Zak Jones won the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for “Fancy Gap,” while British Columbia author Robert Moor took the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction for “In Trees.”
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Canadian-American author Zak Jones won the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for his debut novel “Fancy Gap” at the Writers’ Trust Awards in Toronto, receiving $70,000.
Moments after taking the stage, Jones joked that many friends tell him “the acknowledgments are the best part of the book,” and urged readers to “pick it up at the library and read the acknowledgments.”
The Writers’ Trust jury said “Fancy Gap” follows three estranged family members in Appalachia dealing with loss and poverty, praising Jones, who grew up in rural North Carolina and now lives in Toronto, for bringing the setting alive through “sight, sound, taste and smell.”
In his speech, Jones said it is “very easy as Canadians” to dismiss stories about the United States as “frivolous and unnecessary,” adding that the novel addresses themes he described as universal.
Jones, who previously won a Writers’ Trust award for emerging writers in 2023, said that while “Fancy Gap” is set in the United States, it explores feelings and morals that translate beyond its setting.
The fiction finalists for the Atwood Gibson prize included “My Person” by Téa Mutonji, “Riverword” by Lisa Robertson, “Treat Them As Buffalo” by Blair Palmer Yoxall, and “Seven Heavens Away” by Ashraf Zaghal.
British Columbia-based author Robert Moor won the $75,000 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction for “In Trees: An Exploration,” a book he said took him nine years to write as he examines what trees can teach about life.
After Moor took the stage, he told the audience he was so sure he wouldn’t win that he didn’t print his speech, saying “Oh, this is a nightmare” as he searched for his prepared remarks on his phone.
Moor said he believes reading and writing can be “an act of resistance,” while referencing global crises including wars, climate chaos, and children “drowning right now in Gaza.”
The jury citation described Moor’s work as an “exquisite and deeply erudite meditation on trees,” and “more importantly” on humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
In an interview after the ceremony, Moor said the recognition was “life-changing,” adding that it provides “the energy you need to keep going.”
The Writers’ Trust Awards also included Misha Solomon winning the $12,000 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers for “My Great-Grandfather Danced Ballet,” and Rachel Rose receiving the inaugural $25,000 Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing for her work on Kirsten Johnson’s memoir “Humanitarienne: A Doctor’s Stories from the Conflict Zone.”
Several career-achievement awards were presented as well, including Margaret Christakos receiving the $60,000 Latner Griffin Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize, Maria Campbell taking home the $40,000 Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life, Cherie Dimaline winning the $40,000 Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, and Shaena Lambert receiving the $25,000 Writers’ Trust Engel Findley Award.
The ceremony was hosted by artist and poet Moez Surani and involved more than $400,000 in total cash prizes.
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