Carol Off among finalists for $60K Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction
CBC host Carol Off is among the five finalists for the $60,000 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction, one of the biggest prizes in Canada for nonfiction.
The As It Happens host is nominated for All We Leave Behind, which is about her efforts to help bring a family that was being targeted by warlords from Afghanistan to Canada.
The other finalists are Ivan Coyote for Tomboy Survival Guide, Kyo Maclear for Birds Art Life, James Maskalyk for Life on the Ground Floor and Tanya Talaga for Seven Fallen Feathers. You can learn more about this year's finalists below.
The finalists were chosen by jury members Susan Harada, Arno Kopecky and Siobhan Roberts out of 100 titles submitted by 54 different publishers.
The winner will be announced at the Writers' Trust awards gala on Nov. 14, 2017.
Last year's winner was Deborah Campbell for A Disappearance in Damascus.
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote
What it's about: Tomboy Survival Guide is a memoir-in-stories that paints a picture of Coyote's childhood in the Yukon, their awakening queer identity and the ongoing struggle of living outside the gender binary.
Birds Art Life by Kyo Maclear
What it's about: Kyo Maclear spent a year shadowing the adventures of an avid birdwatcher in Toronto. She documents their journey in Birds Art Life and explores the intangible connections between nature, creativity and well-being.
Life on the Ground Floor by James Maskalyk
What it's about: In Life on the Ground Floor: Letters from the Edge of Emergency Medicine, Maskalyk shares the observations he has made working in ER rooms in Toronto and Ethiopia.
All We Leave Behind by Carol Off
What it's about: When Asad Aryubwal publicly spoke out against warlords in Afghanistan, death squads were sent after him and his family. Fleeing with his wife and five children, Aryubwal sought help from the journalist who had interviewed him — CBC's Carol Off.
Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
What it's about: Award-winning journalist Tanya Talaga shines a spotlight on the lives of seven Indigenous high school students in Thunder Bay, Ont., who lost their lives between 2000 and 2011 while separated from their families.