Kasia Van Schaik's "We Have Never Lived On Earth" longlisted for the 2023 Giller Prize

Recent PhD alumnus Kasia Van Schaik's debut story collection, We Have Never Lived On Earth, has been longlisted for one of Canada's most prestigious literary awards, the Scotiabank Giller Prize. 

Said to "shimmer and compel like half-remembered dreams," these interwoven short stories follow the journey of Charlotte Ferrier, a child of divorce raised by a single mother in small-town British Columbia after emigrating from South Africa. The collection, also shortlisted for the Concordia University First Book Prize, "traverse[s] the most intimate and transforming moments of female experience in a world threatened by ecological crisis" (University of Alberta Press). In being named, Kasia joins a list of 12 Canadian authors recognized for their outstanding literary merits. The shortlist will be announced on Oct. 11.