The Amazon Canada First Novel Award, formerly the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a Canadian literary award, co-presented by Amazon.ca and The Walrus to the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident of Canada. [1] It has been awarded since 1976. [1]
The First Novel Award was founded by the literary magazine Books in Canada . [1] Between 1976 and 1994, the award was sponsored by SmithBooks. During this period, the award was known as the SmithBooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award. [1] When SmithBooks was acquired by Chapters, it became the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award. [1]
The award was reorganized when Books in Canada was acquired by Adrian and Olga Stein in 1995. The Steins retained a first novel editor, introduced a comprehensive first novel review program, and formalized the adjudication process.
Amazon first signed on as a sponsor of the award in 2001, [2] with the award presented as the amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award through the 2000s. Full administration of the award was taken over by Amazon in 2009 and its name was changed to the Amazon.ca First Novel Award. The Amazon.com arrangement saw the prize award initially doubled to $10,000, and then increased to its current amount of $40,000, with shortlisted finalists each receiving over $6,000.
At different times in its history, the award has been presented early in the year for works published in the preceding year, late in the year for works published in the same year as the presentation, or mid-year for an eligibility period that straddled parts of both years. For clarity, the list below is organized by the year of presentation rather than the year of publication eligibility.
Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Ian McLachlan | The Seventh Hexagram | Winner | [3] |
Michael Ondaatje | Coming Through Slaughter | |||
Alice Boissoneau | Eileen McCullough | Finalist | [4] | |
David Kellum | The Falling World of Tristram Pocket | |||
Susan Kerslake | Middlewatch | |||
Sharon Riis | The True Story of Ida Johnson | |||
Carol Shields | Small Ceremonies | |||
Mary Soderstrom | The Descent of Andrew McPherson | |||
1978 | Oonah McFee | Sandbars | Winner | [5] |
Shane Dennison | Sidehill Gouger | Finalist | [6] | |
Pauline Gedge | Child of the Morning | |||
Jack Hodgins | The Invention of the World | |||
M. T. Kelly | I Do Remember the Fall | |||
Helen Levi | A Small Informal Dance | |||
Morley Torgov | The Abramsky Variations | |||
1979 | Joan Barfoot | Abra | Winner | [1] |
Michael Dorland | The Double-Cross Circuit | Finalist | [7] | |
Clive Doucet | Disneyland, Please | |||
Margaret Drury Gane | Parade on an Empty Street | |||
Kevin Major | Hold Fast | |||
Frank Paci | The Italians |
Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1980 | Clark Blaise | Lunar Attractions | Winner | [8] |
Victoria Branden | Mrs. Job | Finalist | ||
Stan Dragland | Peckertracks | |||
Florence Evans | A Man Without Passion | |||
Shirley Faessler | Everything in the Window | |||
Katherine Govier | Random Descent | |||
Betty Lambert | Crossings | |||
1981 | W. D. Valgardson | Gentle Sinners | Winner | [9] |
Martyn Burke | Laughing War | Finalist | ||
Susan Musgrave | The Charcoal Burners | |||
Graham Petrie | Seahorse | |||
Leon Rooke | Fat Woman | |||
1982 | Joy Kogawa | Obasan | Winner | [10] |
Jim Christy | Streethearts | Finalist | [11] | |
George Jonas | Final Decree | |||
Edward O. Phillips | Sunday's Child | |||
Gary Ross | Always Tip the Dealer | |||
1983 | W. P. Kinsella | Shoeless Joe | Winner | [12] |
Lorris Elliott | Coming for to Carry | Finalist | [13] | |
Geraldine Rahmani | Blue | |||
Nessa Rapoport | Preparing for Sabbath | |||
Ann Rosenberg | The Bee Book | |||
1984 | Heather Robertson | Willie: A Romance | Winner | [8] |
Robert G. Collins | Tolerable Levels of Violence | Finalist | [14] | |
Susan Swan | The Biggest Modern Woman in the World | |||
George Szanto | Not Working | |||
Wayne Tefs | Figures on a Wharf | |||
1985 | Geoffrey Ursell | Perdue, or How the West Was Lost | Winner | [15] |
Sharon Butala | Country of the Heart | Finalist | [16] | |
Douglas Glover | Precious | |||
John Gray | Dazzled | |||
Sara Stambaugh | I Hear the Reaper's Song | |||
Armin Wiebe | The Salvation of Yasch Siemens | |||
1986 | Wayne Johnston | The Story of Bobby O'Malley | Winner | [17] |
Susan Charlotte Haley | A Nest of Singing Birds | Finalist | [18] | |
Ann Ireland | A Certain Mr. Takahashi | |||
Frank Jones | Master and Maid | |||
Robert Walshe | Wales' Work | |||
1987 | Karen Lawrence | The Life of Helen Alone | Winner | [19] |
Marc Diamond | Momentum | Finalist | [20] | |
David Gilmour | Back on Tuesday | |||
Paulette Jiles | The Late Great Human Road Show | |||
Jo Anne Williams Bennett | Downfall People | |||
1988 | Marion Quednau | The Butterfly Chair | Winner | [21] |
