Wilfrid Laurier University has named author Brett Popplewell the winner of its 2024 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for his book Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past. The $10,000 prize recognizes Canadian writers for a first or second book that is written in the genre of creative non-fiction and includes a Canadian locale or significance.
Brett Popplewell (Photo by Jenn Lawrence)
In his book, published by HarperCollins Canada, Popplewell recounts the life of Dag Aabye, the world's first extreme skier. When they first met in 2015, the 74-year-old lived in a rusting school bus deep in the Okanagan forest and ran some three hours a day through the mountainous terrain to maintain his status as one of the oldest living ultramarathon runners. As Popplewell learned, part of what propelled Dag on his unusual path was the mystery of his childhood, when he was abandoned and then adopted as a young child in Nazi-occupied Norway.
"This is a fascinating story of endurance, both physical and mental," said Bruce Gillespie, an award juror and associate professor in the User Experience Design program at Laurier's Brantford campus. "Popplewell shows us how Dag pushes his body to its limits from a young age while also trying to understand how and why the mystery of his parentage pushes him to such extremes and the effects of living with such doubt over the course of a lifetime. It's a book that's hard to put down once you start to read it and delivers a deeply satisfying conclusion."
Other jurors for the 2024 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction were Sharon Brown, former librarian at Laurier, and Harry Froklage, former associate director, development, in the Faculty of Arts.
"I am very grateful to be recognized for this award. It was a privilege just to see my book nominated alongside the works of other writers whom I admire," said Popplewell. "Now to learn that Outsider is joining the list of other books to win the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction it's an absolute honour."
"Outsider is a rich and compelling character study of a truly singular person that reads like a cross between a mystery and an adventure story," said Gavin Brockett, vice-dean of the Faculty of Arts. "This story about an unforgettable man will linger in your mind long after you finish reading it."
An award ceremony and reception honouring Popplewell will be held on April 3, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. in the Lodge Administration Building (45 Lodge St.) on Laurier's Waterloo campus.
Established and endowed by the late writer and award-winning journalist Edna Staebler in 1991, the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction is administered by Laurier and is the oldest national literary award bestowed by a university in Canada.
Learn more about the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
