The Sunburst Awards for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic are juried awards based on excellence of writing, and consist of a medallion and a C$1,000 prize. They are for Canadian authors living in or outside of Canada, as well as Canadian immigrants. The winners of the 2011 Sunbursts (for books published in 2010) will be announced on 14 September at the Harbourfront Reading Series.
The shortlists for this year’s awards are:
Adult:
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (Penguin Group Canada)
WWW: Watch by Robert J. Sawyer (Penguin Group Canada)
Chimerascope by Douglas Smith (ChiZine Publications)
A Taint in the Blood by S.M. Stirling (New American Library)
Stealing Home by Hayden Trenholm (Bundoran Press)
Young Adult:
Shapeshifter by Holly Bennett (Orca Book Publishers)
Plain Kate by Erin Bow (Scholastic)
The Painted Boy by Charles de Lint (Penguin Young Reader Group)
Bookweirder by Paul Glennon (Doubleday Canada)
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston (Penguin Group Canada)
This year’s jury is comprised of Kate Freiman, Mark Leslie, Christopher Roden, and Alison Sinclair.
Below are the jury’s comments on the shortlisted works:
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay: “This is a beautifully-written, fascinating, epic alternate history with engaging, believable characters; evocative, moody, lyrical, emotionally touching, with cleverly elaborate plotting.”
WWW: Watch by Robert J. Sawyer: “Engagingly written, cleverly plotted. The world needs more well-adjusted genius girl geeks. Not to mention smart and sensible parents of said genius girl geeks. The premise convincingly reverses the clichés about technological progress and the future of human beings while exploring issues of free will, morality, and fear of change.”
Chimerascope by Douglas Smith: “This collection contains a beautifully diverse selection of short tales that runs the full spectrum of the speculative genres. The tales are well-crafted, easily digestible; several of the stories are incredibly moving and stick with the reader long after. The wide range of stylistic approaches works well together.”
A Taint in the Blood by S.M. Stirling: “The writing and the charismatic characters elevate this story above the genre clichés of good-versus-evil.”
Stealing Home by Hayden Trenholm: “This hard-boiled police procedural/detective story rife with intriguing glimpses into an emerging ‘borg’ culture races through a suspense-filled plot while questioning the very basis of humanity.”
Shapeshifter by Holly Bennett: “A modern retelling of an old and recognizable Celtic myth, which gives the sense of ‘real people’ without losing the mythic arc of the story. Lyrical writing draws the reader into a fantasy realm in a way that blurs the lines between reading and experiencing.”
Plain Kate by Erin Bow: “Delightful prose adds to the enjoyment of this interesting fantasy of a young girl who has to decide the value of her own shadow. The darkness in this story is more the recognizable darkness intrinsic to human nature rather ‘other’. The story engendered a sense of unease that the evil wasn’t going to be neatly and effortlessly tidied away.”
The Painted Boy by Charles de Lint: “This novel blends the familiar story of a young man negotiating between cultures and the fantastic story of an emerging supernatural creature. All the amazing, unpredictable and sometimes tragic other ordinary and extraordinary persons are revealed with masterful control over the pacing and storytelling.”
Bookweirder by Paul Glennon: “This story evokes what the first few years of real reading were like—tumbling into story after story and losing track of the boundary between oneself and the books for a while. A must for any book-lover of any age.”
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston: “The whole backstory of the element of fairy dust and the underground society was done in a fascinating way. The main character wonderfully struggles to redeem himself and work out from under a pretty heavy personal burden. The layers upon layers of the story keep the reader enthralled.”