Source: University College of Cape Breton
http://www.cbu.ca/cbu_main/newsrel/NewsDetail.asp?NewsID=240 2,500 Original Art Items Donated to Cape Breton University $500K James Nearing and Florence Giovannetti-Nearing Dragon Lair’s CollectionNovember 7, 2006 Cape Breton novelist, Frank Macdonald, has been nominated for the largest and most international literary prize of its kind, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The long-list for the International Award, a prize of 100,000 pounds, was announced Monday in Dublin, Ireland. Macdonald’s novel A Forest for Calum is one of 138 books nominated from 45 countries. Published by Cape Breton University Press, in the fall of 2005, the novel was also short-listed for the 2006 Dartmouth Book Award for fiction. "The long-list is a who’s who of world class literary talent," says CBU Press’s Mike Hunter. "To be included is due recognition of Mr. Macdonald’s world class novel." Frank Macdonald is an award-winning columnist and publisher of the Inverness Oran. An accomplished writer of short fiction, drama, poetry and songs, A Forest for Calum is Macdonald’s first novel. It portrays many of the issues of a fictionalized Cape Breton town in the post-war, post-heavy industry decades of the mid-twentieth century. The setting is Cape Breton; the themes of cultural and rural change and decline are universal. "A Forest for Calum is an exceptional first novel which is finely rendered and heartfelt in its depth," says Alistair MacLeod, "it is unique in presentation and rewarding to the end." MacLeod, a well-known Cape Breton author, is a previous winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (2002), for his novel No Great Mischief. The short-list of up to ten novels will be announced on April 4, 2007, and the winner announced on June 14, 2007. Identities of the prestigious international panel of judges – award-winning authors themselves – were also revealed Monday. Other Canadian nominees for the 2007 award include George Elliot Clarke, Michael Crummey and Karen Connelly. Last year, Irish writer Colm Tóibín won the award. Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was also previous winner of the IMPAC Dublin prize. The Award is a Dublin City Council initiative and a partnership between Dublin City Council and IMPAC, a productivity improvement company operating in more than 50 countries. Dublin City Public Libraries administer the Award. About Cape Breton University Press Established in 1974, CBU Press serves as a link between Cape Breton University and its broader communities, publishing literature of significance to Cape Breton Island and that which enhances knowledge about the Island, its history and cultural preservation. Frank Macdonald’s A Forest for Calum marked a new direction for CBU Press, which is committed to publishing Cape Breton fiction on an ongoing basis. For more information visit www.cbu.ca/press -30- Contact: Mike Hunter Editor-in-Chief, Cape Breton University Press Tel: (902) 563-1955 Email: mike_hunter@cbu.ca Frank Macdonald Tel: (902) 258-2312 Email: Frank_macdonald@ns.sympatico.ca Kelly Rose Communications Officer, Cape Breton University Tel: (902) 563-1638 Email: kelly_rose@cbu.ca International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/index.htm
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