Jack Wang (Mike Grippi)

Jack Wang has won the $10,000 Danuta Gleed Literary Award, celebrating the best first collection of fiction, for We Two Alone (Astoria/House of Anansi Press). The jury, comprised of writers Lisa Bird-Wilson, Ian Colford, and Zalika Reid-Benta, called it, “an instantly engaging and achingly poignant collection of stories about people struggling to preserve their way of life and seeking stability, connection, and meaning.” The stories focus on the Chinese immigrant experience.

Kaie Kellough’s Dominoes at the Crossroads (Véhicule Press) and Souvankham Thammavongsa’s How to Pronounce Knife (McClelland & Stewart) were announced as runners-up. Each will receive $1,000. Frances Boyle’s Seeking Shade (The Porcupine’s Quill) and Sidura Ludwig’s You Are Not What We Expected (Astoria/Anansi) were also finalists.

The Danuta Gleed is awarded annually through the Writers’ Union of Canada.