A Chilliwack author has won an international award for her non-fiction book about losing tens of thousands of dollars in an alleged fraud.
Glenda Toews won silver in the ‘overall grand prize non-fiction’ category of the 2023-2024 Reader Views Literary Awards — a program for independent authors — for her book Spinning on a Barstool.
She said she was “humbled” when she heard she won.
“I’m a waitress in a pub who lives in a fifth wheel in the forest, who didn’t complete Grade 10, and who wrote one paragraph a day into a book with one desire: that the story would help people,” she told The Chilliwack Progress in an email on March 7. “Today I’m an award-winning Canadian author. It’s astonishing! I’m astounded, humbled, exceedingly grateful and getting a little sweaty from doing my happy dance.”
Spinning on a Barstool is a true story about Toews, who works at Corky’s Irish Pub, meeting the ‘wealthiest’ man in the world.
“At the end of the day, it was a huge scam,” she said in an interview, after her book was released in 2023.
Spinning on a Barstool is all about the con man’s stories and Toews’ ups and downs of investing and then waiting for money to come in.
“With Spinning on a Barstool, Toews has created a captivating and thought-provoking work that delves into the complexities of relationships,” Paige Lovitt with Reader Views stated in a press release. “Through her amazing writing, she introduces us to customers who live in this rural area. This aspect gives it a heartwarming feeling. Toews uses attention to detail to describe the physical characteristics of where she lives, providing such a beautiful description of her troubled property, I felt like I was there falling in love with the place as well.”
In addition to the silver award, Toews will receive a $350 cash prize and special marketing promotions.
Toews’ story was featured in The Chilliwack Progress earlier this year.
She will be at the Chilliwack Library on May 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
READ MORE: A Chilliwack waitress’s life-changing encounter with ‘wealthy’ con artist
People can purchase Spinning on a Barstool by Glenda Toews for about $24 at various locations online. For more info, go to glendatoews.com or email info@glendatoews.com.
Reader Views is a book review and author publicity service for independent authors. It is based in Texas and has volunteer reviewers throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.