Five Bold Voices Highlight the 2025 Giller Prize Shortlist

The Giller Prize has announced its 2025 shortlist, spotlighting five extraordinary writers whose novels capture the imagination, intellect, and emotional depth that define Canadian storytelling. Now in its 32nd year, the country’s most prestigious fiction award continues to recognize literary innovation and emotional range — celebrating fiction that transforms the familiar into the revelatory.

“Over more than three decades, the Giller Prize has elevated Canadian voices and inspired generations of readers and writers alike,” said Elana Rabinovitch, Executive Director of the Giller Prize. “This year’s shortlist showcases works that are immersive, fiercely original, and deeply moving — books that expand the art of fiction while keeping its human heart intact.”

The 2025 Giller Prize Finalists

• Mona Awad – We Love You, Bunny (Scribner Canada)
  A darkly comic and surreal novel about identity, obsession, and reinvention, Awad’s latest brings her trademark wit and theatrical energy to a modern fable of self and spectacle.
• Eddy Boudel Tan – The Tiger and the Cosmonaut (Viking Canada)
  Boudel Tan’s sweeping and intimate story intertwines adventure and introspection, exploring the boundaries of love, memory, and destiny with both grace and grit.
• Emma Donoghue – The Paris Express (Harper Avenue)
  With characteristic mastery, Donoghue captures the tension and tenderness of lives intersecting aboard a transcontinental train, charting connection and chance with cinematic flair.
• Emma Knight – The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus (Viking Canada)
  Knight debuts with an imaginative and lyrical novel that submerges readers in the oceanic rhythms of human relationships and environmental change.
• Souvankham Thammavongsa – Pick a Colour (Knopf Canada)
  The Giller-winning short story writer returns with a luminous and tightly woven novel about perception, belonging, and the quiet brilliance of ordinary lives.

This year’s three-member jury — Dionne Irving (chair), Loghan Paylor, and Deepa Rajagopalan — read over one hundred titles to arrive at a shortlist that includes three national bestsellers, three returning finalists, two first-time nominees, and one past Giller Prize winner. Supported by Rakuten Kobo, the jurors read on Kobo Elipsa 2E eReaders as they navigated the country’s rich landscape of fiction.

The 2025 Giller Prize Gala, hosted by Rick Mercer, will take place on Monday, November 17, broadcast nationally on CBC TV, CBC Gem, and CBC Radio, as well as on YouTube and CBC Listen.

Accessibility remains a cornerstone of the program: shortlisted titles are available through the National Network for Equitable Library Services (NNELS) and the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) for print-disabled readers.

Beyond the awards, the Giller Prize continues to invest in the next generation of storytellers. The Giller Mantella Scholarship, now in its second year, grants $10,000 each to three Black, Indigenous, or racialized students pursuing studies in creative writing and literature. The 2025 recipients are Myeisha Dyer (University of Ottawa), Grace Lu (University of Toronto), and Lauryn Tran (Queen’s University).

The 2025 winner will receive not only the top honour in Canadian fiction but also a two-week residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, as part of the Leighton Artist Studios program — a space designed to nurture creativity at the intersection of solitude and inspiration.

The winner will also be featured at the San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival in Mexico this coming February, appearing in a live onstage conversation and reading, extending the reach of Canadian literature to an international audience.

Following the gala, the winning author will appear in a series of #BookTalk events, including a live interview at Toronto’s Union Hotel on November 18 with Noah Richler, and another at the Toronto Public Library on February 25, 2026.

For full jury citations, event updates, and news about the finalists, visit gillerprize.ca.