JORDAN ABEL’S NISGHA IS A FINALIST FOR THE HILARY WESTON WRITERS’ TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION September 15, 2021

Jordan Abel’s NISHGA, an autobiographical meditation that attempts to address the complicated legacies of Canada's residential school system and contemporary Indigenous existence, is a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

“The prize is given annually for excellence in the category of literary nonfiction, which includes essays, history, biography, memoir, commentary, and criticism. The winning book demonstrates a distinctive voice, as well as a persuasive and compelling command of tone, narrative, style, and technique. The prize has been sponsored by The Hon. Hilary M. Weston since 2011.”

“NISHGA defies the boundaries and traditions of memoir to achieve something singular and necessary. Instead of striving to process information for the reader, Abel conscripts us into his endeavor by making central what is usually kept behind the curtain: research, found documents, even notes. The result is an active reading experience that conveys the stakes with a power that sticks to the bones. This work fully realizes the complexity of the self and home, and the way atrocity reverberates through generations.”

— 2021 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Jury (Kevin Chong, Terese Marie Mailhot, and Adam Shoalts).

The winner will be announced on November 3 at the digital Writers' Trust Awards.