Local writers up for literary prize

Writers Gary Barwin, Jamie Tennant, Andrew Baulcomb, Bernadette Rule, Darrell Epp and Brent Van Staalduinen are among the nominees for the 24th annual Hamilton Literary Awards.

Winners in four categories will be announced Monday, Nov. 27, in a gala awards’ night at the Norman and Louise Haac Studio at Theatre Aquarius. Three writers – Andrew Baulcomb, Shawn Selway and Brent Van Staalduinen – are up for two awards.

The finalists in the poetry category are: “Earth Day in Leith Churchyard: Poems in Search of Tom Thomson,” by Bernadette Rule; “Love, Despite the Ache,” by Chris Pannell; and “After Hours” by Darrell Epp.

Finalists in the non-fiction category are: “People and the Bay,” by Nancy Bouchier and Ken Cruikshank; “Nobody Here Will Harm You,” by Shawn Selway; and “Evenings and Weekends: Five Years in Hamilton Music 2006-11,” by Andrew Baulcomb.

Finalists in the fiction category are: “Freedom’s Just Another Word,” by Caroline Stellings; “Yiddish for Pirates,” by Gary Barwin; “Saints, Unexpected,” by Brent Van Staalduinen; and “Captain of Kinnoull Hill,” by Jamie Tennant.

Finalists for the Kerry Schooley Award, presented to the author who “best captures the spirit of Hamilton,” are: “Saints, Unexpected,” by Brent Van Staalduinen; “Unbuilt Hamilton,” by Mark Osbaldeston; “Nobody Here Will Harm You,” by Shawn Selway; and “Evenings and Weekends: Five Years in Hamilton Music 2006-11,” by Andrew Baulcomb.

Winners in the poetry, fiction and non-fiction categories receive a cash prize of $300, while the Kerry Schooley Award carries a $450 prize.

The Monday night gala is free to the public and gets underway at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30.