Clement wins inaugural Island Nonfiction Prize

Megan Clement has won the inaugural Island Nonfiction Prize for her piece ‘In Quarantine’.

Island nonfiction editor Anna Spargo-Ryan said the judges were unanimous in choosing the winner. ‘”In Quarantine”, was exactly the type of story I thought we wouldn’t publish. It’s about Covid-19. It’s about borders and missing family and trying to come home. When I wrote the entry guidelines, I was concerned that a Covid-19 piece might become dated by the time we went to print, but, of course, it hasn’t.

‘”In Quarantine” is a story about family, human connection and the barriers we will try to smash to be close to the people we love. It’s timely, but it’s timeless, too.’ Clement receives $3000 courtesy of the Copyright Agency.

Spargo-Ryan and fellow judges journalists Rae Johnson and Sarah Ayoub chose Clement’s piece from a shortlist that also included the following:

• ‘If You Join the Circle, You Must Dance’ by Katerina Cosgrove
• ‘Hospitality’ by Nicole Melanson
• ‘The Sound of Light’ by Verity Borthwick
• ‘A Shadow from Country’ by Naomi Parry.

The winning and shortlisted pieces will be published in issue 162 of Island, out this month. To read Spargo-Ryan’s full judges’ report, see the Island website.

Category: Awards Local news