Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award
Winner: $25,000
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2012 Winner
Citation
“Nino Ricci’s prose embodies a sweeping range of talent and technique. There are layers upon layers of meaning within his stories, all of which are presented with profound empathy, with compassion not only for his characters, but also for the messy human condition in which we invariably find ourselves. His writing is elegant and understated but driven by an urgent and confident hand. Whether he is examining the life of Jesus or an adulterous Italian mother or a self-loathing academic, Nino Ricci is a superb story-teller. Each of his books is a rare and delicious cocktail. In them a particular time and place is richly brought alive and made palpable, a challenge to the intellect and an exploration of the soul.”
Selected Publications
Pierre Elliott Trudeau (2009)
The Origin of Species (2008)
Testament (2002)
Where She Has Gone (1997)
In A Glass House (1993)
Lives of the Saints (1990)
About the Author
Nino Ricci was born in Leamington, Ontario to Italian parents, and completed university studies in Toronto, Montreal, and Florence, Italy. His first novel was the internationally acclaimed Lives of the Saints, which spent 75 weeks on the Globe and Mail‘s bestseller list and won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Published in seventeen countries, Lives of the Saints is the first volume in a series that continues with In a Glass House and Where She Has Gone; the trilogy was adapted for television starring Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson. His book Testament was shortlisted for the Roger’s Writers’ Trust Award for Fiction, and Origin of the Species earned Ricci his second Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Ricci is also a past president of the Canadian Centre of International PEN, a writers’ human rights organization that works for freedom of expression. He is a recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Windsor as well the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and has been recognized with the Order of Canada for his contributions to literature as a renowned author. Ricci has also recently been named the L.G. Pathy '56 Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at Princeton University for the Fall Semester of 2013. He lives in Toronto with his wife, writer Erika de Vasconcelos, and their children.
About the Prize
Established in 2008, the Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award was created by merging two previously existing prizes: the Marian Engel Award for a female writer in mid-career (1986-2007) and the Timothy Findley Award for a male writer in mid-career (2002 – 2007). Writers are judged on their body of work – no less than three works of literary merit which are predominantly fiction – rather than a single book. All Canadian writers are considered and no age restrictions apply. The winner is selected by a three-member, independent judging panel.
The recipient of the 2012 prize will be announced on November 7, 2012, at the Writers' Trust Awards event.