Amazon.ca and Quill & Quire Announce Finalists for 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award

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Amazon.ca and Quill & Quire Announce Finalists for 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award

SEATTLE—February 27, 2013— Amazon.ca (www.amazon.ca ) today announced the finalists for the 37th Annual First Novel Award. This Canadian literary award recognizes the outstanding talent of Canadian novelists who have published their first novel in 2012.

“The First Novel Award plays an important role in furthering the careers of new Canadian novelists and Amazon.ca is proud to support such a fantastic literary tradition,” said Steve Oliver, country manager for Amazon.ca. “Year after year, we’ve seen First Novel Award winners become some of Canada’s most beloved novelists – and this year’s crop of talented novelists will no doubt take their place among them.”

The five nominees for the 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award, listed alphabetically by author, are:

Y by Marjorie Celona (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
The Rest Is Silence by Scott Fotheringham (Goose Lane Editions)
People Park by Pasha Malla (House of Anansi Press)
Malarky by Anakana Schofield (Biblioasis)
Ru by Kim Thúy (Random House Canada)
The winner will be announced on April 24 at the annual Amazon.ca First Novel Award event in Toronto. The winner will receive CAD $7,500 and all finalists will receive a $750 gift certificate.

“A first novel should be brash and ambitious, and announce the arrival of a new talent. That quality is something this diverse group of books has in common,” said Stuart Woods, editor of Quill & Quire and head judge for this year’s event.  

Additional judges include Meaghan Strimas, academic coordinator for creative writing at the University of Guelph; Madeleine Thien, author and 2006 winner of the Amazon.ca First Novel Award; and
Alexi Zentner, author and 2011 nominee for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

Since 1976, the First Novel Award has launched the careers of some of Canada’s most beloved novelists.  Previous winners include Michael Ondaatje (1976), Joan Barfoot (1978), Joy Kogawa (1981), W.P. Kinsella (1982), Nino Ricci (1990), Rohinton Mistry (1991), Shyam Selvadurai (1994), Anne Michaels (1996), Margaret Gibson (1997), Andre Alexis (1998), Alan R. Wilson and David Macfarlane (co-winners, 1999), Eva Stachniak (2000), Michael Redhill (2001), Mary Lawson (2002), Michel Basilières (2003), Colin McAdam (2004), Joseph Boyden (2005), Madeleine Thien (2006), Gil Adamson (2007), Joan Thomas (2008), Jessica Grant (2009), Eleanor Catton (2010) and David Bezmozgis (2011).

More information about the 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award shortlist can be found at www.amazon.ca/firstnovelaward.

About Amazon.ca
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