Kai Thomas (writer)

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Kai Thomas is a Canadian writer from Ottawa, Ontario, [1] whose debut novel In the Upper Country was the winner of the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. [2]

The novel is a historical fiction about the Underground Railroad, centring on a journalist for an abolitionist newspaper in rural Ontario who is interviewing a woman in jail for killing a bounty hunter who was trying to capture fugitive slaves. [3] It was also a shortlisted finalist for the 2023 Amazon.ca First Novel Award, [4] the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2023 Governor General's Awards [5] and the 2024 Walter Scott Prize. [6]

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References

  1. Ryan B. Patrick, "6 Black Canadian writers to watch in 2023". CBC Books, February 2, 2023.
  2. Nicole Thompson, "Kai Thomas wins Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for debut novel". Toronto Star , November 21, 2023.
  3. Brett Josef Grubisic, "Kai Thomas’ ‘In The Upper Country’: A tree-planting encounter inspires historical Black fiction". Toronto Star , January 6, 2023.
  4. Cassandra Drudi, "Billy-Ray Belcourt, Jessica Johns among 2023 Amazon Canada First Novel finalists". Quill & Quire , May 4, 2023.
  5. "Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for Governor General's Literary Awards". Burnaby Now , October 25, 2023.
  6. "Walter Scott Prize 2024 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-10.