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Kai Thomas (writer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kai Thomas is a Canadian writer from Ottawa, Ontario,[1] whose debut novel In the Upper Country was the winner of the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.[2]

The novel is a historical fiction about the Underground Railroad, centring on a journalist for an abolitionist newspaper in rural Ontario who is interviewing a woman in jail for killing a bounty hunter who was trying to capture fugitive slaves.[3] It was also a shortlisted finalist for the 2023 Amazon.ca First Novel Award,[4] the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2023 Governor General's Awards[5] and the 2024 Walter Scott Prize.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Ryan B. Patrick, "6 Black Canadian writers to watch in 2023". CBC Books, February 2, 2023.
  2. ^ Nicole Thompson, "Kai Thomas wins Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for debut novel". Toronto Star, November 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Brett Josef Grubisic, "Kai Thomas’ ‘In The Upper Country’: A tree-planting encounter inspires historical Black fiction". Toronto Star, January 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Cassandra Drudi, "Billy-Ray Belcourt, Jessica Johns among 2023 Amazon Canada First Novel finalists". Quill & Quire, May 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for Governor General's Literary Awards". Burnaby Now, October 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Walter Scott Prize 2024 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-10.