Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that True Patriots by Russell Fralich, Night Call by Brenden Carlson, and Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy have been shortlisted for the Emerging Writer Prize in the Mystery category. Congratulations everyone!
Following a young navy officer in her first command and a small-town professor who is haunted by a shadowy past who stumble upon a violent plot to pry Alberta from Confederation, True Patriots has been praised by Dave Butler as a “timely, prophetic reminder about the dangers of division.”
In an alternate version of 1930s Manhattan, Night Call follows a former police officer turned Mafia enforcer and his robot partner who immerse themselves in the criminal underworld to find the killer of a murder that threatens the police and the mafia. This sci-fi thriller was praised by the Globe and Mail as a “dazzling little debut novel,” noting Brenden as a writer who is “definitely one to watch.”
Highly praised in a starred Booklist review as “smartly constructed and cleverly written” and by Publishers Weekly for the way it “plays effectively with issues of identity, regret, and forgiveness”, Tell Me My Name is a roller-coaster domestic thriller featuring a rustic cottage retreat, a suspicious new neighbour, a violent kidnapping, and a wife who learns her husband isn’t telling her the whole truth.
The Emerging Writer Prize seeks to bring literary recognition to Canadian talent and kick-start the careers of debut authors. Learn more here.
Russell Fralich is a business professor and writer and has worked in the aerospace and telecommunications industries. He received an emerging author award at the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival in 2017. Russell lives in Montreal. Read more here.
Brenden Carlson is a chemist and freelance writer. He lives in St. Catharines, Ontario. Read more here.
Erin Ruddy is a writer, editor, and award-winning journalist. She is currently the executive editor at MediaEdge Communications. She lives in Toronto. Read more here.