The Reign

Longlisted, Raymond Souster Award

In this utterly unique modern fairy tale, Shane Neilson steps clairvoyantly into Enniskillen, an expropriated New Brunswick community abandoned just before it became part of a military base. Intellectually disabled and left behind, the story’s protagonist, Willard, fades into the land and into love with Casey ― a tyrannical industrialist who is also a magnificent whitetail buck.

The Reign is the swirling, ever-shifting story of a land that endures industrialism and a love that refuses subordination. From lyrics to prose, images to echolalia, this unforgettable myth drifts effortlessly through a wide range of forms and registers to deliver a breathtaking, unparalleled tale.

Shane Neilson (mad/autistic) is a poet born in New Brunswick whose work is inspired by rural land lapped by the Saint John River. He is the author of more than a dozen volumes of poetry and prose, including You May Not Take the Sad and Angry Consolations (icehouse poetry, 2022). Amongst a long list of accolades, Shane's work has been awarded the Hamilton Book Prize and the Miramichi Reader Book of the Year. He has also been nominated for the Trillium Poetry Prize. His poetry has appeared widely in international publications such as POETRY (US), Prairie Schooner (US), and Magma (UK). In 2025, he is serving as a judge for the Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine.