Xtra columnist Raziel Reid became the youngest author in Canada to receive the Governor General’s Literary Award, when his debut novel, When Everything Feels like the Movies, won the prestigious award in the children’s category on Nov 18.
“An edgy and uneasy story with no simple resolutions, Raziel Reid’s When Everything Feels like the Movies is unflinching,” the Governor General’s jury says. “An openly gay teen in a small-minded town, Jude Rothesay’s fantasy life is a movie but his real life isn’t. He is audacious, creative, rude, often hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking. He’s unforgettable.”
Reid is not the only gay author to receive the Governor General’s Literary Award this year. Former Xtra columnist Michael Harris also won in the non-fiction category for his book The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connection.
Meanwhile, gay playwright Jordan Tannahill won the prize in the drama category for Age of Minority: Three Solo Plays, poet Arleen Paré won for her Lake of Two Mountains, and Jillian Tamaki won for her illustrations of the children’s book This One Summer.
Read Xtra’s interview with Reid about his novel, and watch the music video that accompanies the novel.
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