The City of Calgary Announces Short List for W.O. Mitchell Book Prize
The City of Calgary, the Writers Guild of Alberta and the 17th Ave Retail Entertainment District are pleased to announce the short list authors for The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, one of 17 awards presented as part of The Calgary Awards.
The three finalists are Glenn Dixon for Tripping the World Fantastic (Dundurn), Juleta Severson-Baker for Incarnate (Frontenac House), and Tyler Trafford for Almost a Great Escape: A Found Story (Goose Lane Editions).
Tripping the World Fantastic by Glenn Dixon is an engaging and entertaining exploration into the story of the world’s music. Dixon takes the reader on a journey to discover musical traditions on all five continents. He explains science, history and musical theory with authority and a down-to-earth manner, centered on his personal encounters and experiences. Dixon is a full time author, musician and documentary film maker and lives and works in Calgary.
Incarnate by Juleta Severson-Baker is a superb collection of poetry rooted in the gentleness and immediacy of the Prairie landscapes. The poems are vivid and deeply moving and Severson-Baker is brave enough to be honest and writes well enough to be poignant. In 2010 her chapbook “A Hundred Pelts” won Freefall press’ 20th Anniversary contest for poetry. She lives in her hometown of Calgary where she writes, teaches poetry and performance at the Mount Royal University Conservatory.
In Almost a Great Escape: A Found Story, Tyler Trafford takes the reader on a journey of emotional discovery and dramatic disclosure and he reconstructs the extraordinary life of his mother from her Montreal childhood to her tormented love affair with a Norwegian war prisoner in the early 1940s. Trafford’s personal recollections and contemporary thoughts are magnificent, and yet unpretentious. He has worked as a reporter and editor with various newspapers locally and abroad and his fictional work “The Story of Blue Eye” was shortlisted for the 2005 Grant MacEwan Author’s Award. He currently shares his time between Calgary and his studio near Pincher Creek, Alberta.
The City of Calgary established the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize in honour of the late Calgary writer W.O. Mitchell to recognize literary achievement by Calgary authors. The $5000 prize is awarded each year for an outstanding book published in the award year. The 2012 recipient was Marcello Di Cintio for “Walls: Travels Along the Barricades”.
The recipient of The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize will be recognized at the Calgary Awards presentation on June 11, 2014. The Calgary Awards will be televised live on Shaw TV.
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For more information:
The City of Calgary media line: 403.828.2954
Afsheen Mohamed
Communications Advisor
The City of Calgary
403.268.1798
Nicholas Mather
Communications & Partnerships Coordinator
Writers Guild of Alberta
1.800.665.5354