Indo-Canadian author wins Canada Governor General’s Award

NEVADA - A Canadian author of Indian heritage has won the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award.

Moyez Gulamhussein Vassanji’s book “A Place Within: Rediscovering India” bagged him the Award in non-fiction category, which includes $25, 000 prize. Published by Doubleday Canada, the award jury commented about his book as: “An utterly brilliant, evocative memoir that ranges across the landscapes of culture, memory, identity and history”.

Acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, congratulating Vassanji for bringing pride to the whole community in North America, urged him to mentor younger Indo-Canadian writers. Literature in India went back to epigraphic inscriptions of the Indus Valley (around 2,000 BCE) and standardized forms were developed very early in the history of Sanskrit writing, Zed, who is chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, argued in a statement in Nevada (USA) today.

Born in 1950 in Kenya and raised in Tanzania, Vassanji started his career as a theoretical nuclear physicist and moved to Canada in 1978. He has twice been awarded Giller Prize for his novels. He lives in Toronto.

Each year, Canada Council for the Arts and Governor General of Canada collaborate to honor the finest in Canadian literature in categories of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, children’s literature (text and illustration) and translation.

Ottawa based Canada Council for the Arts, which reports to Parliament, was created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 to foster and promote the study, enjoyment and production of works in the arts. Joseph L. Rotman is Council Chair while Robert Sirman is Director. Her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaelle Jean is Governor General of Canada. (ANI)