The Conseil des arts de Montréal and Blue Metropolis are thrilled to announce the winner of the 2022 New Contribution Literary Prize. The award goes to Tawhida Tanya Evanson, a Montreal poet, dervish, and oral storyteller, for her novel Book of Wings.
The New Horizons Award is a collaboration between Blue Metropolis and the Conseil des arts de Montréal. It seeks to celebrate new voices in Montreal literature from immigrant backgounds. It recognizes work from Montreal writers of allophone or first- and second-generation immigrant backgrounds. The award carries a $5,000 grant from the Conseil.
This year, the award will be presented twice: on Thursday, November 24, 2022 at the Montreal Book Fair, and in spring 2023 at the 25th edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival.
About the book
Book of Wings tells the story of protagonist Maya’s spiritual education and arrival as she travels through Canada, the United States, France, Morocco and the Caribbean after the end of a love affair. Deftly crossing boundaries between borders, identity, language and culture, Book of Wings is a work of elegance and hybridity. It was published by Véhicule Press in 2021 under the Esplanade Books imprint and is currently being translated into French.
About the author
Tawhida Tanya Evanson, a poet and performer, has published two collections of poetry: Bothism (2017) and Nouveau Griot (2018). Book of Wings is her first novel. As a spoken word artist, she won the 2013 Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award from the League of Canadian Poets.
We congratulate the winner and the finalists, Caroline Dawson (Là où je me terre) and Elkahna Talbi (Pomme Grenade).
