Better Next Year, edited by JJ Lee
CBC Books | Posted: December 3, 2024 1:42 PM | Last Updated: December 3
An anthology of Christmas recollections from Canadian authors
Recollections from acclaimed Canadian authors combine with emerging voices from across the country in an anthology that debunks the popular depiction of Christmas while delivering its messages of hope and renewal.
Writers marginalized by personal circumstance, faith, and race share memories of surviving bleak Christmases past: holidays spent in shelters, or on the streets; families marred by alcohol and violence; personal struggles with addiction, poverty or grief; isolation and loneliness. Despite these and other obstacles, contributors strive to salvage the spirit of the season.
With contributions from:
- Tolu Oloruntoba, winner of the Governor-General's Award and Griffin Prize for poetry
- Sonja Larsen, winner of the Edna Staebler Award for creative non-fiction
- Joseph Kakwinokanasum, winner of the PMC Indigenous Literature Award 2023
- JJ Lee, shortlisted for the Governor General, Hilary Weston and Charles Taylor prizes for non-fiction
(From Tidewater Press)
JJ Lee is a Canadian writer best known for his book The Measure of a Man, which traces the author's journey altering his father's old suit as an act of remembrance. The Measure of a Man was shortlisted for the 2011 Governor General's Literary Award for English non-fiction, the 2012 Charles Taylor Prize, and the 2012 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.