Filmmaker Chase Joynt among authors shortlisted for Writers' Trust non-fiction prize

Filmmaker Chase Joynt's medium-bending memoir is among the five books in the running for Canada's top non-fiction prize.Joynt is photographed in Toronto, Friday, April 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Filmmaker Chase Joynt's medium-bending memoir is among the five books in the running for Canada's top non-fiction prize.

Officials announced Wednesday that "Vantage Points: On Media as Trans Memoir," which ties his history to that of Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan, made the short list for the $75,000 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Two memoirs about grief also made the list: novelist Martha Baillie's triptych of essays on loss, "There Is No Blue," and Amy Lin's "Here After," which chronicles the death of her husband, their love story and what life looks like in its aftermath.

Also in the running is past winner Jenny Heijun Wills' essay collection "Everything and Nothing At All," which explores experiences of beauty, language and family.

Rounding out the short list is "Invisible Prisons: Jack Whalen’s Tireless Fight for Justice" by award-winning author Lisa Moore and Jack Whalen, about his experience being held at a reform school for boys in St. John's, N.L.

The winner will be announced Nov. 19 at the annual Writers’ Trust Awards ceremony in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press

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