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B.C. author’s ‘Ghost Forest’ wins Amazon Canada First Novel Award

Pik-Shuen Fung awarded the $60,000 prize for story of woman grappling with the death of her father
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Vancouver-raised author Pik-Shuen Fung has won this year’s Amazon Canada First Novel Award.

Fung was awarded the $60,000 prize for “Ghost Forest” at a ceremony in Toronto on Wednesday.

The title from publisher Strange Light follows the story of an unnamed protagonist grappling with the death of her father.

Fung was born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, but she now lives in New York City.

Established in 1976, previous winners of the First Novel Award include Michael Ondaatje, W.P. Kinsella, Nino Ricci, David Bezmozgis, Andre Alexis and Madeleine Thien.

The prize is co-presented by Amazon and The Walrus.

The runners-up, who each receive $6,000, are:

- “Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead” by Emily Austin, published by Atria

- “Probably Ruby” by Lisa Bird-Wilson, published by Doubleday Canada

- “All the Quiet Places” by Brian Thomas Isaac, published by Brindle & Glass

- “Avenue of Champions” by Conor Kerr, published by Nightwood Editions

- “We, Jane” by Aimee Wall, published by Book*hug Press

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