Cody Caetano Explained

Cody Caetano is a Canadian writer from Toronto, Ontario,^[1] whose debut memoir Half-Bads in White Regalia was the winner of the Indigenous Voices Award for English prose in 2023.^[2]

Caetano, of mixed Portuguese and Anishinaabe descent, studied creative writing at the University of Toronto, where he wrote the book under the mentorship of Lee Maracle.^[3] The book is a memoir of his tumultuous childhood as the son of a Portuguese immigrant father and an indigenous mother from the Pinaymootang First Nation who was a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, after they moved to the hamlet of Happyland in Severn, Ontario, near Orillia.^[3]

Prior to its publication, excerpts from the manuscript won the Indigenous Voices Award for unpublished English prose in 2020.^[4] The book was published in 2022 by Penguin Random House Canada.^[3] It was named as one of the best Canadian non-fiction books of the year by CBC Books,^[5] and The Globe and Mail,^[6] was named to the initial longlist for the 2023 edition of Canada Reads^[7] and the 2023 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour,^[8] and was a finalist for the 2023 Edna Staebler Award.^[9]

In 2023 he served as writer-in-residence for the Whistler Writers Festival.^[10]

Notes and References

1. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/full-episode-june-4-2022-1.6475362/cody-caetano-s-memoir-explores-a-tangled-family-history-1.6475453 "Cody Caetano's memoir explores a tangled family history"
2. Cassandra Drudi, "Cody Caetano, Emily Riddle, Matthew James Weigel among 2023 IVAs recipients". Quill & Quire, June 21, 2023.
3. https://www.cbc.ca/books/half-bads-in-white-regalia-by-cody-caetano-1.6476296 "Half-Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano"
4. http://open-book.ca/News/Winners-Announced-for-2020-Indigenous-Voices-Awards "Winners Announced for 2020 Indigenous Voices Awards"
5. https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-best-canadian-nonfiction-of-2022-1.6681565 "The best Canadian nonfiction of 2022"
6. "The Globe 100: The best books of 2022: From fiction to thrillers to graphic novels and biographies, these are the year’s must-read titles". The Globe and Mail, December 2, 2022.
7. https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/15-books-make-canada-reads-2023-longlist-1.6707758 "15 books make Canada Reads 2023 longlist"
8. Bob Armstrong, "Leacock prize finalists bring laughs aplenty". Winnipeg Free Press, July 8, 2023.
9. https://quillandquire.com/omni/edna-staebler-award-for-creative-non-fiction-2023-shortlist-announced/ "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction 2023 shortlist announced"
10. David Song, "Cody Caetano named Writer in Residence for 2023 Whistler Writers’ Festival". Pique Newsmagazine, August 18, 2023.