Sharon Bala was born in Dubai, raised in Ontario, and now calls St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador home. Bala established a name for herself as an award winning writer of short stories prior to the release of her first novel in January 2018. Her story, “Butter Tea at Starbucks” was first published in the literary journal The New Quarterly, went on to win the 29th edition of the Writer’s Trust / McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize in 2017. The story is included in the Journey Prize Anthology for 2017. Another story, “Reading Week,” first published in PRISM International was longlisted for the same 2017 Journey Prize and also appears in the anthology. Bala’s undergraduate degree in psychology and history is from Queen’s University and she holds an MA in history from the University of Toronto.
Fiction
The Boat People
Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2018.
PS8603 .A49 B63 2018
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
When the rusty cargo ship carrying Mahindan and five hundred fellow refugees reaches the shores of British Columbia, the young father is overcome with relief: he and his six-year-old son can finally put Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war behind them and begin new lives. Instead, the group is thrown into prison, with government officials and news headlines speculating that hidden among the “boat people” are members of a terrorist militia. As suspicion swirls and interrogation mounts, Mahindan fears the desperate actions he took to survive and escape Sri Lanka now jeopardize his and his son’s chances for asylum.
Awards and Honours
2018 CBC Canada Reads 2018 (Finalist)
2018 Amazon Canada First Novel Award (Shortlist)
Fiction
Good Guys
Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2026.
forthcoming Jan. 2026
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Claire Talbot is the publicist at Children of the World, an international aid charity. Morally burnt out after decades working in reputation management, Claire is relieved to finally use her PR skills for good. Too bad the organization is on the verge of bankruptcy. In a last-ditch effort to keep them afloat, Claire arranges for an A-list actress to volunteer at one of their overseas orphanages. When the actress decides to adopt a baby and promises a massive donation, it seems as if Claire has single-handedly saved the day. But after a journalist digs into their operations and reveals a shocking crime, Claire and her colleagues must reckon with their complicity and all the ways their work abroad has harmed the very people they set out to save.
Moving between Children of the World’s headquarters in Toronto and their compound in Central America, Good Guys charts the charity’s rise and fall. Scathing yet compassionate, the novel is a thought-provoking exploration of power, philanthropy, and the lengths we go to for redemption. Emotionally engrossing, tightly paced, and sharply observed, it ultimately asks: Is it possible to do good in an imperfect world?
Anthology (Short story)
Racket: New Writing Made in Newfoundland
Bala, Sharon. “A Drawer Full of Guggums.” In Racket: New Writing Made in Newfoundland, edited by Lisa Moore. St. John’s: Breakwater, 2015. 145-173.
Links
Sharon Bala personal website
Publisher Penguin Random House Canada (publisher of the McClelland & Stewart imprint)
Reading Guide to The Boat People from Penguin Random House Canada