We are beyond thrilled to share that Chelene Knight’s riveting novel JUNIE (Book*hug Press) has won the 2023 City of Vancouver Book Award!!
The annual City of Vancouver Book Award has been recognizing authors of excellence of any genre since 1989. These authors contribute to the appreciation and understanding of Vancouver’s diversity, history, unique character, or the achievements of its residents.
The $3,000 prize is funded by our Publishing Reserve, which was established in 1977 as a permanent legacy for Vancouver writers and publishers.
Learn more here: https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/city-of-vancouver-book-award.aspx
JUNIE by Chelene Knight is a riveting exploration of the complexity within mother-daughter relationships and the dynamic vitality of Vancouver’s former Hogan’s Alley neighbourhood.
1930s, Hogan’s Alley—a thriving Black and immigrant community located in Vancouver’s East End. Junie is a creative, observant child who moves to the alley with her mother, Maddie: a jazz singer with a growing alcohol dependency. Junie quickly makes meaningful relationships with two mentors and a girl her own age, Estelle, whose resilient and entrepreneurial mother is grappling with white scrutiny and the fact that she never really wanted a child.
As Junie finds adulthood, exploring her artistic talents and burgeoning sexuality, her mother sinks further into the bottle while the thriving neighbourhood—once gushing with potential—begins to change. As her world opens, Junie intuits the opposite for the community she loves.
Told through the fascinating lens of a bright woman in an oft-disquieting world, this book is intimate and urgent—not just an unflinching look at the destruction of a vibrant community, but a celebration of the Black lives within.
Chelene Knight is represented by Samantha Haywood.
Congratulations Chelene!