Dionne Brand has won Ontario’s Trillium Book Award for the province’s best English-language title.
Toronto’s former poet laureate received the $20,000 honour for The Blue Clerk, published by McClelland & Stewart.
Brand previously won the Trillium Book Award for Poetry in 1998 for Land to Light On.
This year, the $10,000 poetry award went to Robin Richardson for Sit How You Want, from Signal Editions/Vehicule Press.
Meanwhile, the $20,000 French-language book prize went to Lisa L’Heureux for Et si un soir from Prise de parole, and the $10,000 French-language award for children’s literature went to Diya Lim for La marchande, la sorciere, la lune et moi from publisher Les Editions L’Interligne.
Publishers of the winning book receive $2,500 to promote the winning titles, while those behind the best poetry and children’s books get $2,000.
The awards were announced at an industry dinner Thursday in Toronto.
Poets can submit their first three works for consideration in the poetry category. After that, they are eligible for the main Trillium Book Prize, which recognizes literary excellence across genres.
The Ontario government established the Trillium Book Award in 1987.
Source: CBC News