Amazon.ca and the Walrus Foundation announced the nominees for the 41st annual First Novel Award on April 15. Over four decades, the award has helped launch the careers of Michael Ondaatje, Joy Kogawa, Rohinton Mistry, Anne Michaels, André Alexis, Madeleine Thien and last year’s winner Mona Awad. “The writing and publishing of a first novel is a huge accomplishment in itself,” said head judge Tanis MacDonald, a poet and professor at Wilfrid Laurier University. “If I had it my way, the shortlist would not have been short at all. While all six books show a great range of styles, perspectives, and subject matters, they have in common a remarkable reach.”The winner of the $40,000 prize will be announced on May 25 at a gala hosted by Shelagh Rogers at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.

Source: National Post April 18, 2017 18:11 UTC