Alumna Souvankham Thammavongsa wins the Giller Prize

lanthierj — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 19:03:11 +0000

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lanthierj Fri, 11/27/2020 - 14:03

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(Photo by Sarah Bodri)

University of Toronto alumna Souvankham Thammavongsa is the winner of the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife.

The book is on Time magazine’s list of 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 and was named one of the best books of spring 2020 by The New York Times, Salon, the Millions and Vogue. It’s the first short story collection for Thammavongsa, who earned her bachelor of arts from the Faculty of Arts & Science in 2003 as a member of New College. She is also the author of four books of poetry: the 2013 Trillium Book Award for Poetry winner, Light; Found; Cluster; and Small Arguments, the 2004 winner of the ReLit Award, which she wrote while an undergraduate student at U of T.

In an interview with Arts & Science News, Thammavongsa talked about what it was like to major in English literature at U of T.

“I went to the best school in the country, and that made me so confident,” Thammavongsa said. “I wanted to be a writer and I thought, why don’t I just write?

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Alumnus Ian Williams wins the Scotiabank Giller Prize

lanthierj — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 17:14:38 +0000

Alumnus Ian Williams wins the Scotiabank Giller Prize

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lanthierj Wed, 11/20/2019 - 12:14

Alumni

St. George

Giller Prize

Department of English

Faculty of Arts & Science

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Ian Williams, a three-time graduate of U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his debut novel, Reproduction (photo courtesy of the Scotiabank Giller Prize)

Alumnus Ian Williams has won the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his debut novel, Reproduction.

The jury described Reproduction as many things at once: “It’s an engrossing story of disparate people brought together and also a masterful unfolding of unexpected connections and collisions between and across lives otherwise separated by race, class, gender and geography.”

A three-time graduate of the Faculty of Arts & Science, Williams originally planned to be a doctor – but after taking Professor Julia Reibetanz’s introduction to poetry class in his first year of undergraduate studies, he switched to a double major in psychology and English. Williams went on to obtain his master’s degree from the department of English, followed by his doctoral degree under the supervision of Professor George Elliott Clarke.

The author of two books of poetry and one short story collection, Williams is now an assistant professor in the creative writing program at the University of British Columbia.

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