We are thrilled to announce the 2021 Siskiyou Prize winner and finalists!
It was another record year of submissions, and we couldn’t be more pleased to see so many writers tacking climate change, the oceans, animal issues, and so many other topics related to the planet we call home. It’s inspiring to see how powerful literature can be in this realm.
It was also another year of difficult decisions, and we want to congratulate our winner, finalists, and semifinalists, whose books stood out in a very crowded field of stellar work.
Our winner is Nadja Lubiw-Hazard, for her short-story collection, THE LIFE OF A CREATURE.
Our judge Deb Olin Unferth writes of Nadja’s book:
“THE LIFE OF A CREATURE is a beautiful and complex book. The stories weave through the emotional terrain of death and love, and of the roles that animals play in our lives, their intertwined relationship to us. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this one. It’s different in the best way, the passion of a singular voice and vision.”
Nadja Lubiw-Hazard is a writer and veterinarian who holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Guelph and a post-graduate certificate in creative writing from the Humber School for Writers. Her work has been published in Fiddlehead, Understorey, Room, Canthius, The Dalhousie Review, and The New Quarterly. Her first novel, The Nap-Away Motel, was published by Palimpsest Press in May 2019. She is currently working on several picture books about animals and a second novel, Saving Seraphina. A lifelong animal lover and longtime vegan, Nadja’s writing often explores themes related to the natural world. She lives in Toronto with her wife, their two daughters, an old black pug, and a feisty, fluffy kitten. Visit her online at www.nmlhazard.com.
Nadja will receive a cash award of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology.
We’re also thrilled to celebrate the Siskiyou Prize finalists …
Christina Cogswell for MY OCEANS: A MOTHER’S PATH THROUGH ECO-GRIEF
Barbara J. King for Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and in the Wild(The University of Chicago Press)
… and the semifinalists!
David Huebert for Chemical Valley (Biblioasis)
Sicelo Mbatha & Bridget Pitt for Black Lion: Alive in the Wilderness (Jonathan Ball Publishers)
Neha Sinha for Wild and Wilful: Tales of 15 Iconic Indian Species (HarperCollins India)
Lisbeth White for A MOST NATURAL THING: A MEMOIR THROUGH LANDSCAPE
Many thanks to all who submitted to the competition and who put their talents toward writing environmental literature. You are all making a difference, and we have been honored to have the opportunity to consider your work.
Midge Raymond is a co-founder of Ashland Creek Press. She is the author of the novels Floreana and My Last Continent, the award-winning short story collection Forgetting English, and, with John Yunker, the suspense novel Devils Island.