Janika Oza Explained

Janika Oza is a Canadian novelist. Her debut novel, A History of Burning, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2023 Governor General's Awards, the 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction,[1] and the 2024 Amazon.ca First Novel Award.[2]

Her short story "Fish Stories" won the 2022 O. Henry Award.

Biography

In a piece for Toronto Star discussing her ancestry, Oza explained that her "great-grandparents left British-ruled India for British-ruled East Africa in the early 1900s, where three generations of my family settled, first in Kenya and then in Uganda, until they were exiled in 1972 under the dictator Idi Amin’s decree to expel all Asians from the country." She was the first person in her family to be born in Canada. She further explained that this ancestry helped her explore the questions raised in A History of Burning.[3]

Oza was a school settlement worker.[4]

Awards and honours

Awards for Oza's writing!Year!Title!Award!Result!Ref.
2019ExileMalahat Review Open Season AwardWinner[5]
2019The Gift of ChoiceCBC Short Story PrizeLonglist[6]
2020Kenyon Review Short Fiction AwardWinner
2022"Fish Stories"O. Henry AwardWinner
2023A History of BurningGovernor General's Award for English-language fictionShortlist[7] [8]

Works

Notes and References

  1. https://carolshieldsprizeforfiction.com/prizenews/2024shortlist
  2. Cassandra Drudi, "2024 Amazon First Novel Award shortlist revealed". Quill & Quire, May 9, 2024.
  3. Web site: Oza . Janika . 2023-06-10 . What does the question 'Where Are You From?' mean when you've always lived here? . 2023-11-01 . . en . 2023-11-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101062146/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/what-does-the-question-where-are-you-from-mean-when-you-ve-always-lived-here/article_a135fed0-3f00-553e-bab7-ff101c67c414.html . live .
  4. Web site: Gillingham . Jamie . 25 August 2023 . New Canadian Writers: Janika Oza . 2023-10-21 . The Cardiff Review . en-US . 2023-08-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230831203319/https://www.cardiffreview.com/post/2023/08/25/new-canadian-writers-janika-oza/ . live .
  5. Web site: Raymundo . Bridget . 2023-09-01 . Janika Oza's new novel is about how 1 act of rebellion changes a family for generations . 2023-11-01 . . 2023-09-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230923164253/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/janika-oza-s-new-novel-is-about-how-1-act-of-rebellion-changes-a-family-for-generations-1.6953989 . live .
  6. Web site: Codrington . Dionne . 2019-04-17 . 31 writers make the 2019 CBC Short Story Prize longlist . 2023-11-01 . . 2023-07-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230707202547/https://www.cbc.ca/books/literaryprizes/31-writers-make-the-2019-cbc-short-story-prize-longlist-1.5071124 . live .
  7. Web site: 2023-10-25 . Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for Governor General's Literary Awards . 2023-11-01 . . en . 2023-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231029223431/https://www.burnabynow.com/the-mix/suzette-mayr-iain-reid-among-finalists-for-governor-generals-literary-awards-7732654 . live .
  8. Web site: Drudi . Cassandra . 2023-10-25 . Suzette Mayr, Robert Bringhurst, Kim Spencer among 2023 Governor General's Literary Awards finalists . 2023-11-01 . . en . 2023-11-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101062148/https://quillandquire.com/omni/suzette-mayr-robert-bringhurst-kim-spencer-among-2023-governor-generals-literary-awards-finalists/ . live .
  9. Web site: S. Kirk Walsh . April 28, 2023 . An Exiled Family Rises From the Ashes . November 1, 2023 . . May 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230514101922/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/28/books/review/a-history-of-burning-janika-oza.html . live .

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