Sutherland won the $6,000 grand prize for her story, Umbrella.
CBC BOOKS, CBC’s online home for literary content, together with its partners the Canada Council for the Arts and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, today announced Chanel M. Sutherland of Montreal as the winner of the 2021 CBC Nonfiction Prize. Sutherland’s story, Umbrella, was selected from over 2,000 entries.
As the grand-prize winner, Sutherland will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and her story has been published on CBC Books. She will also receive a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
The 2021 CBC Nonfiction jurors Jenny Heijun Wills, M.G. Vassanji and Tim Cook, said this about Sutherland’s story:
"Umbrella is a story about race, gender and sexuality that is both familiar and unique, told with a restraint that characterizes its speaker in masterful ways. Here is a story about Black girlhood that bespeaks the ironic ways desire, belonging and acquiescence are, at times, inextricable. The result is a compelling, lively and informative piece that offers insight as it deploys literary skill from beginning to end."
Chanel M. Sutherland said, “I still cannot believe that Umbrella won the 2021 CBC Nonfiction Prize, especially with so many talented writers on the longlist. I set out with one goal for 2021, and it was to write a story that I was proud of and send it out into the world. Writing Umbrella was a challenging experience because I had to restrain myself. There were so many emotions that I felt and connected to during the process, but I knew they would only oversaturate the story. That’s why it is so satisfying to know that the jurors understood what I was trying to accomplish. This whole experience is like walking in a dream!”
The four runners-up for the 2021 CBC Nonfiction Prize, who will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, are: Alison Hughes of Edmonton for Funhouse Mirrors; Barbara Mackenzie of Yellowknife for Northern Spring; Lee Thomas of Fredericton for My Summer Body; and Sarah Van Goethem of Bothwell, Ont. for A Borrowed Husband.
CBC Books also announced Francis Ouellette as the winner of the French grand prize for La ballade de Ti Crisse. More information is available at ICI.Radio-canada.ca/icionlit.
For more information on the CBC Literary Prizes, please visit CBCBooks.ca.
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CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder.
The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments contribute to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene and support its presence across Canada and abroad. The Council’s investments foster greater engagement in the arts among Canadians and international audiences.
The Council’s Public Lending Right (PLR) program makes annual payments to creators whose works are held in Canadian public libraries.
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach.
For further information, contact:
Frances Bedford
CBC PR
416-205-7673
Diane Hargrave
Diane Hargrave, Public Relations
416-467-9954
