Doctor Wins Literary Prize

Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times
November 9, 2006

incent Lam, an emergency room doctor in Toronto, has won one of Canada’s top literary awards for his book of short stories, The Associated Press reported. "I am astounded and in many ways overcome," said Dr. Lam, 32, right, as he accepted the Scotiabank Giller Prize for "Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures" (Doubleday Canada), a dozen connected stories about young medical school students and doctors in Toronto. Previous winners of the prize, worth about $35,000, include Margaret Atwood, Mordecai Richler and Alice Munro. Dr. Lam said he had no plans to abandon his medical career for writing. "I thoroughly enjoy writing and I thoroughly enjoy being a physician and I’m proud to do both," he said, "and my intention is to continue to do both."

© New York Times 2006