Lisa Alward (Maria Cardoso Grant)

Lisa Alward has won the $10,000 Danuta Gleed Literary Award.

The annual award, administered by the Writers’ Union of Canada, recognizes the best first collection of short fiction published in English by a Canadian author.

Alward was one of five authors shortlisted for the prize, and won for her collection Cocktail, published in September 2023 by Biblioasis. Runners-up Paola Ferrante (Her Body Among Animals, Book*hug Press) and Rebecca Hirsch Garcia (The Girl Who Cried Diamonds & Other Stories, ECW Press) will each receive $1,000.

A jury comprised of Danila Botha, paulo da costa, and Souvankham Thammavongsa determined the winner and runners-up from a total of 28 submitted collections.

In their citation, the jury called the collection “skilful in its ability to capture the nuance and details of daily life in a way that is striking and deeply felt.”

“The clarity of sound in Lisa Alward’s sentences — word after word after word — makes it impossible to turn your ear away,” the jury said. This is a quiet voice that booms.”

Alward was born in Halifax and lived in Toronto and Vancouver before moving with her family to Fredericton, where she began to write short stories at the age of 50. Her short fiction has appeared in The Journey Prize Stories and Best Canadian Stories.

Earlier this month, Alward won the Mrs. Dunster’s Award for Fiction at the New Brunswick Book Awards. Cocktail was also longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction earlier this year.