I’m delighted that my short story Bonfire was a finalist in the 2012 Random House of Canada Student Award in Writing. In Bonfire, a newlywed comes to terms with her husband’s homosexual past even as bloody race riots erupt around them in their native Colombo.

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Last year, my short story, Nimbu Pani was a winner of the 2011 Random House of Canada Student Award in Writing. Nimbu Pani, set in India, is the story of a lonely woman who re-engages in her own life when a delightful English girl moves in next door. To read this story, click here [http://learn.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/UofT_2011_chapbook_5p.pdf]

The Judges’ Comments:

Nimbu Pani takes us to India, dropping us inside a complex, formal, and childless marriage. When an easy-going family from England moves in next door, Mrs. Marathe develops an attachment to their small girl. Through this surprising friendship, we learn how and why the Marathe’s marriage has grown into such a roundly unsatisfying arrangement. The colours, tastes and dangers of the setting all play into the story effortlessly–there are no wasted parts here, no excess. Morris leaves the readers with an emotional connection to the characters and their story that is earned through inference, implication, and repetition. Anita Morris is a name I should expect to see again and again.