The Winners of the 2022 QWF Literary Awards Have Been Announced

“An astounding accomplishment. At times Bradford’s work is sound and rhythm. At times collage and cut up. At times erasure and distortion. Every page of this work challenged me to be on my toes as a reader, and I wanted to rise to that challenge each time. I Dream of No One but Myself is a difficult, necessary book on family and belonging that explodes those very ideas page by page.”

Jury members: Jordan Abel, Susan Gillis, and Zoe Imani Sharpe

“The half-drowned is a crystalline snapshot of a dystopia shaped by a toxic sea and the ghosts of whatever came before. Steeped in Black history and diasporic culture, the novella presents a poetic rumination on survival, grief, and longing, framing the strength that it takes to persevere in any dying world.

Delaney’s prose is sharp and experimental, yet the quality of the narrative is never sacrificed for the sake of stylistic exploration. The Half-Drowned is incredibly robust in its stylistic sojourns and infinitely flexible in its emotional consideration.

I have rarely seen a book with such fierce discourse and narrative integrity.”

Jury members: Kess Mohammadi, Emily Raine, and Hal Wake

“Whip-smart, funny dialogue cuts through this hyper-contemporary take on a classic restoration comedy. With a millennial sense of irony, Shields employs mistaken identities, farce, and over-the-top characterizations to create what, at first glance, reads like a fun, cheeky comedy. However, emotional monologues and insightful dialogue reveal that The Millennial Malcontent is run through with the darker undercurrents that define this generation. Shields has found ripe ground for comedy and created an utterly modern take on a centuries-old form.”

Jury members: Yvette Nolan, Jeff Ho, and Sabrina Reeves

“The [original] book’s reach is fortuitously extended thanks to this excellent French translation,which makes its content available to Francophones in Quebec and the rest of Canada, its primary readership.

Il convient d’abord de souligner le travail colossal mené à bien par Nicolas Calvé, soit celui d’un ouvrage de presque 500 pages qui non seulement est d’une importance capitale, mais contribue pleinement à la réflexion essentielle s’étant engagée ces dernières années dans la foulée des travaux de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation.

L’original est un texte fouillé, foisonnant de détails, qui exige beaucoup du traducteur; celui-ci, sur tous les plans, a brillamment réussi.”

Jury members: Asselin Charles, Marc Charron, and Sufia Duez

“Marc Raboy’s investigation into the disappearance of Argentine journalist and social activist, Alicia Raboy, succeeds in many ways. As a personal memoir, it uncovers surprising family links (Marc and Alicia are distantly related). As a political essay, it delves into the nature of repressive and democratic governments. As a page-turning story, it sweeps away the dust around a decades-old mystery. As a cautionary tale, it warns of the consequences that idealistic youth inevitably face in their zeal to confront corrupt powers that be. As a moral treatise, it posits that the search for justice is an obligation that continues long after unpunished crimes were committed.”

Jury members: Victor Swoboda, Stephen Trumper, and Evelyn C. White

“This is a profound story wrapped in the most basic structure and vivid drawings: a story as simple as The Three Little Pigs that sticks in the head to be called back when you least expect it… This uniquely told, beautifully illustrated story manages to look directly at the big idea of parental fallibility—wrapped up with love and faith and trust—from such a distinctly child’s eye that we don’t even know it’s doing it.”

Jury members: Sean Dixon, Nadia Lakhdari, and Lauren Soloy

“In Prophetess the simplicity of the language acts as a tether, pulling me through the poignant story with ease. Baniahmadi’s style is inherent, not something one can learn, it’s a voice unearthed. The attention to detail in the language reminded me of Jamaica Kincaid’s poetic prose. What astounded me most about Prophetess was the skilled use of the youthful voice. The way the young narrator pulls the reader into her intimate world is a gift, almost surreal just like what we encounter with every flip of the page. This is a truly unique book that left me feeling chilled and changed.”

Jury members: Michelle Butler Hallett, Chelene Knight, and Alejandro Saravia

“Lucia De Luca is a highly skilled and talented storyteller who is proof that the art of spoken word is very much alive and hriving amongst the younger generations. With a remarkable sense of rhythm, pacing, breath, and imagery, Lucia De Luca threads together stories that are personal and intimate, and yet resonate in a universal way. She is a rising star to watch out for!”

“Roen Higgins’ poetry moved me like a north wind wave on a freshwater lake. Roen uses precise language with a decisive delivery that bends no corners and pulls no punches and still manages to find the soft heartbeat and smooth edges of the music inside the lines. Roen Higgins is a poet that I want to hear from far into the future.”

“Erín Moure remains and excels as a dynamo of a voice in modern Canadian poetry and poetics! Her ability to convey a clarity of story with precise, direct imagery is solid, robust, and impressive! Her gusto for words/language and their uses flows like metaphors! Her deft, seasoned command of the form roars with resonance; and no doubt will continue to resonate with excellence.”