Karma Brown’s latest novel In This Moment has been enthusiastically received by fans new and old. Ms. Career Girl calls it “the most thought-provoking reading adventure of the season,” and Working Mother says, “you will be a forever fan after completing this breathtaking tale.” In This Moment has made a number of “must-read” lists including Brit + Co‘s 10 Magnetic Reads for Memorial Day Weekend, Bookstr‘s 20 Books for Your Ultimate Summer Reading List, and Redbook‘s 20 Must-Read Books for Spring 2017.

We are thrilled to see books from Arthur Ellis Award winner Elle Wild and Ethel Wilson Prize winner Jennifer Manuel on BCLiving’s list of 11 Great Summer Reads by B.C. Authors. Wild’s debut thriller Strange Things Done takes place in the sleepy tourist town of Dawson City, Yukon, where a suspicious suicide occurs just as the roads are closing for winter. Manuel’s debut novel The Heaviness of Things that Float explores the delicate dynamic between First Nations Communities and non-native outsiders.

Jamil Jivani joined Matt Galloway of CBC’s Metro Morning to discuss the recent events in Charlottesville. Jivani is a Toronto researcher, lawyer and community organizer who is writing a book on why young men join radicalized groups. Listen to the show here.

David Chariandy was interviewed by Catherine Hernandez, author of Scarborough, on his highly-anticipated novel Brother. The author discusses the long wait between books, race and literature, fear, and grief. See the full article from Quill & Quire here.