Sharon Bala

{{Short description|Canadian writer (born 1979)}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Sharon Bala

| image = Sharon Bala - EMWF 2018 - DanH-0274 (cropped).jpg

| alt = Sharon Bala at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in 2018

| caption = Bala at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in 2018

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| birth_place = Dubai, UAE

| occupation = Writer

| language = English

| nationality = Canadian

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| alma_mater = {{ubl|Queen's University|University of Toronto}}

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| notableworks =

| influences =

| awards = Journey Prize (2017)

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| website = {{url|https://www.sharonbala.com}}

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Sharon Bala (born April 3, 1979) is a Canadian writer residing in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.{{cite web| title=Story is a Partnership: Interview with Sharon Bala|url=http://prismmagazine.ca/2015/12/18/story-is-a-partnership-an-interview-with-sharon-bala/|publisher=Prism International|date=December 18, 2015|access-date=January 30, 2018}}

Her debut novel, The Boat People, won the 2015 Percy Janes First Novel Award for unpublished manuscripts.[http://www.thetelegram.com/living/None/author-sharon-bala-launches-first-novel-the-boat-people-in-st-johns-thursday-night-177763/ "Author Sharon Bala launches first novel "The Boat People" in St. John's Thursday night"]. The Telegram, January 16, 2018. It was later published by McClelland and Stewart and Doubleday in January 2018.{{cite web | title=How Pier 21 in Halifax helped inspire Sharon Bala to write 'The Boat People' | publisher=CTV News | date=March 7, 2017 | access-date=January 30, 2018 | url=http://www.ctv.ca/YourMorning/Video/How-Pier-21-in-Halifax-helped-inspire-Sharon-Bala-to-write-The-Boat-People--vid1300452| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406101719/https://www.ctv.ca/YourMorning/Video/How-Pier-21-in-Halifax-helped-inspire-Sharon-Bala-to-write-The-Boat-People--vid1300452| url-status=dead| archive-date=April 6, 2018}} The book was internationally publicized as part of Penguin Random House's One World, One Book campaign.{{cite web | title= Sharon Bala's debut novel, The Boat People, selected for PRH's international One World, One Book campaign |url= https://quillandquire.com/book-news/2017/12/13/sharon-balas-debut-novel-the-boat-people-selected-for-prhs-international-one-world-one-book-campaign/|work=Quill & Quire|date=December 13, 2017 }}

The book was selected for the 2018 edition of Canada Reads, where it was defended by Mozhdah Jamalzadah.[http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2018-contenders-1.4505780 "Meet the Canada Reads 2018 contenders"]. CBC Books, January 30, 2018. It won the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, was a finalist for the 2018 amazon.ca First Novel Award,[http://www.cbc.ca/books/sharon-bala-omar-el-akkad-among-finalists-for-40k-amazon-ca-first-novel-award-1.4638167 "Sharon Bala, Omar El Akkad among finalists for $40K Amazon.ca First Novel Award"]. CBC Books, April 28, 2018. and was shortlisted for the 2015 Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers{{cite magazine|title=Eva Crocker, Sharon Bala, and Susie Taylor Shortlisted for the $5,000 Fresh Fish Award|url=https://theovercast.ca/eva-crocker-sharon-bala-and-susie-taylor-shortlisted-for-the-5000-fresh-fish-award/|magazine=The Overcast|date=October 9, 2015|access-date=January 30, 2018}} and the 2019 Thomas Head Raddall Award.{{ cite web | title= St. John's women all up for lucrative Atlantic fiction award|url=https://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/st-johns-women-all-up-for-lucrative-atlantic-fiction-award-31821/|newspaper=The Telegram|date=June 4, 2019}}

Bala was the winner of the 2017 Journey Prize for her short story "Butter Tea at Starbucks",{{cite news|title=Hilary Weston Writers' Trust award winners announced at Toronto gala|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/writers-trust-award-winners-announced-at-toronto-gala/article36982441/|date=November 14, 2017|access-date=January 30, 2018}} and was longlisted for the 2017 National Magazine Award for fiction for her short story "Miloslav".{{cite web|title=National Magazine Awards: Fiction|date=13 March 2017 |url=https://nma40nominees.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/fiction-fiction/}} Her short fiction has appeared in Hazlitt, Grain, The Dalhousie Review, Riddle Fence, Room, Prism International, Maisonneuve, Joyland, The New Quarterly, and in an anthology called Racket: New Writing From Newfoundland.{{cite web|title=Lisa Moore writing students create Racket|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/writing-group-book-racket-published-lisa-moore-breakwater-books-1.3277856|publisher=CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador|date=October 20, 2015|access-date=January 30, 2018}}