Three B.C. authors make Scotiabank Giller Prize 2021 longlist, including Vancouver's Rachel Rose

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      The Canadian book titles that made 2021 longlist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize were revealed this week, and B.C. authors were among those named.

      From a total of 132 books submitted by Canadian publishers, a jury has selected 12 titles.

      Last year’s winner, Souvankham Thammavongsa (How to Pronounce Knife), announced the longlist chosen by a jury consisted of Canadian authors Megan Gail Coles, Joshua Whitehead, and Zalika Reid-Benta (who is the jury chair); Malaysian novelist Tash Aw; and American author Joshua Ferris.

      Among the authors from B.C. is Vancouver’s Rachel Rose, who previously won the 2014 and 2016 Pushcart Prize, the Bronwen Wallace Prize for Fiction from The Writers’ Trust of Canada, and a 2016 nomination for a Governor General’s Award. She is also a former Vancouver poet laureate and was nominated for a City of Vancouver Book Award.

      Also from B.C. is Cedar Bowers, who divides her time between Galiano Island and Victoria and who was named for her debut novel.

      From Northern B.C. is Angélique Lalonde, who lives in Gitxsan Territory and was chosen for her collection of stories.

      Other authors on the list are Miriam Toews, who has previously made the Giller Prize shortlist twice (2004 and 2014), and Kim Thúy, who won Canada Reads 2015 for her novel Ru and who previously made the Giller Prize shortlist (2012) and longlist (2018).

      The list consists of:

      • Astra (McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada), a novel by Cedar Bowers;
      • What Strange Paradise (McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada), a novel by Omar El Akkad;
      • Glorious Frazzled Beings (House of Anansi), a story collection by Angélique Lalonde;
      • The Son of The House (Dundurn Press), a novel by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onubia;
      • A Dream of a Woman (Arsenal Pulp Press), a story collection by Casey Plett;
      • The Octopus Has Three Hearts (Douglas & McIntyre), a story collection by Rachel Rose;
      • Swimming Back to Trout River (Simon & Schuster), a novel by Linda Rui Feng;
      • The Listeners (HarperCollins Canada), a novel by Jordan Tannahill;
      • Em (Random House Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada), a novel by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman;
      • Fight Night (Knopf Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada), a novel by Miriam Toews;
      • The Strangers (Hamish Hamilton Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada), a novel by Katherena Vermette;
      • We, Jane (Book*hug Press), a novel by Aimee Wall.

      Previous B.C. authors who have won the award include former Vancouverite Madeleine Thien, who won for Do Not Say Have Nothing; Victoria’s Esi Egugyan, who won twice, for Half-Blood Blues and Washington Black; and UBC creative writing professor Ian Williams, who won for Reproduction.

      The shortlist will be announced on October 5 and the winner will be declared on November 8. The award is celebrating its 28th anniversary this year.  

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at @cinecraig or on Facebook.

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