“Writer Howard Engel, who has serialized soft-boiled Jewish-Canadian gumshoe Benny Cooperman in 10 mystery novels, took home the top prize last night when [Canada’s] Writers Trust handed out its annual awards… The white-haired author, 74, won the $20,000 Matt Cohen award ‘in celebration of the writing life’ for the body of his work, though the judges’ citation made it clear the prize was also given for the gallant way Engel has faced a difficult personal situation. A widower raising a teenage son, he suffered a stroke four years ago in the occipital lobe of his brain that deprived him of the ability to read, though he is still able to write.”