Wayde Compton, director of Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio and an accomplished Vancouver author, is shortlisted for a national writing award.
The Instrument, a short story by Compton, is one of seven best fiction nominees for the 35th annual National Magazine Awards, which take place June 7 in Toronto. It tells the story of a young man coming to terms with his family’s history as he creates a documentary about his father, a failed musician.
Compton joined SFU Continuing Studies as director of the Writer’s Studio in January 2012, and holds both undergraduate and master’s degrees in English from the university.
“I love the process of watching manuscripts go from a really early form, sometimes ideas, to something that people can respond to,” says Compton.
A co-founding member of the Hogan’s Alley Memorial Project, Compton’s books include After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing, and Region, Performance Bond, Bluesprint: Black British Columbian Literature and Orature and 49th Parallel Psalm.
“Books get away from you. They take on a life of their own. They become part of the people who read them. That’s what we do at The Writer’s Studio,” says Compton. “We’re putting books into the world that change the world. It’s the most exciting lab for creating work that I’ve ever seen.”
