Congratulations to Sharon Bala, who has won the 2017 Writers’ Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, for her story “Butter Tea at Starbucks” (first published in The New Quarterly: Canadian Writers & Writing)!
From the Jury: “Tense and expertly plotted, the story is also packed with rich, sensory detail. This is writing that wades, unafraid, into complexity and controversy, but which is nuanced enough to wrangle finely drawn, utterly human characters to moments of aching vulnerability, confused pain, and unexpected joy. Bala takes big risks and reaps big rewards in this unforgettable story.”
The Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize is awarded annually to an emerging writer of distinction for a short story originally published in a Canadian literary magazine. Previous winners of The Journey Prize include Yann Martel, Alissa York, Jessica Grant, YasukoThanh, Timothy Taylor and Miranda Hill. The prize holds a $10,000 prize for the winner, and $1,000 for the finalist. $2,000 goes to the the journal that originally published the winning story.
Sharon’s highly anticipated debut novel, THE BOAT PEOPLE, is forthcoming from McClleland & Stewart Canada and Doubleday US in January 2018.
For full information about the award, please visit: www.writerstrust.com/Aw