Patti-Kay Hamilton of N.W.T. wins $6,000 CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize

MONTREAL – Patti-Kay Hamilton of Fort Smith, N.W.T., has won this year’s English-language CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize.

The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native, who grew up in grew up in Pembroke and Toronto, took the $6,000 grand prize honour on Monday for “The Hunter and the Swan.”

Now retired, Hamilton has worked as a radio journalist on CBC North and has been published in Up Here Magazine and Coming Home.

Jury members Carolyn Abraham, Denise Chong and David Macfarlane chose her winning story from over 1,800 entries.

“Written with economy and a subtle pulse of drama, ‘The Hunter and the Swan’ vividly captures the raw beauty of the north,” the jury said in a statement.

“Its mood is meditative and its narrative taut, and yet, without ever losing its direction, its richness of information supports the writer’s command of subject and confident authority.”

As part of the prize, Hamilton’s story will also be published in the August edition of Air Canada’s enRoute magazine.

She will also receive a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre.

The four runners-up for the prize — Jennifer Clark, Brandee Eubank, Sarah Habben and Patricia Webb — will receive $1,000 apiece.

This year’s French grand prize winner is Joanne Morency of Marie, Que., for her story “Tes lunettes sans ton regard.”

The CBC’s Canada Writes online site announced the winners along with partners the Canada Council for the Arts, Air Canada’s enRoute magazine and the Banff Centre.