The Writers' Trust Engel Findley Award is given to a mid-career writer in recognition of a remarkable body of work, and in anticipation of future contributions to Canadian literature. All Canadian writers are considered. The winner, selected by a three-member, independent judging panel, is announced annually at the Writers’ Trust Awards.
“It’s incredible to be told, when it feels like you’re bumping along in the middle of nowhere, that you’re on the right path. It feels like a big, beautiful lifeline.”
– Billie Livingston
2017 Engel Findley Award winner
2019 Winner
Rawi Hage
Jury Citation
Rawi Hage is as clear-eyed and fearless a writer as this country has known. Book after book he descends into the darkness, returning with a story we require.
How does he survive it? How do we?
Through his humanity, evident in the compassion that runs like a subterranean stream under even the most brutal of his scenes. Through his humour — though it often undoes you even as it yields relief. Most importantly, through his art: no matter how troubling the tale, Hage delivers the essential solace of the unerring line.
But what of redemption, of hope? Ultimately, Rawi Hage’s novels offer up something wilder and more elemental. Call it life force if you will. Call it love.
— 2019 Jury Citation (Peter Behrens, Paul Seesequasis, and Alissa York)
