Denison Avenue by Christina Wong & Daniel Innes among finalists for Indie Awards for small press books
Canada Reads 2024 contender Denison Avenue by Christina Wong and Daniel Innes is among the finalists for the multicultural adult fiction category of the 2023 Foreword Indies Awards.
Presented by the Foreword Reviews journal, the awards recognize the best books published annually from small, independent and university presses.
Set in Toronto’s Chinatown and Kensington Market, Denison Avenue is a moving portrait of a city undergoing mass gentrification and a Chinese Canadian elder experiencing the existential challenges of getting old and being Asian in North America. Recently widowed, Wong Cho Sum takes long walks through the city, collecting bottles and cans and meeting people on her journeys in a bid to ease her grief.
Wong is a Toronto writer, playwright and multidisciplinary artist who also works in sound installation, audio documentaries and photography.
Innes is a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. He works in painting, installation, graphic and textile design, illustration, sign painting and tattooing.
Denison Avenue was championed by the former mayor of Calgary, Naheed Nenshi. After Canada Reads was complete, Nenshi announced he was running to be the leader of the NDP party in Alberta.
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More than 200 books across 55 categories were recognized, ranging from health titles to science fiction to economics and more. Publishers submitted more than 2,400 titles for consideration. Over 100 librarians and booksellers take part in the judging process.
Denison Avenue was one of 18 Canadian titles nominated for the 2023 awards.
The Canadian finalists are:
The winners will be announced in June 2024, alongside the Editor’s Choice Prize winners and the Foreword’s Indie Publisher of the Year recipient.
The prizes have been given out annually since 2005. Past Canadian winners include David Chariandy, Melanie Watt, Ashley Spires and Merilyn Simonds and Vincent Lam.
You can see all the finalists on the Foreword Reviews website.
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