We’re proud to announce that our client Sonja Larsen has made the shortlist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, for her memoir, Red Star Tattoo: My Life As a Girl Revolutionary. The book was published by Random House Canada.

This annual prize recognizes the best in Canadian non-fiction. Finalists each receive $5,000, and the winner receives $60,000. The winner will be announced at a gala on November 2, 2016.

Red Star Tattoo is Sonja Larsen’s unforgettable memoir of a young life spent on the move, from hardscrabble Milwaukee to dreamy Hawaii, from turbulent Montreal to free-spirited California. By the age of 16, Sonja joins a cult-like communist organization in Brooklyn — unaware of the dark nature of what awaits her.

Praise for Red Star Tattoo:

“The amount of freedom Larsen experienced as a child is truly mind-blowing. …I picked up the book in an afternoon and—each page turned in steady anticipation—did not put it down until I was finished.” —Globe and Mail

“An eloquent, stranger-than-fiction memoir … thoughtful and poignant.” —Toronto Star

“A triumphant affirmation of the storyteller’s art.” —National Post

“An insightful and moving memoir.” —Vancouver Sun

You can read more about the award here.