Stuart Ross to receive $10K Harbourfront Festival Prize for contributions to Canadian literature
Erin Balser | | Posted: September 17, 2019 5:48 PM | Last Updated: September 17, 2019
Poet, fiction writer and editor Stuart Ross has been selected for the annual $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize.
The annual award, which is administered by the Toronto International Festival of Authors, recognizes an author's contribution to the Canadian literary community.
Ross has written more than 20 books of poetry, fiction and essays. Recent titles include the experimental novel Pockets, the poetry collections A Sparrow Came Down Resplendent and Motel of the Opposable Thumbs.
A Sparrow Came Down Resplendent won the 2017 Jewish Literary Award for poetry. In 2010, Ross won the ReLit Award for Short Fiction for the linked short story collection Buying Cigarettes for the Dog.
He also co-founded the Toronto Small Press Book Fair and the Meet the Presses collective and runs the micropress Proper Tales.
"I am both stunned and honoured to receive this award," Ross said in a press statement.
"The Harbourfront Festival Prize is a kind of encouragement I never imagined — I don't know what I'll complain about now."
Ross was selected by a jury comprised of Toronto International Festival of Authors director Geoffrey E. Taylor, Quill & Quire publisher Allison Jones and Toronto Star books editor Deborah Dundas.
The Harbourfront Festival Prize was established in 1984. Last year's winner was Lee Maracle.