Finalists explain why Trillium matters
Authors share what the honour means to them and their work, and who you should read next
Celebrating local writers is more important than ever this year. The Trillium Book Awards are handed out every year to writers in English and French in two categories: Best Book and Best Book of Poetry. We asked some of the finalists for best English-language book to talk about their nominations, and to pay it forward and recommend an emerging Ontario writer we should all read. Here’s what they said.
Martha Baillie, “Sister Language” What does the Trillium nomination mean for this work?
The Trillium nomination confirms the power of my sister Christina Baillie’s voice. I am deeply grateful for this. To be un-locatable, Christina told me, is one of the most frightening aspects of schizophrenia. She was plagued, in the last years of her life, by a chronic sensation that she did not exist. Within “Sister Language” she succeeded in locating herself, for the time it took us to write the book together.
At the outset, Christina asked that her writing occupy always the left page and mine the right, so our texts not “contaminate” each other. She used a typewriter, I used a laptop. Soon she began typing asterisks and footnotes onto my pages.
I thank this year’s Trillium jury for nominating such a risk-taking book. A great many people in Ontario live with psychosis. This nomination is a gift to them all, as it asks us to turn our collective attention in their direction and open our ears.
What emerging Ontario writer do we all need to read?
Eva H.D. is one of Ontario’s best emerging poets. Read her for her dark humour, probing social conscience, unflinching gaze, irreverent energy and dazzling language. Read her collections “Rotten Perfect Mouth” and “Shiner,” both from Mansfield Press.
Téa Mutonji,
“Shut Up You’re Pretty”
You’ve received a Trillium nomination very early in your career. What does it mean for you?
It feels like getting a permission slip to actually imagine a long-term career for myself. I don’t really think I’m someone who needs a lot of reassurance, but then I get this one and, all of a sudden, I realize I do.
And it’s like being given a partial seat at the table. Historically, writers of colour don’t often dominate in the awards department. I have many moments when I’m like: “This is weird, I’m Black and I’m 25, how did I get nominated?” (I) hope that later in my career, if I get nominated again, I won’t think: “but how?” — instead I’ll think: “thank you.”
What emerging Ontario writer do we all need to read?
Terese Mason Pierre is an incredible poet and essayist, a passionate advocate for fellow writers, especially Black and marginalized people. You need to read Terese Mason Pierre not only because of her talent and the merit of her work, but because of how deeply involved she is in what will become the future of publishing. Her latest work of speculative poetry, “Manifest,” is available for preorder with Gap Riot Press.
Zalika Reid-Benta, Frying Plantain What does the Trillium nomination mean for this work?
Honestly, it’s just a humbling experience that I still haven’t fully processed yet. “Frying Plantain’s” first-year anniversary passed on June 4 — and that’s something that I still can’t believe. So the Trillium nomination is kind of just this exciting moment that I’m still in the midst of experiencing. It definitely wasn’t something I even dreamed of achieving while writing the collection.
What emerging Ontario writer do we all need to read?
Everyone should read “Daughters of Silence” by Rebecca Fisseha. It’s a beautifully written book that tackles issues such as abuse and family secrets, and nuanced themes like children of the diaspora grappling with culture and identity. It also skilfully explores Ethiopian history and opens the readers up to traditions and customs that we may be unfamiliar with.
Seth, “Clyde Fans”
What does the Trillium nomination (the first time a graphic novel has been a finalist) mean for you?
In my lifetime, making stories in the comic medium has gone from utterly disreputable to surprisingly reputable! A nomination of this sort is a real sign of how much things have changed in the last 30 years. Back in the 1980s when I began writing comics for adults, there was little hope that the people who read “real books” would ever see what you were doing, let alone embrace it. A nomination of this sort is a genuine validation for believing that making adult stories in this graphic form would someday be taken seriously in the world of literature and just be judged upon whether the writing was good or interesting or worthy.
What emerging Ontario writer do we all need to read?
As I approach 60 years old, I find, embarrassingly, that the young writers I am excited about aren’t all that young any longer and few of them probably count as emerging. I think they have all emerged! Michael DeForge. Jesse Jacobs. Hartley Lin. Jillian Tamaki. I’d probably have better answers if I ever came out of my basement (and that’s not the fault of COVID-19, a pre-existing condition for me).
The 2020 Trillium Book Awards will be presented in an online event on Wednesday. See ontariocreates.ca for more information.