Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 54 • Issue 50
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National literary prize recipient has Thompson ties BY MOLLY GIBSON KIRBY MOLLY@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
RDPC SCHOOL ZONE UNDER REVIEW NEWS/LETTERS - PAGES 3, 4
BOWLING FOR DOLLARS FOR BUILDING NEWS - PAGE 3
TRCC CONCESSION STAND OPENING SOON NEWS - PAGE 5
WILD AND HAWKS TEAM UP FOR TOY DRIVE SPORTS - PAGE 10
Raziel Reid, who spent childhood summers in Thompson, won the 2014 Governor General’s Literary Award in the children’s literature category for his young adult (YA) novel When Everything Feels like the Movies, published by Arsenal Pulp Press in Vancouver. The now 24-yearold Vancouver writer received the $25,000 award on Nov.18. Reid remembers how he felt the moment he found out. “It was like an orgasm. It felt great, and then about half an hour later, I wanted another one.” The novel by Reid is about “love, fame, death, and why it’s important to never apologize for who you are.” The story, inspired by the murder of Larry Fobes King, who in 2008 was shot and murdered in his school by a boy whom he had asked to be his Valentine. Reid says it’s set in a small town like Thompson. “The narrator, Jude, doesn’t name it because he ‘doesn’t want to depress you.’ I’m thankful for my small-town roots because when you have nothing, you have dreams.” Brian Lam, publisher for Arsenal Pulp Press, says Reid’s novel is just the type of book they wanted to print. “Raziel’s book is an honest, authentic portrayal of queer youth. We had been looking to publish a young-adult book that depicts what it’s like to
Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Raziel Reid Raziel Reid, who spent part of his childhood in Thompson, won the 2014 Governor General’s Literary Award in the children’s literature category for his novel When Everything Feels Like the Movies (inset). be an LGBT [lesbian gay bisexual transgender] teen, and Raziel’s book fit the bill.” Spending summer holidays in Thompson as a youth with his granny who had emphysema, and couldn’t leave the house, Reid says he filled the hours with stories. “I would watch her shows with her, and because I was kind of a lonely, imaginative kid, I
would continue the stories alone in my room, writing the scenes and playing all the characters. So, basically, when I was 10 I spent most of my time pretending I was Brooke Logan from The Bold and the Beautiful.” Brooke Logan was a blonde woman who had countless marriages, all with men from the same family. “I suppose that probably explains a lot,”
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said Reid. When asked, Reid says his favourite memory of Thompson is Paint Lake and referred to the lake as “holy water.” The person Reid would thank for helping him along the way is Wendy Lucas from Paint Lake. “She’s a tough lady with a big heart and she was smart enough to always let me be me. I love the Lucas family. They’re
good people.” Reid spoke to the Thompson Citizen from Ottawa where he was giving a reading at the Canada Council for the Arts, and signing books for the Library of Parlimaent. Reid is also working on a film script for When Everything Feels like the Movies, and will be travelling to the United States in the New Year to launch the book. Lam says Reid winning this well-known award is a validation for the publisher, too. “I think it’s a validation on several levels, a gratifying acknowledgment of a young, gifted writer like Raziel, and the fact that his uneasy subject matter should be so honoured. I also believe it puts us ‘on the map’ as a publisher of young-adult books; even though we’ve been in business for more than forty years, we only started publishing young-adult books in recent years. Finally, it’s confirmation that young adult books have ‘come of age’, so to speak; Raziel’s book, and the praise it’s received, underscores the fact that YA books can be gritty, difficult, intense, but above all, truthful – just as adult fiction is.” Reid has no plans of returning back to Thompson. “I don’t know if I’d go back. After my granny died, it kind of felt like that chapter of my life had closed. I have memories I cherish, but I’m always moving forward.”
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