The Atlantic Book Awards Society announced the shortlist for the twelve different book prizes comprising the 2018 Atlantic Book Awards at a press conference on Monday, March 26. Held at Halifax City Hall, authors Alexander MacLeod and Donnna Morrissey presented the nominated titles, representing a wide range of books from Atlantic Canada—everything from history to kids’ books.
Among the nominated titles, New Brunswick author Andy Flanagan has been shortlisted for the Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing for his book The Endless Battle: The Fall of Hong Kong and Canadian POWs in Imperial Japan. Also nominated for the award are authors Joan Baxter (The Mill: Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest, Pottersfield Press) and Brian Douglas Tennyson (Nova Scotia at War, 1914-1919, Nimbus Publishing).
An honest look at the horrors of war and its lingering effects.
Hong Kong was the first place Canadians fought a land battle in the Second World War. From 8 to 25 December 1941, almost 2,000 troops from Canada — sent to Hong Kong expecting little more than guard duty — fought bravely against the overwhelming power of an invading Japanese force. When the British colony surrendered on Christmas Day, 290 Canadians had been killed in the fighting. Another 264 would die over the next four years amid the inhumane conditions of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps.
Based on the first-hand accounts of the author's father, Andrew "Ando" Flanagan, a rifleman from Jacquet River, NB, The Endless Battle explores the Battle of Hong Kong and its long aftermath, through the eyes of the soldiers. Writing intimately and sensitively about the lingering effects of the trauma of the soldiers held in captivity, Andy Flanagan shows both the heroism of individual soldiers and the terrible costs of war.
The Awards will be given out in Paul O’Regan Hall, Halifax Central Library, on Thursday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m.
About the Author
Andy Flanagan was born in the small rural community of Belledune, NB. His writing has appeared in the Northern Light, the Ottawa Citizen, and on CBC.ca.
To learn more about The Endless Battle, click here.
