A short story collection by a University of Guelph instructor is in the running for two of Canada’s top literary prizes.
Russell Smith, who teaches in the School of English and Theatre Studies (SETS), has been longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and shortlisted for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for Confidence.
Smith was one of 12 authors selected by the Giller committee from among 168 works, a record number in the prize’s 22-year history. The shortlist for the $100,000 prize will be announced Oct. 5.
He is also among five finalists for the $25,000 Writers’ Trust prize, to be announced Nov. 3.
“We were pleased to hear the news of Russell receiving these well-deserved accolades for his book, Confidence,” said Donald Bruce, dean of the College of Arts.
“This is another example of the high caliber of faculty that we have in SETS, and the recognition that creative writers working at the University of Guelph have won for their publications over a period of many years now.”
Smith said the process of being selected happened very suddenly.
“You never expect to win when you write a book, so I’m very happy to have the book selected to compete for the top prize by both committees,” Smith said.
“It’s always surprising to find out your book was selected. For the Giller, I started receiving congratulations on social media and wondered what they were for. I heard from my publisher about the Writers’ Trust, and didn’t believe it at first because I couldn’t find it on Google.”
Confidence is a collection of stories about men and their relationship secrets. Smith said many of the stories emerged from his novels written over the past 10 years.
“The stories are generally about exclusivity and privilege. One of the stories, Raccoons, ties in to Rob Ford’s crack cocaine scandal, but that’s the only one based on current events,” he said.
“There are funny moments and satirical elements in these stories, but for the most part, I think it’s a bit darker than some of my recent novels.”
He said he never thinks about prizes when he writes.
“I always just focus on style,” said Smith, who teaches in U of G’s master of fine arts program in creative writing.
“l wish I had the formula for what gets selected, but it’s so unpredictable. I tell my students that you can’t write for how you think others will react – you have to write for yourself, and that’s what I do.”