2025 Canadian Emerging Writer Award - Finalist
I was sitting in the boarding area at La Guardia airport last week when I got a message telling me I was a finalist for a national writing award in Canada.
As with a lot of things that have happened in my author career, I thought it was a mistake. My debut novel was released in 2022 in my home country, and I haven’t released anything since.
On top of that, it said I’d been shortlisted in the ‘Romance’ category, which isn’t the first thing I think of when I think of The Circus Train.
Turns out it wasn’t an error, and my name was meant to be there. So today, I am humbled to share I’m one of 18 writers from across Canada who was shortlisted for Rakuten Kobo’s 2025 Emerging Writer Award.
While I don’t write in the hopes of winning awards, it is humbling to be nominated for this one. Most book awards focus on literary fiction or non-fiction. Despite genre fiction (romance, crime and fantasy) driving the bulk of profits in this industry, most awards don’t take these categories into account.
At the same time, I recognize how lucky I am to be in this position. Writing is something that very, very few people can afford to do (the only reason I can afford to write is because I’ve always worked full-time in another field. I still do, to this very day). There is so much more to this story that I can’t get into here but I will in a later post.
Canadian Pride
I’m very proud to be a finalist for a national award in Canada. We’re living in a time when national pride is the highest it has been in decades. I was born and raised in Canada and am a proud graduate of the Toronto public school and Canadian university systems.
I’m also really proud to be the only South Asian finalist. It’s rare to see people of colour on lists like this. It’s even rarer for us to write about things that aren’t related to our culture or race. I’m proud to be breaking that stereotype.
Many readers will never see the countless people who work so hard behind the scenes to help authors. Even though it is my name on the cover, it took a village to get there. My agent, Thérèse, was the first champion of this book. I am also grateful for my Canadian publisher, HarperCollins Canada, who took a chance on me. Special thanks to my editors Iris and Julia.
Thanks to everyone who worked on the novel in some capacity, big or small, and to all my fellow authors who know exactly what it’s like to live this somewhat unorthodox life, and have done so much to spread the word about my work. And of course, a big thank you to my family and friends.
The Canadian history behind The Circus Train
Unlike many of the books on the shortlist, my novel is not set in Canada. But there are so many parts of my debut that are rooted in, or inspired by my home country.
Here are some of the fun Easter eggs (I’ve listed the spoilers, so if you haven’t read it yet, ignore those ones).
I love sports and always name at least one character in my books after a Canadian athlete. The characters Alexandre and Clara are named after the diver Alexandre Despatie and the speed skater/cyclist Clara Hughes.
There’s a scene that I set at the Piscine Molitor. One of my favourite books is Life Of Pi, by Canadian author Yann Martel. The main character in that novel, Pi ‘Piscine’ Patel, is named after this pool. So I put it in my book.
(SPOILER): At the end of the novel there is a scene where Dr. Wilfred C. Bigelow is referenced. Dr. Bigelow was a Canadian physician and pioneer of open heart surgery. He introduced the concept of hypothermia that made open heart surgery possible, co-developed the electronic pacemaker, and was instrumental in developing the cardiac surgery training program in our country.
What makes this point even better is that two readers emailed me after reading my book - turns out they were both nurses on Dr. Bigelow’s team! They’re both retired, one of them is still in Canada and the other one moved to Australia. How amazing that my book found it’s way to a Canadian living Down Under.(MAJOR SPOILER): I have a whole unpublished section where Lena lives in Canada, first in Montreal and then in Toronto. In one variation, she has a little home on the Danforth and goes down to Eaton’s and wanders around the Annex. In another, she lives in Annesley Hall at Victoria University (where I studied, but not where I lived). Annesley Hall is where the first woman graduated from medical school, so it was only appropriate. In yet another version, Lena is engaged and she’s preparing for her wedding at the Arcadian Court. There’s an entire scene where she’s at the St. Regis Room at the flagship Hudson’s Bay, which opened in 1937.
I wrote so much of this novel at branches of the Toronto Public Library. I also wrote a lot of it at the Second Cup, which is a Canadian coffee shop chain. They kept me caffeinated while I plowed through endless revisions. Thank you TPL and TSC!
Anyways, those are some of the fun bits about how Canadian this book is.
2025 Canada Emerging Writer Award Shortlist
Here is the list of all the finalists - please check out their work and support Canadian authors. If you can’t buy their books, we have a fabulous network of library systems across the country that you can borrow from.
Congratulations to all my fellow nominees!
Non-fiction:
Literary fiction:
Romance: