TORONTO — Angelique Lalonde, Rachel Rose and Cedar Bowers — three writers with ties to Â91Ô´´ Island — are in the running for this year’s ÂScotiabank Giller Prize, the country’s top literary honour.
Lalonde, a University of Victoria graduate, Rose, who was raised on Hornby Island, and Bowers, who splits her time between Victoria and Galiano Island, are among the familiar names and new nominees on this year’s long list. The results were announced Wednesday by last year’s Giller winner, Souvankham Thammavongsa. The Giller Prize short list will be revealed Oct. 5, and the winner will be named at a televised ceremony on Nov. 8.
Miriam Toews and Kim Thúy, who each received their third Giller nods, are among the female authors dominating this year’s long list. Women made up 10 of the dozen writers in the running for the $100,000 literary honour. Katherena Vermette, Casey Plett and Jordan Tannahill are among the dynamic wordsmiths being recognized by the prize for the first time.
Bowers was nominated for her first novel, Astra, while Lalonde drew a nod for her story collection, Glorious Frazzled Beings. Rose is in the running for her story collection The Octopus Has Three Hearts.
Organizers say the 12 titles were chosen from 132 books submitted by publishers across Canada. Sitting on this year’s jury are 91Ô´´ authors Zalika Reid-Benta, Megan Gail Coles and Joshua Whitehead, as well as Malaysian novelist Tash Aw and U.S. author Joshua Ferris.
The Giller is awarded Âannually to the author of the best 91Ô´´ novel, graphic novel or short story collection published in English. Each finalist receives $10,000.
For translated works, 70 per cent of the prize goes to the author, and 30 per cent to the translator.
The Giller was established by Jack Rabinovitch in 1994 in memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller. — with files from Mike Devlin
Scotiabank Giller Prize 2021 long list
• Cedar Bowers for her novel Astra, published by McClelland & Stewart
• Omar El Akkad for his novel, What Strange Paradise, published by McClelland & Stewart
• Angelique Lalonde for her story collection, Glorious Frazzled Beings, published by House of Anansi
• Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onubia for her novel The Son of The House, published by Dundurn Press
• Casey Plett for her story collection, A Dream of a Woman, published by Arsenal Pulp Press
• Rachel Rose for her collection The Octopus Has Three Hearts, published by Douglas & McIntyre
• Linda Rui Feng for her novel Swimming Back to Trout River, published by Simon & Schuster
• Jordan Tannahill for his novel The Listeners, published by HarperCollins Canada
• Kim Thuy for her novel, Em, published by Random House Canada
• Miriam Toews for her novel Fight Night, published by Knopf Canada
• Katherena Vermette for her novel The Strangers, published by Hamish Hamilton Canada
• Aimee Wall for her novel We, Jane, published by Book*hug Press
