Giller finalist Lisa Moore tackles pot-smuggling tale in Caught
CBC News | Posted: October 29, 2013 3:48 PM | Last Updated: November 1, 2013
Real-life story inspired Moore's adventure novel
A sensational true story of a daring attempt to smuggle a massive cache of marijuana into Newfoundland — a tale that author Lisa Moore grew up hearing — inspired her latest novel, Caught, one of the finalists for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
“It had a kind of folkloric quality to it and these guys were folkloric heroes,” she tells CBC News.
As the annual Giller Prize gala approaches, CBC News presents a chat with each finalist. The 2013 nominees are:
- Going Home Again - Dennis Bock (Toronto)
- Hellgoing - Lynn Coady (Edmonton)
- Cataract City - Craig Davidson (Toronto)
- Caught - Lisa Moore (St. John's)
- The Crooked Maid - Dan Vyleta (Edmonton)
“It really did seem those guys were completely audacious and that was something to be celebrated.”
To research the real-life story, Moore delved into old newspaper articles from the era.
“The headlines became more and more exciting, until I came across a headline that said ‘Pot bust story reaches James Bond proportions.’ And then I closed the clippings because I wanted the freedom to make the rest of it up,” she says.
In the attached video, Moore talks to CBC’s Alice Hopton about Newfoundland pride in her latest Giller nomination, the sensational true story that inspired Caught and why writing the adventure tale meant pushing herself.
The winner of the 2013 Giller Prize will be announced in Toronto the evening of Nov. 5, during a televised gala airing on CBC-TV.