D.F. Bailey | Fire Eyes | Finalist | [22] | |
W.D. Barcus | Squatters' Island | |||
Pauline Holdstock | The Blackbird's Song | |||
Seán Virgo | Selakhi | |||
1989 | Rick Salutin | A Man of Little Faith | Winner | [23] |
Neil Bissoondath | A Casual Brutality | Finalist | [24] | |
Joan Clark | The Victory of Geraldine Gull | |||
David Homel | Electrical Storms | |||
Janice Kulyk Keefer | Constellations | |||
Helen Fogwill Porter | January, February, June or July |
Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Jessica Grant | Come, Thou Tortoise | Winner | [64] |
Diana Fitzgerald Bryden | No Place Strange | Finalist | [65] | |
Annabel Lyon | The Golden Mean | |||
Damian Tarnopolsky | Goya's Dog | |||
Dragan Todorović | Diary of Interrupted Days | |||
Ian Weir | Daniel O'Thunder | |||
2011 | Eleanor Catton | The Rehearsal | Winner | [66] |
Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall | Ghosted | Finalist | [67] | |
Miguel Syjuco | Ilustrado | |||
Dianne Warren | Cool Water | |||
Kathleen Winter | Annabel | |||
2012 | David Bezmozgis | The Free World | Winner | [68] |
Fraser Nixon | The Man Who Killed | Finalist | [69] | |
Sina Queyras | Autobiography of Childhood | |||
Olive Senior | Dancing Lessons | |||
Alexi Zentner | Touch | |||
2013 | Anakana Schofield | Malarky | Winner | [70] |
Marjorie Celona | Y | Finalist | [71] | |
Scott Fotheringham | The Rest Is Silence | |||
Pasha Malla | People Park | |||
Kim Thúy | Ru | |||
2014 | Wayne Grady | Emancipation Day | Winner | [72] |
Kenneth Bonert | The Lion Seeker | Finalist | [73] | |
Krista Bridge | The Eliot Girls | |||
Susan Downe | Juanita Wildrose: My True Life | |||
D. W. Wilson | Ballistics | |||
2015 | Alix Hawley | All True Not a Lie in It | Winner | [74] |
Emma Hooper | Etta and Otto and Russell and James | Finalist | [75] | |
Sean Michaels | Us Conductors | |||
Guillaume Morissette | New Tab | |||
Chelsea Rooney | Pedal | |||
2016 | Mona Awad | 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl | Winner | [76] |
Karim Alrawi | Book of Sands | Finalist | [77] | |
Aaron Cully Drake | Do You Think This Is Strange? | |||
W. Mark Giles | Seep | |||
Judith McCormack | Backspring | |||
Elizabeth Philips | The Afterlife of Birds | |||
2017 | Katherena Vermette | The Break | Winner | [78] |
Catherine Cooper | White Elephant | Finalist | [79] | |
Kaie Kellough | Accordéon | |||
Rebecca Rosenblum | So Much Love | |||
Yasuko Thanh | Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains | |||
2018 | Michael Kaan | The Water Beetles | Winner | [80] |
Sharon Bala | The Boat People | Finalist | [81] | |
David Demchuk | The Bone Mother | |||
Omar El Akkad | American War | |||
Rachel Manley | The Black Peacock | |||
Alison Watt | Dazzle Patterns | |||
2019 | Casey Plett | Little Fish | Winner | [82] |
Liz Harmer | The Amateurs | Finalist | [83] | |
Tyler Hellard | Searching for Terry Punchout | |||
Tanya Tagaq | Split Tooth | |||
Joshua Whitehead | Jonny Appleseed | |||
Ian Williams | Reproduction |
Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Stéphane Larue (tr. Pablo Strauss) | The Dishwasher | Winner | [84] |
Nancy Jo Cullen | The Western Alienation Merit Badge | Finalist | [84] | |
James Gregor | Going Dutch | |||
Victoria Hetherington | Mooncalves | |||
Nazanine Hozar | Aria | |||
Andrew David MacDonald | When We Were Vikings | |||
2021 | Michelle Good | Five Little Indians | Winner | [85] |
Sheung-King | You Are Eating an Orange. You Are Naked. | Finalist | [86] | |
Francesca Ekwuyasi | Butter Honey Pig Bread | |||
Marlowe Granados | Happy Hour | |||
Jael Richardson | Gutter Child | |||
John Elizabeth Stintzi | Vanishing Monuments | |||
2022 | Pik-Shuen Fung | Ghost Forest | Winner | [87] |
Emily Austin | Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead | Finalist | [88] | |
Lisa Bird-Wilson | Probably Ruby | |||
Brian Thomas Isaac | All the Quiet Places | |||
Conor Kerr | Avenue of Champions | |||
Aimee Wall | We, Jane | |||
2023 | Jasmine Sealy | The Island of Forgetting | Winner | [89] |
Billy-Ray Belcourt | A Minor Chorus | Finalist | [90] | |
André Forget | In the City of Pigs | |||
Jessica Johns | Bad Cree | |||
William Ping | Hollow Bamboo | |||
Kai Thomas | In the Upper Country | |||
2024 | Alicia Elliott | And Then She Fell | Winner | [91] |
Jordan Abel | Empty Spaces | Finalist | [92] | |
Caroline Dawson | As the Andes Disappeared | |||
Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall | Tauhou | |||
Janika Oza | A History of Burning | |||
Amanda Peters | The Berry Pickers |
The Giller Prize is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries. The prize was established in 1994 by Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his late wife Doris Giller, a former literary editor at the Toronto Star, and is awarded in November of each year along with a cash reward with the winner being presented by the previous year's winning author.
