Giller Prize Spotlight: Conor Kerr
October 7, 2024
Conor Kerr’s novel, Prairie Edge, has been longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
Conor Kerr is a Métis/Ukrainian writer living in Edmonton. A member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, he is descended from the Lac Ste. Anne Métis and the Papaschase Cree Nation. His Ukrainian family are settlers in Treaty 4 and 6 territories in Saskatchewan. He grew up in Saskatoon, Edmonton, and other prairie towns and cities. In 2022, he was named one of CBC’s Writers to Watch. He is the author of the poetry collections An Explosion of Feathers and Old Gods, as well as the novel Avenue of Champions, which was shortlisted for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, longlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and won the 2022 ReLIT award. Conor is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta, where he teaches creative writing.
What inspired you to write Prairie Edge?
Bison, baby. Taking back the prairie. Returning it to traditional governance structures.
What do you hope readers take away from Prairie Edge?
That people will realize their own hypocrisy when it comes to their virtue signaling and start thinking of ways that they can make a real impact on ending this whole thing called capitalism and the problems that are associated with it.
Where is your favourite place to write and what is your process?
I don’t have a favourite place. I write well in cafes/pubs, I write well on airplanes, I write well in hotels…Actually probably most places that aren’t home. I can write there, but I find I get distracted by dogs, books I want to read and cleaning everything like the OCD asshole I am. I wouldn’t say I have a formal process. I get inspired, get into it, crank out a whole bunch of words fueled by goose jerky and caffeine. I do tend to write better in the mornings I will say that. But my next book I wrote entirely at night after I finished teaching and I’d have this wild adrenaline surge ripping through me.
Is there an activity you do to help inspire writing?
Bird hunting and dog training. It’s the only thing that gives me some semblance of joy anymore and I’ll take that. Also, you can learn a lot from the the repetition of dog training and ingraining concepts. You aren’t going to do well with your writing if you can’t build in the repetition and consistency that’s necessary to create good work.
What’s a book you recommend others read and why?
I have too many book recommendations these days. I don’t know if it’s just me but there are so many great books getting published. Martyr! By Kehav sticks out. So does Banal Nightmares by Halle Butler. I’m excited for Intermezzo, and I really enjoyed Hijab Blues. I try and read everything. Joys of my life is that I’ll crush a book every day, two days, especially now when the sun starts setting a bit earlier and I’ve got nothing but time to kill when it gets dark.