Last
night, the 100th Grey Cup was played in
downtown Toronto, where the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Calgary Stampeders
35-22.
On
Saturday, three writers I know were listed on the Globe's top 23 Canadian fiction books of the year. Eva Stachniak for The Winter Palace, Grace O'Connell Magnified
World, and Heather Birrell for Mad Hope.
Earlier
this month, my writing teacher, friend and inspiration, Sarah Selecky had the US
launch of her book, This Cake is for the Party.
And,
last Thursday, I was awarded the Random House of Canada 2012 Student Writing Award for my short story, Let Me Call You Lovely.
Each
of these accomplishments is, in my opinion, a big deal. And deserves the
recognition it receives.
The
publication where my short story appears, Three, is small but, a big deal.
U of T faculty, Random House staff and the contest judges all had very positive
things to say about my writing and the finalists writing like, "remarkable
literary outcomes" and "fine writers" and "a fantastic
achievement".
I
didn't realize just how big a deal the award was until I arrived at the U of T
Faculty Club on Thursday night to celebrate the win along with the finalists
and read this, from 2009 winner Anne Perdue, underscoring
the importance of the award to her career.
"A
year later, Insomniac Press published my book. I am hugely grateful to the
Random House of Canada Student Award in Writing for providing opportunity,
prestigious acknowledgement, and validation."
Pretty
big deal.
The
evening was a tandem celebration for the award's 10th anniversary and at the
door, one of the organizers told me they only had name tags printed for VIP
guests, faculty, and finalists. When I introduced myself, she said,
"Oooooh, you are the winner! Congratulations. Of course you have a name tag."
I
was the big deal.
I
also had to read an excerpt from the story, something the editor had failed to
mention to me. Finding out then and there saved me the worry and concern
and neurosis of deciding which bit to read. No rehearsing, no overthinking it, no
breathing exercises.
No
big deal.
I
am more writer than sports enthusiast lately. However, I am from
Saskatchewan so that makes me a Roughrider fan by default. My best Grey
Cup experience was 23 years ago when I still lived in Saskatchewan. With two
seconds left in the game, Dave Ridgway kicked a field goal giving the Riders
a 43-40 victory over the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the 1989 Grey Cup. We
jumped in the back of a pick up truck and drove around downtown Regina after
the game.
It
was a big deal.
On
Friday, my nephew and his girlfriend came to Toronto for the weekend to attend
the game yesterday. They are huge fans (pictured here, front and centre, in
green) and along with many other keen CFL lovers, have been roaming the city
for the past week. I went to Nathan Philips Square and Yonge and Dundas with
them where we did yoga on a makeshift field, tasted new flavours of Frank's Hot
Sauce and tossed a football at some tires in a cage. Next year's Grey
Cup is in Regina.
It
will be a big deal.
Whether
it's sports or writing or any other thing you want to make a big deal about,
below is some wise advice from Natalie Goldberg, a big
deal in her own right.
“Trust
in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go.”
Congratulations, Lana! I'm so glad you won this award, to a deserving piece no less. Hope you can send me a copy at some point, please, or tell me how to order it. Best wishes.
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