Mary Lawson wins Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for novel A Town Called Solace
CBC Books | Posted: October 24, 2022 1:22 PM | Last Updated: October 24, 2022
The Evergreen Award recognizes the best Canadian fiction and nonfiction titles for adults.
Ontario writer Mary Lawson has won the 2022 Evergreen Award for her novel A Town Called Solace.
The Evergreen Award is part of the Forest of Reading program, in which readers are encouraged to read from a selection of shortlisted books and vote for their favourites over several months.
The Evergreen Award recognizes the best Canadian fiction and nonfiction titles for adults. The other six awards are for students from kindergarten to high school. The books that are part of the 2022/2023 student program were revealed in early October.
A Town Called Solace is a novel told from three different perspectives: Clara, a young woman who sits at her window, waiting for her missing sister to return home, Liam, Clara's new neighbour who Clara watches with suspicion, and Mrs. Orchard, the old woman who owns the house Liam is staying in. As their stories unfold, so does the mystery of what happened to Clara's sister and how Mrs. Orchard and Liam are connected.
Mary Lawson is a novelist who grew up in Ontario and now lives in the U.K. Her other novels include Crow Lake, The Other Side of the Bridge and Road Ends. Crow Lake won the Amazon Canada First Novel Award.
LISTEN | Mary Lawson discusses A Town Called Solace with Shelagh Rogers:
"A Town Called Solace spoke to us because it was so beautifully crafted — heartbreaking, yes, but also hopeful and affirming. At a time when the whole world was sideways, we felt the pull of the novel taking us to another time and place," said Enid Wray and Julie Wendland, co-chairs of the Evergreen Award Committee. .
Organized by the Ontario Library Association, the Forest of Reading is Canada's largest annual recreational reading program where children and young adults pick their favourite authors and illustrators.
It is the largest reading award program in Canada. In 2022, more than 270,000 readers across the country participated in the program, selecting 100 nominated titles, written and illustrated by more than 125 nominees.
Last year's winner was Michelle Good for her novel Five Little Indians.
Other past winners include A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott, Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron and The Break by Katherena Vermette.