Natalie Morrill’s The Ghost Keeper was among the winners of the 2018 Canadian Jewish Literary Awards. Morrill’s powerful historical debut novel which takes place in Vienna before and after the Second World War won in the fiction category. The book, published by HarperCollins, is about a young Jewish boy who finds himself and his faith in tending to the city’s old Jewish cemeteries.
The literary awards, now in its fourth year, recognizes and rewards books in eight categories.
Other winners are: Too Look a Nazi in the Eye: A Teen’s Account of a War Criminal Trial (Second Story Press) by Kathy Kacer with Jordana Lebowitz in the Memoir/Biography catergory.
The Panic Room (Nightwood Editions) by Rebecca Papacaru wins in the Poetry category.
Seymour Mayne’s In Your Words: Translations from the Yiddish and the Hebrew (Ronald P. Frye and Co.) wins the Yiddish category.
Jabotinsky’s Children: Polish Jews and the Rise of Right-Wing Zionism by Daniel Kupfert Heller (Princeton University Press) wins in the Scholarship category.
Histoire des Juifs du Quebec by Pierre Anctil (Les éditions du Boréal) wins the History category.
Max Wallace’s In the Name of Humanity: The Secret Deal to End the Holocaust (Allen Lane/Penguin Random House Canada) wins in the Holocaust Literature category.
Fania’s Heart by Anne Renaud (author) and Richard Rudnicki (illustrator) (Second Story Press) wins in the Children and Youth Category.
“The award winners this year are Jewish and non-Jewish,” says Edward Trapunski, jury chair. “The depth and breadth show the vibrancy of the culture and the appeal of Jewish themes for fiction and non-fiction writers.”
The award ceremony will be held Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, at York University, 4700 Keele St. Winners will read from their works. Admission is free. Visit here to register.
