On Friday afternoon, at the Salon international du livre de Québec, the jury made up of students from various CEGEPs announced the name of the winner of the 20e Literary prize for college students. Successor to Where I land (Rubbish), by Caroline Dawson, Metired of fantasy (La Mèche), Francis Ouellette’s first novel, won the favor of the jury.
Camped in a colorful fauna of the Centre-Sud district, in Montreal, this autobiographical learning novel tinged with magical realism was one of the great surprises of the literary season last year.
On August 12, the day of the “I buy a Quebec book” initiative, fancy molasses ranked third in sales, behind An extraordinary woman (Stanké), by Catherine Éthier, and A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers (Le Quartanier), by Alain Farah.
The Literary Prize for College Students is accompanied by the Bourgie-Lemieux scholarship, worth $5,000. fancy molasses appeared in the list of five books selected by the selection committee formed by Mélikah Abdelmoumen, author and editor-in-chief of the journal Quebec lettershisby Josée Boileau, author and columnist, and by Louise-Maude Rioux Soucy, editorial writer and director of the Opinion section of the Duty.
The other four finalist books were morel (The August Horse), by Maxime Raymond Bock; Sailors can’t swim (The People), by Dominique Scali; The thread of life (Alto), by Elsa Pépin; And Take away the night (Boreal), by Monique Proulx.
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