'Cassandra to the Sea' published in Prairie Fire

We at Tyler's publicity team had a pleasant surprise the other day, when a copy of the latest edition of Prairie Fire was delivered to our office.  It features work from a wide range of Canadian and international authors, including Warren Cariou, Beatrice Mosionier, and Garry Thomas Morse.  Tyler's contribution is his short story, 'Cassandra to the Sea', which was previously nominated for the London Short Story Prize.  The story focuses on a brother and his famous sister, who have retreated to an obscure Greek island in order to deal with her illness.  Themes of family, love, loyalty, and mortality are prominent (hey - it's a Tyler Keevil story), and it all plays out in an appropriately (given the setting) tragi-comic fashion.  You can find out more about Prairie Fire on their website, and pick up a copy of the issue (or a subscription) via their store.

Author's Talk at West Vancouver Secondary School

As part of his recent North American tour, which took in parts of the West Coast and Missouri, Tyler had the privilege of doing a guest talk at West Vancouver Secondary School, with students from grades 10-12.  This represented something of a homecoming for Tyler, who grew up on the North Shore.  Excitingly, his debut coming-of-age novel, Fireball, is now being taught as part of the English 12 curriculum at West Van.  The novel is set largely on the North Shore, and has had particular resonance and impact there: the students in attendance were perceptive, engaged, and had some incredibly astute observations to make about the text.  Tyler has actually told us at his publicity team that it 'was one of the best events I've ever been part of', and full credit is due to the students for that, as well as their teacher and event host, Matthew Muselius.  Here's hoping these drop-in talks will become something of a tradition!

Tyler with West Vancouver English teacher and fellow Cove kid Matthew Muselius

The Missouri Review Editors' Prize Award Ceremony

Last weekend, Tyler flew out to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the award ceremony for The Missouri Review Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize.  His won the non-fiction prize for his piece, 'Swarf'; also in attendance were poetry winner Karen Scholfield and fiction winner Jason Brown.  We at his publicity team were left behind (why does this always happen to us?!) but by all accounts the event was a wonderful celebration of literature, and one of the flagship periodicals in the world.  In interview, Tyler recently reflected on his time abroad:

'It was a tremendous experience, from start to finish.  The Missouri Review team were brilliant hosts, and made us winners feel welcome from the moment we touched down in St. Louis.  It meant we all got to know each other in advance of the big night.  The town is great, and interestingly enough it represented a kind of ancestral homecoming for me: just before I flew out my grandmother told me her side of our family hailed from Mexico, Missouri - a short drive down the highway from Columbia.  So it felt like a bit of serendipity (or synchronicity?) was at play as well.'

Tyler's piece appears alongside the work of fellow winners in the current issue of The Missouri Review, which launched on the night.  Copies are available to order from their website, as well as T-shirts, subscriptions, and more - so have a browse and support them!