francesca ekwuyasi wins Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers
francesca ekwuyasi's widely acclaimed debut novel Butter Honey Pig Bread has won the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers from the Writers' Trust of Canada, awarded at the Writers' Trust Awards ceremony held in Toronto on November 2.
The jury, comprised of Billy-Ray Belcourt, Samra Habib, and Zoey Leigh Peterson, said of francesca's book: "It is clear from the very first sentences that francesca ekwuyasi’s Butter Honey Pig Bread is an ambitious and assured debut. What is extraordinary, though, is that from those first sentences the novel keeps expanding in both breadth and depth like a slowly unfurling universe. ekwuyasi gives us not one protagonist but three, each their own galaxy of complexity. This work is filled with many pleasures, by turns sensuous and sensual, magical and mystical, but also deadly serious in its exploration of harm and reconciliation. A profound work of love, Butter Honey Pig Bread reminds us that the best novels can hold what cannot be contained."
The Dayne Ogilvie Prize is presented annually to a Canadian writer from the LGBTQ2S+ community who demonstrates great potential in the early stages of their career through an exceptional body of work. It was established in 2007 by Robin Pacific in honour of her late friend, who was a respected editor, writer, literary manager, and passionate lover of all the arts.
Butter Honey Pig Bread was runner-up in the 2021 edition of CBC's Canada Reads. It was also longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction, the Amazon First Novel Award, and a Lambda Literary Award.
For more information, see the Writers' Trust of Canada website.
Congratulations, francesca!
