2 Mississauga residents win Trillium Book Awards

Two Mississauga residents have won prestigious Trillium Book Awards.

Sanna Wani, won the Trillium Book Award for Poetry and writer and self-taught illustrator, Michèle Laframboise, won the Prix du livre d’enfant Trillium, according to a press release from Ontario Creates, the producers the Trillium Book Awards.

Wani won for her debut collection of poems titled My Grief, the Sun (House of Anansi Press).

House of Anansi describes the collection as “sharply political and frequently magical.”

“From concrete to confessional, exegesis to erasure, the Missinnihe river in Canada to the Zabarwan mountains in Kashmir, My Grief, the Sun undoes genre, listens carefully to the planet’s breathing, addresses an endless and ineffable you, and promises enough joy and sorrow to keep growing,” the publisher notes.

My Grief, the Sun is also a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award.

Laframboise won for her book Le secret de Paloma (Éditions David), a suspenseful adventure novel for children. The story follows a girl, trapped on a planet where the air pressure drops drastically after sunset, trying to find out what happened to her best friend, Paloma.

The other two winners include Stuart Ross who won the Trillium Book Award (English) for The Book of Grief and Hamburgers; and Gilles Lacombe who won the Prix Trillium (French) for Circé des hirondelles.

The Trillium Book Award, now in its 36^th year, has a long tradition of recognizing literary excellence, and promoting the diversity of Ontario writers and their work. Previous winners include internationally acclaimed authors as Ann Shin, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Dionne Brand, Alice Munro, and Margaret Atwood.

“As we mark the impressive 36th year of Ontario’s premiere literary celebration, I am inspired by the remarkable storytelling power of these authors, and proud to support Ontario’s publishers to bring books to readers around the world,” said Aaron Campbell, chair, Ontario Creates.

The Trillium Book Award encourages excellence in literature for Ontario-based writers. Award recipients receive $20,000 and their respective publishers receive marketing support to promote the winning titles.

Sixteen titles were nominated for 2023 Trillium Book Awards.