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
 Rachel Manley is a different sort of bird when it comes to the shortlist for this year’s  $40,000 Amazon Canada First Novel Award. 
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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