The Scotiabank Giller Prize, one of Canada's most prestigious literary awards, unveiled its shortlist on Monday, with books by Emily St. John Mandel and Souvankham Thammavongsa among those making the cut.
Mandel is a finalist for her book The Glass Hotel, which a reviewer for Kirkus called “a strange, subtle, and haunting novel.” Mandel’s previous novel, Station Eleven, was also popular with literary prize judges, appearing on the shortlists for the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Thammavongsa made the list for How to Pronounce Knife, her debut short story collection, which a Kirkus reviewer found “moving, strange, and occasionally piercing.”
Also appearing on the shortlist are Gil Adamson’s Ridgerunner, David Bergen’s Here the Dark, and Shani Mootoo’s Polar Vortex.
The Giller Prize honors an English-language, book-length work of fiction written by a Canadian author. It was first awarded in 1994; previous winners have included Rohinton Mistry for A Fine Balance, Alice Munro for The Love of a Good Woman, and Esi Edugyan for Washington Black.
The winner of the award, which comes with a $75,000 cash prize, will be announced Nov. 9 in a broadcast hosted by Will Grace actor Eric McCormack and featuring a performance by jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