The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, published or self-published in the previous year. The silver medal, designed by sculptor Emanuel Hahn, is a tribute to well-known Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock (1869–1944) and is accompanied by a cash prize of $25,000 (CAD). It is presented in the late spring or early summer each year, during a banquet ceremony in or near Leacock’s hometown of Orillia, Ontario.
The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers. Alongside the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction and the Giller Prize, it is considered one of the three main awards for Canadian fiction in English. Its eligibility criteria allow for it to garland collections of short stories as well as novels; works that were originally written and published in French are also eligible for the award when they appear in English translation.
The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a writer who has not yet published his or her first book. Formerly restricted to writers under age 35, the age limit was removed in 2021, with the prize now open to emerging writers regardless of age.
The Journey Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short stories published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary magazine. The award was endowed by James A. Michener, who donated the Canadian royalty earnings from his 1988 novel Journey.
The Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best work of non-fiction by a Canadian writer.
The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the City of Toronto government to the author of the year's best fiction or non-fiction book or books "that are evocative of Toronto". The award is presented in the fall of each year, with its advance promotional efforts including a series of readings by the nominated authors at each year's The Word on the Street festival.
The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing published in the previous year. The award is presented during May in the year following publication.
The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each for creators of English- and French-language books. The awards was created by the Canadian Authors Association in partnership with Lord Tweedsmuir in 1936. In 1959, the award became part of the Governor General's Awards program at the Canada Council for the Arts in 1959. The age requirement is 18 and up.
This is a list of recipients and nominees of the Governor General's Awards award for English-language poetry. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama was divided.
The Governor General's Award for English-language drama honours excellence in Canadian English-language playwriting. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama was divided.
The Donner Prize is an award given annually by one of Canada's largest foundations, the Donner Canadian Foundation, for books considered excellent in regard to the writing of Canadian public policy. The prize was established in 1998, and is meant to encourage an open exchange of ideas and to provide a springboard for authors who can make an original and meaningful contribution to policy discourse. The Donner Canadian Foundation also established the prize to recognize and reward the best public policy thinking, writing and research by a Canadian, and the role it plays in determining the well-being of Canadians and the success of Canada as a whole.
David John Chariandy is a Canadian writer and academic, presently working as a Professor of English literature at the University of Toronto. His 2017 novel Brother won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and Toronto Book Award.
Sina Queyras is a Canadian writer. To date, they have published seven collections of poetry, a novel and an essay collection.
Kaie Kellough is a Canadian poet and novelist. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, raised in Calgary, Alberta, and in 1998 moved to Montreal, Quebec, where he lives.
Suzette Mayr is a Canadian novelist who has written six critically acclaimed novels and is currently a professor at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Arts. Mayr's works have won and been nominated for several literary awards.
David Demchuk is a Canadian playwright and novelist, who received a longlisted Scotiabank Giller Prize nomination in 2017 for his debut novel The Bone Mother.
The Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Novel is an annual literary award, presented as part of the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence program to honour books judged as the best crime novel published by a Canadian crime writer in the previous year.
The following is a list of winners and nominees in English-language categories for the Trillium Book Award, a Canadian literary award presented by Ontario Creates to honour books published by writers resident in the province of Ontario. Separate awards have been presented for French-language literature since 1994; for the winners and nominees in French-language categories, see Trillium Book Award, French.
The following is a list of winners and nominees in French-language categories for the Trillium Book Award, a Canadian literary award presented by Ontario Creates to honour books published by writers resident in the province of Ontario. Separate awards have been presented for English-language literature since 1994; for the winners and nominees in English-language categories, see Trillium Book Award, English.