Congratulations to Marina Endicott, who has just received The Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize for her newest novel, The Difference.
The novel takes readers through a journey set aboard the Morning Light, a Nova Scotian merchant ship sailing through the south pacific in 1912. It follows Kay and Thea, half-sisters who are separated in age by almost twenty years, as they voyage to the other side of the world with Thea's new husband. At the heart of The Difference is a crystallizing moment in Micronesia: Thea, still mourning a miscarriage, forms a bond with a young boy from a remote island and takes him on board as her own son. Over time, the repercussions of this act force Kay, who considers the boy her brother, to examine her own assumptions-which are increasingly at odds with those of society around her-about what is forgivable and what is right (Penguin Random House Canada).
Entries for the prize are judged by an independent jury recruited by the Writers' Guild of Alberta, and the winning author receives a $10,000 cash prize. Congratulations, Marina!