Last week's Front Page Story in the Caribbean Carnival Gets A Story

Caribbean Camera First With The News About Chariandy’s big Toronto Book Award win

By Stephen Weir

Last week, literally 10-minutes before the Caribbean Camera went to press, Trinidadian Canadian author David Chariandy won the prestigious $10,000 2018 Toronto Book Awards.  His book, Brother, is a novel about growing up in Malvern.

We were able to get a picture of him accepting his award in the paper --- the only paper to do so on Wednesday night.  We didn’t have room to print our story about his accomplishment. What follows are the details of his amazing win!
David Chariandy’s book is a devastating story about the love between a single Trinidadian mother and her sons, the impact of race, masculinity and the senseless loss of young lives in Malvern, in the violent summer of 1991.

The winner of the 2018 Toronto Book Awards was announced last Wednesday night at the Toronto Reference Library. This was the 44th year of the Toronto Book Awards. The annual awards offer $15,000 in prize money. Each shortlisted finalist received $1,000, with $10,000 going to the  Chariandy, the winner. 

“ I was so sure that I wasn’t going to win I didn’t prepare any notes,” said Chariandy at the Reference Library standing room only ceremony.  “But, I do know I want to pay tribute to mother and my brother.  I so glad that my mother is here to see this!”

Brother was up against four other books for the City of Toronto and Toronto Library‘s 2018 Toronto Book Awards. Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the awards honour books of literary merit that are about Toronto.
The books on the 2018 shortlist were
· Dionne Brand “The Unpublished City“, 
· David Chariandy “Brother“,
· Carrianne Leung “That Time I Loved You“,
· Lee Maracle “My Conversations with Canadians“, 
· Kerri Sakamoto “Floating City“.
The jury for the 2018 Toronto Book Awards were: author Nathan Adler, Now Magazine’s Susan G. Cole, author Kevin Hardcastle, poet Soraya Peerbaye and author and owner of Another Book List. Itah Sadu.

In addition to the Toronto Prize, Brother has won the $50,000 2017 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and The $5,000 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, (part of the BC Book Prizes). 

It was also longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Dublin Literary Award. In September it is reported that Toronto production companies Conquering Lion and Hawkeye Pictures have picked up the film and television rights for Brother.

David Chariandy grew up in Scarborough and lives and teaches in Vancouver. His latest book I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter was published earlier this year.  It is a non-fiction work, which looks at his past as the son of Trinidadian immigrants.