Michelle Berry Wins $5,000 Prize from Enfield & Wizenty

WINNIPEG, January 18, 2010—Peterborough author Michelle Berry is the winner of Enfield & Wizenty’s inaugural $5,000 fiction prize for her novel This Book Will Not Save Your Life. The $5,000 advance will lead to a fall 2010 publication and was awarded after the company’s editors reviewed dozens of manuscripts from around the country. Michelle Berry describes her novel as being about “morbid obesity, arson, attempted murder, magicians and Dr. Benjamin Spock.” Berry is represented by Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists.

Two other finalists for the Enfield & Wizenty contest will be published in 2010. These finalists are: Jeff Bursey’s debut, Verbatim: A Novel, and veteran short story writer Richard Cumyn’s The Young in Their Country.

Jeff Bursey, who is from St. John’s, Newfoundland, has written a political satire that uses the double-column Hansard format to depict the rollicking politics and bureaucratic in-fighting in a fictional province. Bursey now lives in Charlottetown where he is a Hansard editor for the provincial legislature.

In his first book in eight years, Richard Cumyn takes us deep into the lives of his characters, from the fringe of the tar sands to the rarefied world of drag burlesque. Cumyn lives in Kingston, Ontario. His previous books include the collections Viking Brides and The Obstacle Course, which were shortlisted for the ReLit Award for Short Fiction in consecutive years.

Maurice Mierau, editor of the fledgling imprint of Great Plains Publications, was overwhelmed by the number of high quality submissions for E & W’s 2010 list. “More work came in from professionals than ever before,” Mierau says. “It was very tough for us to decide on the final list.”

Enfield & Wizenty remains committed to producing beautifully designed, collectible hardcover books. “Readers buy these kinds of books both for the quality of the fiction and because they want to own the physical object, something you can’t get in an e-book,” says publisher Gregg Shilliday. “We are proud to present these fine authors in a form that matches their talent.”

For more information please contact Catharina de Bakker at 204.475.6799 or info@greatplains.mb.ca or visit us at enfieldandwizenty.ca