Novice novelist Gurjinder Basran never intended to write Everything Was Good-bye (Mother Tongue $21.95), winner of the inaugural Search for the Great BC Novel Contest organized by publisher Mona Fertig.

"I was journaling about my own youth,"; Basran says, "and after some time my experiences disappeared into fiction and ultimately turned into the novel. Now I can say, yes, I did know I had to write it, because I was unable to abandon it.";

Six years in the making, Everything Was Good-bye is the story of a young Indo Canadian woman, Meena, who struggles to assert her independence within the Punjabi community of the Lower Mainland.

Raised by her tradition-bound widowed mother, Meena is reluctant to submit to a life that is defined by a suitable marriage. She knows she will not be as carefree as her non-Punjabi peers, but she does not want to be as restricted as her sisters.

"The novel touches on a lot of controversial subjects,"; she says, "but the controversies come out of the narrative, not the other way around. I think it's a subtle but important distinction.

"It was never my intent to make statements about the Punjabi community or to have this narrative be representative of the community.";

Novelists Karen X Tulchinsky and Kathy Page short-listed manuscripts by Basran, Gillean Chase, DC Reid, Kuya Minogue and Gillian Wigmore from 64 entries. The final selection was made by novelist Jack Hodgins.

Gurjinder Basran credits the SFU Writer's Studio, from which she graduated in 2006, as a formative influence. "I don't think I could have written this novel or sustained my writing,"; she says, "had I not been part of such an amazing community of writers who were so gracious with their time and feedback.";

She lives in Delta with her husband and two sons.

ISBN: 978-1-896949-07-9