Amazon First Novel Award 2024 Shortlist Announced

Yesterday, Amazon Canada and The Walrus announced the shortlist for the forty-sixth annual Amazon Canada First Novel Award, which rewards the debut novel judged to be the finest of the year based on literary merit. The award is open to first time novelists, including those who have published previously in other genres. 

The winner of the Adult First Novel category will receive $60,000, and each of the five finalists will receive $6,000 in prize money. It is one of the largest literary prizes in the country. The winning book will be announced in Toronto on Thursday, June 6, 2024.

The 2024 Amazon Canada First Novel Award nominees:

• Empty Spaces, Jordan Abel (McClelland & Stewart)

• As the Andes Disappeared, Caroline Dawson (Book*hug Press)

• And Then She Fell, Alicia Elliott (Doubleday Canada)

• Tauhou: A Novel, Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall (House of Anansi Press)

• A History of Burning, Janika Oza (McClelland & Stewart)

• The Berry Pickers, Amanda Peters (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd)

Two independent presses and OBPO members had novels on the shortlist, in Book*hug Press and House of Anansi Press, while the rest of the shortlist was made up of selections from various divisions of multinational publishing houses. 

In addition, the broader scope of the prizes contain a short story writing contest for young people, which is presented alongside the first novel award.

Authors between the ages of thirteen and seventeen were invited to submit a short story under 3,000 words. Chosen by an esteemed panel of judges, the winner in this category will receive $5,000 in prize money, and the finalists will each receive $500.

The shortlisted stories are as follows:

• Noaah Karim, “Japanese Cheesecake”
• Abigail McGhie, “The Creator”
• Avery Moschee, “Live With It”
• Khaliya Rajan, “Waves”
• Natalie Webber, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
• Payten Josephine Woldanski, “The Voicemails of Marie DuBell”

The panel of judges for this year is composed of Billy-Ray Belcourt, author of A Minor Chorus; francesca ekwuyasi, author of Butter Honey Pig Bread; Kaie Kellough, author of Accordéon; and Souvankham Thammavongsa, author of the short story collection “How to Pronounce Knife.”

The winners will be announced on Thursday, June 6.

For more information on the shortlists, visit thewalrus.ca/afna.