sewn paper
e-mail the Author
Fiction / Stories
September 2000
144 pages
ISBN 0-88984-217-5
$15.95
Sandy Sabatini at Sleemans Brewery.
Photo courtesy of Peter A Grimaldi.
Upper Canada Brewing Company
Writers' Craft Award
Sandra Sabatini's first
collection of stories The One with the News was shortlisted
for the second annual Upper Canada
Writers' Craft award given for the best collection of short
stories written by an Ontario author in the previous twelve months.
`When reading a short story collection, I want to be engaged, to learn
something, to laugh and to be moved,' said [juror] Cordelia Strube, as she announced
the short list. `The books shortlisted for this year's Upper Canada Brewing
Company Writers' Craft Award all possess content and style and compel the
reader to read on.'
To honour Sandy's considerable achievement in making this
prestigious shortlist, a photo opportunity was arranged for
Thursday, September 20, 2001 at Sleeman's Brewery in Guelph. For this opportunity
we are grateful to Cathy Voight, Jenny Kitson and Peter A. Grimaldi of the
Eden Mills Writers' Festival, to Janet Harron of Cohn & Wolfe, to Bill Lisowsky,
brand manager of Upper Canada, to John Sleeman, to Linda Stiller, his executive
assistant and to Joanne Bertrand of the Alzheimer's Society of Guelph / Wellington.
At $10,000.00, the Upper Canada Brewing Company Writers' Craft Award is
Canada's largest cash prize specifically for a collection of short stories.
Having a strong heritage within the Ontario arts and letters community, the
brewery launched the award in July 2000 to elevate this connection and
celebrate the art and craft of writing.
`We're proud to continue our support of the province's short story
writers,' said Upper Canada president Peter Amirault. `The authors
contributing to this year's short list reflect the literary talent to be found
in communities throughout Ontario. This award is the celebration of one fine
craft by another.'
Sandra Sabatini's The One with the News are powerful stories stemming
from the experiences of an Alzheimer's sufferer and told from the point of
view of the patient, family members and professional caregivers. Sabatini's
work has been published in The Malahat Review, Prism International and The New
Quarterly. The title story from this collection was shortlisted for the 1999
Journey Prize.
`Sandra Sabatini can be poignant in the service of comedy and
comic in the face of tragedy. Her characters are believable but
not predictable in either their ordinariness or their
eccentricity, and her sympathy, like her talent, is large.'
- Kim Jernigan, The New Quarterly
`With a meandering, circling, returning narrative, like the
movements of an ailing mind trying to hang on to doomed memories,
Sandra Sabatini deftly traces the life of a family whose
husband/father suffers from Alzheimer's disease. The One with
the News is a humane and heartfelt debut.'
- Steven Heighton
`... regardless of the theme, her stories are above all else
creative and artistic. While the stories in The One with the
News deal with the reality of Alzheimer's and explore the
devastating intricacies of the disease, her love of words and
fascination with language means that her stories are rarely
pedantic or strictly educational.' - KW Echo weekly
`At once both comic and tragic, The One with the News
is a collection of stories written so expressively, they bring
hope from despair. Sabatini succeeds in awakening the reader's
compassion by having them share in the heartache of her
characters.' - The Ultimate Hallucination
`... her writings possess that alchemy of poignancy, reality,
and harsh beauty that make me believe Sandra Sabatini is one to
watch.' - Off the Shelf
`This book shines best, and often fascinates, in its unsparing
portraits of those who must witness and try to ease a terrible
descent.' - Globe and Mail
Publisher Tim Inkster introduces Sandy to the media. (In the brewhouse
on the second floor of the Sleeman plant in Guelph.)
Joanne Bertrand, executive director of the Alzheimer's Society, Guelph / Wellington.
John Sleeman is honourary spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Society, Guelph / Wellington.
K.D. Miller (left) was shortlisted for the first annual Upper Canada
award (2000). K.D. is joined by Bill Lisowsky, brand manager for Upper Canada
and Sandy Sabatini at the Porcupine's Quill booth, the Word on the Street, Toronto,
September 30, 2001.
Sandy Sabatini on stage at the award ceremony. Sassafraz, in Yorkville, 10 October, 2001.