Ward Reddick has made the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for Waiting at Al Wattayah.

Ward Reddick was born in Toronto. His family moved to Lakefield, Ont in his teens, giving him the opportunity to attend Lakefield College School and its vibrant English program as a staff kid. He received a B.Comm from Queen's University before moving to the B.C. interior to enjoy a long career in the investment business, heading a charity that provided housing for recovering addicts during the last 10 of those years.

In 2007, he moved to Uganda, living there until 2015 and still travelling back and forth yearly. He tries to understand the issues facing the rank and file poor by joining them directly in their daily struggles. He writes creative nonfiction as a way to share their stories and to illustrate the remarkable courage and resilience they require to live and survive.

"Loss of freedom is terrifying."

"For the last few years, I have had the privilege of being involved in my own way in the fight against human trafficking. The victims are African women, almost all single mothers, modern-day slaves working in households throughout the Middle East. My story is a small glimpse into their reality from a different perspective."

In Vancouver, the hummingbirds are still around in January. The tiny green lovers were there again while I made coffee one morning shortly after New Year's, flirting at the feeder inches from my face through the big west window in my kitchen.

Their love inspires me. Once the female accidentally flew in through a window I had left open and got herself lost in the early pre-dawn dim. She ended up on the sill of an adjacent closed window, disheveled and defeated. The male, hovering close outside the window, watched as I cupped her into my hands, his horror palpable, zipping left to right, up and down in a powerless circuit. I could see the love in his eyes.

The winner of the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 18, 2019. The winner will be announced on Sept. 25, 2019.