Black Peacock Shortlisted For Amazon Award - First Novel - Canada
70-year old Rachel
Manley in the running for the $40K
Amazon Canada First Novel award.
By Stephen Weir
 |
| Author and Mayor John Tory at Word on the Street |
Not only is the 70-year old the oldest writer
in the book contest, she is the only finalist who has won a Governor General Award
for writing (nonfiction), and, her book –The Black Peacock - has flown under the radar of the country’s book
journalists. Since its publication in the fall of 2017, her book has gotten just
a single major review in Canada and it was in the Caribbean Camera newspaper.
And, oh yes, she is the only shortlisted author that has royal Jamaican roots.
The Amazon Canada First Novel Award recognizes
the outstanding achievement of a Canadian first-time novelist. There are six authors in the running for this
large award. Including Ms. Manley the nominees are:
·
The Boat People, Sharon Bala (McClelland
& Stewart)
·
The Bone Mother, David Demchuk (ChiZine
Publications)
·
American War, Omar El Akkad (McClelland
& Stewart)
·
The Water Beetles, Michael Kaan (Goose Lane
Editions)
·
The Black Peacock, Rachel Manley (Cormorant
Books)
·
Dazzle Patterns, Alison Watt (Freehand Books)
The Black Peacock is the story of two
unforgettable characters, adrift on the ever-changing tides of the Caribbean,
who are united by something less than passion but more than love.
Rachel
Manley is known for her non-fiction trilogy about one of Jamaica’s most influential
families – her own. In 1997 she won the Governor
General’s Award for Literature for “Drumblair: Memories of Jamaican
Childhood”
Manley
was born in Cornwall, England in 1947. She was the first child of Michael
Manley and Jacqueline Kamelard-Gill. Michael Manley was a charismatic man who
served as Jamaica’s Prime Minister between 1972 and 1980, and then again
between 1987 and 1992. She was brought
up in Jamaica by her grandparents and now lives in Toronto.
This year's finalists will each receive
over $40,000 in cash and prizes. The winner will be announced at
the annual Amazon Canada First Novel Award ceremony, which will be held
on Tuesday, May 22, at the Toronto Reference Library.
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