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Inuk’s Norma Dunning Wins The Governor’s Fiction Award $25K

Norma Dunning, a mother of boys, says she likes to treat her books as her “girls”, even using the pronouns “she” and “she” to refer to his works.

One of her girls, “Tainna: The Unseen Ones,” has given writer Inuk a lot to be proud of, as the winner of the 2021 President’s Literary Prize for the genre. novel.

Dunning said she didn’t know the short story book had been submitted for the $25,000 prize until she opened her inbox last month to learn “Tainna” had been named a finalist.

Author Edmonton, scholar and grandmother says winning gives her a level of visibility she’s often denied as an older Indigenous woman.

“For someone who’s been a writer for life, it’s validation of the work that I put in place,” Dunning, 62, said by phone ahead of Wednesday’s announcement of the award. “It’s just a nice reward in the end.”

While writing from a young age, Dunning said she didn’t consider pursuing her passion on a professional level until her sons started having children of their own.

“Everything I do is late,” she said. “I’m starting to think I should let other people read it. It’s not just for me anymore.”

Dunning enrolled in college at age 50, focusing her scholarship on indigenous studies and educational sciences, while honing her skills in creative writing courses.

As she rose through the ranks of academia, eventually becoming a lecturer at the University of Alberta, Dunning continued to strike a balance between research and fiction.

She wrote “Tainna” while working on her PhD thesis in Victoria. An anthology of short stories published by Douglas & McIntyre focuses on the experiences of modern-day Inuit people living outside of their home territories.

“I’ve written a lot about other people’s expectations when it comes to Inuit,” says Dunning, noting that stories involving issues like racism, indigenous women and girls are lost. murdered and murdered.

Dunning said she hopes the Governor-General’s award will introduce new readers to “Tainna.”

“I love her, and so I want people to read her,” she said. “It’s a group of stories that really make us all think about our own perceptions of what the Inuit are or should be.”

The Governor-General’s Literary Awards, administered by the Arts Council of Canada, awarded titles across seven categories in both English and French.

The poet Sadiqa de Meijer lived in Kingston, Ont. received the non-fiction award for “alfabet/alphabet: memoirs of first languages”, published by Anstruther Books, which explores her transition from speaking Dutch to English.

Tolu Oloruntoba of Surrey, BC, dominates the poetry genre for “The Junta of Happenstance,” also from Anstruther Books.

Drama award went to Halifax’s Hannah Moscovitch for “Middle Class Sexual Misconduct”, published by Playwrights Canada Press.

In the youth literature category, Philippa Dowding of Toronto won the writing prize for “Firefly” published by DCB, while Winnipeg writer David Robertson and Vancouver artist Julie Flett shared the illustrated book prize for ” On the Trapline” published by Tundra Books.

The winner of the French to English translation was Erin Moure of Montreal for “This Radiant Life,” published by Book..hug Press, based on Chantal Neveu’s original, “La vie radieuse.”

Each winner receives $25,000, while the publisher of each winning book receives $3,000 to support promotional activities. Each finalist receives $1,000.

There are separate French classifications for writing in French.

Established in 1936, the Governor-General’s Literary Prize awards a total of approximately $450,000 annually.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published on November 17, 2021

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