Canada Reads winner Heather O'Neill among finalists for Quebec Writers' Federation Literary Awards

Canada Reads winner Heather O'Neill is one of the shortlisted authors for the 2024 Quebec Writers Federation (QWF) literary awards.

Established by the Quebec Writers' Federation in 1988, the QWF Literary Awards annually honour the best books published by English-language writers and translators in Quebec in eight categories. 

O'Neill's novel The Capital of Dreams is nominated for the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. 

The Capital of Dreams is a dark fairytale set in a small European country during a period of war. Fourteen-year-old Sofia is the daughter of the revered writer, Clara Bottom. When their country is invaded, Clara bundles Sofia onto the last train evacuating children out of the city. Clara gives her daughter her latest manuscript to smuggle to safety.

When the children's train stops in the middle of the forest, Sofia senses they are in danger. She manages to escape, but loses her mother's beloved manuscript. Soon Sofia finds herself alone in a country at war on an epic journey to find all that she has lost. 

• Heather O'Neill on how motherhood and artistry intersect in her life and writing

Heather O'Neill is a novelist, short story writer and essayist from Montreal. She won Canada Reads 2024, championing The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou.

O'Neill is the first person to win Canada Reads as both an author and a contender.

Her debut novel Lullabies for Little Criminals won Canada Reads 2007 when it was defended by musician John K. Samson. 

LISTEN | Heather O'Neill discusses how motherhood and artistry intersect in the bestselling writer's life and work: 

Bookends with Mattea Roach23:43Heather O'Neill: How motherhood and artistry intersect in the bestselling writer's life and work

Heather O'Neill is an icon in Canadian literature who has won a ton of awards. And now she has a new novel. It’s called The Capital of Dreams and it’s about the influence of art and literature on our lives. It follows 14-year-old Sofia as she hunts for her mother’s lost manuscript during the chaos of war. Heather speaks to Mattea Roach about her latest novel and living a creative life.

Below is the shortlist for this year's awards. The winner for each category will receive $3,000, except for the Ian Ferrier Spoken Word Prize, where up to three winners of $1,000 will be announced.

The Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature is awarded in even-numbered years and recognizes a book for beginner readers and in odd-numbered years to a book for middle grade or young adult readers.

The finalists this year are:

• Hopscotch by Marie-Louise Gay
• Walking Trees by Marie-Louise Gay
• The Wolf Pup by Etua Snowball
• SOS Water by Yayo

The First Book Prize is sponsored by Concordia University.

This year's finalists are:

• Little Crosses by Sabrina Reeves
• (Un)spoken by Marjorie Silverman
• Here Is Still Here by Sivan Slapak

The Cole Foundation Prize for Translation honours a English-French translator in even-numbered years and French-English translator in odd-numbered years.

The finalists this year are:

• Fayne: L'histoire fantastique de C. Bell by Ann-Mare MacDonald, translated by Paul Gagné
• Les lignes invisibles by Su J. Sokol, translated by Émilie Laramée
• Peler les ramboutans by Gillian Sze, translated by Luba Markovskaia
• Équateur magnétique by Kaie Kellough, translated by Stéphane Martelly
• Te souviens-tu de ta naissance? by Sean Michaels, translated by Sophie Voillot

The finalists for A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry this year are:

• Bottom Rail on Top by D.M. Bradford
• Tidal by Mary Dean Lee
• Listening in Many Publics by Jay Ritchie
• National Animal by Derek Webster

The finalists for Mavis Gallant Prize for Nonfiction this year are:

• Ghost Stories by Judith Adamson
• The Lost Supper by Taras Grescoe
• Furniture Music by Gail Scott
• Picturing the Game by Don Weekes

The Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction is sponsored by Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore in Montreal.

The 2024 finalists are:

• Monday Rent Boy by Susan Doherty
• Arrested Song by Irena Karafilly
• The Capital of Dreams by Heather O'Neill
• Little Crosses by Sabrina Reeves
•  Dry Your Tears to Perfect Your Aim by Jacob Wren

The finalists for the Ian Ferrier Spoken Word Prize are Fortner Anderson, Simon Brown, Moe Clark, Roger Sinha, Lucia De Luca, Mac van den Hoeven and Emilia Malpica-Iruegas.

The Quebec Writers' Federation is a non-profit organization that aims to support, connect and inspire English writers in Quebec. The winners will be announced at a gala in Montreal on Nov. 12, which will be hosted by Ali Hassan.

Last year's winners included Ann-Marie MacDonald for Fayne and Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson for Valley of the Birdtail.