ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Two authors from this province have been named to the longlist for the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Megan Gail Coles, originally from Savage Cove, and Michael Crummey, originally from Buchans, were among the 12 nominees for the award, highlights the best of Canadian fiction.
Coles was selected her novel, “Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club,” published by House of Anansi Press, while Crummey was chosen for his novel, “The Innocents,” published by Doubleday Canada.
Esi Edugyan, the 2018 winner, made the announcement of this year’s nominees at an event held Tuesday.
A total of 117 works of literature were submitted this year for consideration.
Also chosen to the longlist were: André Alexis for his novel Days by Moonlight, published by Coach House Books; Margaret Atwood for her novel The Testaments, published by McClelland & Stewart; David Bezmozgis for his short story collection Immigrant City, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.; Michael Christie for his novel Greenwood, published by McClelland & Stewart; Adam Foulds for his novel Dream Sequence, published by Biblioasis; K.D. Miller for her short story collection Late Breaking, published by Biblioasis; Alix Ohlin for her novel Dual Citizens, published by House of Anansi Press; Steven Price for his novel Lampedusa, published by McClelland & Stewart; Zalika Reid-Benta for her short story collection Frying Plantain, published by Astoria, an imprint of House of Anansi Press; and Ian Williams for his novel Reproduction, published by Random House Canada.
The longlist was selected by a five-member jury panel: Canadian authors Donna Bailey Nurse, Randy Boyagoda (jury chair) and Canadian playwright José Teodoro, joined by Scottish-Sierra Leonean author Aminatta Forna and Bosnian-American author Aleksandar (Sasha) Hemon.
This year’s shortlist will be announced at a media event at the Scotiabank Centre at Scotia Plaza in Toronto on Sept. 30th
The 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize gala will air on Monday, Nov. 18th, on CBC at 9 p.m., (ET) CBC Radio One at 9 p.m. (ET) and will be livestreamed at CBCBooks.ca.
Founded by the late Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch in 1994 to honour his wife Doris Giller, the Giller Prize awards $100,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English, and $10,000 to each of the finalists.
