Earlier this week I got a phone call from writer and filmmaker Kenneth J. Harvey, founder of the ReLit Award, to let me know that Debris had won in the short fiction category for 2016. That turned out to be a pretty good Wednesday.

The ReLit Award was established in 2000, as an alternative to the pressure and big monies of the major CanLit prizes like the Giller. As a result, many excellent works from independent Canadian presses have been recognized by the ReLit. There are three prize categories: Novel, Short Fiction, and Poetry.

Here is the full list of ReLit winners this year:

Novel: Carellin Brooks for One Hundred Days of Rain (Bookthug)

Short Fiction: Kevin Hardcastle for Debris (Biblioasis)

Poetry: Sue Goyette for The Brief Reincarnation of a Girl (Gaspereau Press)

Each winner will receive the unique ReLit ring, designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Kearney, with “four moveable dials, each one struck with the entire alphabet, for spelling words.” It has been rumoured that the ring holds special powers and enchantments, but none of this has been confirmed or denied by any previous winners.

Anyways, I am very happy to see Debris recognized for this unique award, and to have been included in the long-shortlists with writers like Anakana Schofield, Jess Taylor, Daniel Scott Tysdal, Jon Chan Simpson, and many more. It is a real honour.

Now I am to find a place to size me up for that magical ReLit ring. After that, I will see if I can emerge from my Annex hobbit-hole in Toronto and rule Middle-Earth in a hilarious manner…

Thanks to Mr. Harvey for reading and considering my work, and congratulations to the other winners and nominees.

Cheers. Hardcastle.