Previously a CBC Radio Producer in Yellownife in the 1970s, Elizabeth Hay wins the prestigious Giller Prize for her novel “Late Nights on Air.” Set against the backdrop of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry and the vividly exposed northern landscape, the novel follows the story of a group of transplants to the North, as they search for meaning and understanding in late night broadcasts, personal histories, and stories of adventure and discovery on the tundra. “The North has kind of leaked into my writing at various stages,” said Hay to the CBC, “but I wanted to really try to do it justice in a way I never had done before.” Her narrative eye attempts to capture the delicate beauty of the North, and the final third of the novel involves a canoe trip by two couples following the route of John Hornby on the Thelon River. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s at the top of my list for this winter. You can learn more from the CBC and Walrus Magazine, and the following air-bookbits interview with Elizabeth Hay on YouTube.

Updates:

• Washington Post: “Northern exposure: employees of a radio station find their voices.“ (April 13, 2008).