Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award

Alexander MacLeod, Light Lifting (Biblioasis)

 

 

In 140 characters or less (à la Twitter) tell us what your nominated book is about:

 

Short stories that centre on big decisions and moments of transition. Also: lots of tired people and, I’m betting, more than the standard number of blisters.

 

How does it feel to be nominated?

 

It feels strange and jittery and fun, but more than anything, it means a lot to me just to be included in the mix with all the great talent we have coming out of these four provinces.  I live in Dartmouth, just up the road from the Alderney Gate theatre, and I’ve ‘crashed’ most of the Atlantic Book Award ceremonies over the last few years so it will be weird to go through it this time as an actual nominee / participant.  Normally, I try to hang back at these things and not be too conspicuous as I load up on the free snacks, but this time around I think I’ll change my strategy so I can appear more refined and ‘literary.’

 

Who or what is your major influence when writing?

 

I follow the images first and then just try to get the sound and the rhythm to work out right. I read the sentences and paragraphs out loud over and over again until it feels right.

 

What compelled you to become a writer?

 

Reading made me a writer.  Moving through a poem, story or novel that’s well put together is one of my favourite things to do. As a reader, I appreciate all the care and effort that goes into making something work in a precise way and I wanted to try and put that same kind of effort into my own stuff.

 

Of all living and deceased authors, who would you like to meet and why?

 

Tough one; this answer would likely change almost every day. For today, Thursday, I’ll go with St. Augustine (354-430), because I admire his unique pairing of raw intellectual power with honest, fragile struggle. I teach his work in my literary theory class and though I’ve been doing it for years, I still marvel at lines like “All words, no matter in what language they sound, are also thought in silence; and hymns run though our mind, even when the mouth of the body is silent.” Augustine is writing in the fourth century and he’s already thinking like this, 1600 years before we entered into our current round of language games.

 

Briefly share 3 things about yourself that we don't know:

 

1) I have recently learned a lot about sharks, mummies and the Titantic. These are all areas of expertise for my six-year old son.

 

2) I believe Atlantic Canadian “Sprinter”—my wife’s name for the long, soggy transition to Spring from Winter – is, by far, our worst season.

 

3) For just seventy-five cents, a roll of candy “Love Hearts” provides a tart, economical, and, if you read them all carefully, a very fun treat.

 

Beth Powning, The Sea Captain’s Wife (Random House of Canada Ltd.)

 

 

Of all living and deceased authors, who would you like to meet and why?

 

Charles Dickens. I would like to watch him watching.

 

How does it feel to be nominated?

 

Absolutely fantastic! Nothing better than that good feeling of being appreciated at home.

 

In 140 characters or less (a la Twitter) tell us what your nominated book is about: 

A young woman who goes to sea with her captain husband and their six-year old daughter. They set sail on a square-rigged ship, heading round The Horn. It is 1860, and all is not well with the marriage.

 

Who or what is your major influence when writing?

I don’t think there’s a major influence. I think somehow within me are all the books I have read and reread, from children’s books to Jane Austen to contemporary novels. I go into a place that’s like a landscape, both deeply familiar and endlessly fascinating.

 

What compelled you to become a writer?

 

Reading. 

 

Briefly share 3 things about yourself that we don't know: 

 

1) I am a back-country skiier.

 

2) I love (and have) ponies.

 

3) I’m a passionate choral singer.

Kathleen Winter, Annabel (House of Anansi Press)

 

 

How does it feel to be nominated?

 

This is the only geographical award that has given me a home by making me eligible. As a childhood immigrant and nomad, it made me weep to learn the Atlantic Book Awards have given me a literary home. I am an Atlantic writer, there is no doubt about it, and someone has validated that publicly. Thank you from my salt tears, ocean eyes and gale-blown heart.

 

In 140 characters or less (a la Twitter) tell us what your nominated book is about: 

 

It's about belonging, coming home, perishing on the margins but being saved at the last minute by a world that loves you.

 

Who or what is your major influence when writing? 

 

Heinrich Boll, Colm Toibin, E.M.Forster, Katherine Mansfield, the living moment aflame.

 

What compelled you to become a writer?

 

It was my destiny. 

 

Of all living and deceased authors, who would you like to meet and why?

 

 E.M.Forster. We would crochet together in a gondola. 

 

Briefly share 3 things about yourself that we don't know:

 

1) I do psychological tarot readings.

 

2) I play the concertina.

 

3) I write songs and sing them in the Arctic.