Kim Echlin has been named the winner of the 2021 Toronto Book Award.

Echlin won the $10,000 prize for Speak, Silence (Hamish Hamilton/PHRC) at a virtual event hosted by CBC Radio host Ismaila Alfa on Oct. 5. The novel, set in 1999, focuses on a landmark trial of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia through the experiences of a Toronto journalist who travels to Sarajevo.

Joining the virtual event, Echlin thanked her publisher, Nicole Winstanley, her fellow shortlisted authors, and the Toronto Public Library, a program partner of the award. “I’m really, really grateful,” Echlin said. “I’d like to thank everyone involved and I’d like to acknowledge how we keep working together in Toronto to share each other’s stories.”

Echlin was one of six authors on the shortlist.

This year’s jury was comprised of former TIFA director and CEO Geoffrey E. Taylor; editor and writer Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith; author, artist, editor, publisher, and producer Andy Stanleigh; writer Angela Wright; and writer Sanchari Sur.