A UNBC Professor is a finalist for the Governor Generals Literacy Award for her non-fiction book Where it Hurts.
Sarah De Leeuw is one of few Northern BC Writers to have ever made the finalist list for the GG awards.
De Leeuw says she was surprised when she first found out.
“I don’t think any author imagines that a book they sort of toil, sweat, and bleed over is ever going to be destined for sort of the highest pinnacle of awards in Canadian literary work.”
She adds it was a little disbelieving because her book is a collection of short essays, compared to other books which are much longer and focus on a single topic.
Where it Hurts is a book that’s about topical issues that range from missing and murdered indigenous women, settler colonial relations, and environmental impact.
De Leeuw says she tries to anchor her writing in person examples lived and experienced in her own life and her time spent living in Northern BC.
A full list of winners will be released on November 1st.