NORMA DUNNING AND HANNAH MOSCOVITCH WIN AT THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S LITERARY AWARDS

Norma Dunning has won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Tainna: The Unseen Ones, in the Fiction category, and Hannah Moscovitch has won in the Drama category for Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes. “Norma Dunning’s masterful storytelling uses astute detail to incite compelling characters who meet the prejudice, misogyny and inequity of the Canadian South with humour and tenacity.” While Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes is described as a “striking new play” which “is cleverly turned on its head for the post-#MeToo era.”

The jury citation for Norma Dunning’s Tainna: The Unseen Ones:

“Tainna: The Unseen Ones is an explosive force of sadness, anger, humour and beauty, full of moments that surprise and pummel and still provide hope. This collection is both vivid and raw but infused with a sparkling poetry and the wisdom of the old ways. Like the spirits Norma Dunning describes in these stunning and original stories, this is a book that will never leave you.”

—Peer assessment committee: Kristen den Hartog, Chris Eaton and Suzette Mayr

The jury citation for Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes:

“Hannah Moscovitch’s play is an articulate, poetic, beautifully written play with characters who are complex and complicated. A superb piece of writing that shines as a play, as a living piece of theatre, and no doubt, literature that will endure. The committee could not be more thrilled to have chosen this winning play.”

—Peer assessment committee: Marcia Johnson, Matthew MacKenzie and Robert Tsonos

More details on the awards can be found here.