Scotiabank Giller Prize Announces a Powerful Longlist for 2016

The Scotiabank Giller Prize remains as the titan of fiction prizes in Canada, with readers and industry followers alike awaiting the long- and shortlists every year with bated breath.

This year's list was worth the wait, with 12 buzz-worthy titles nominated. The books include Mona Awad's 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, which won the prestigious Amazon.ca First Novel Award earlier this year; Steven Price's By Gaslight, the final novel edited by legendary McClelland & Stewart publisher Ellen Seligman before her death; and Susan Perly's Death Valley, from independent press Wolsak & Wynn's new Buckrider Books imprint. We're also thrilled to see former Open Book columnist and writer-in-residence Zoe Whittall honoured for her powerful new novel, The Best Kind of People.

Independent presses are represented on the list by Wolsak & Wynn as well as House of Anansi Press, Biblioasis, and Coach House Books, while short story collections (which are often traditionally passed over for fiction awards) make two appearances.

It's an incredible list, and tough to predict who will make their way to the shortlist (announced September 26, 2016). Jurors Lawrence Hill (Jury Chair), Jeet Heer, Kathleen Winter, Samantha Harvey and Alan Warner clearly have their work cut out for them. Stay tuned to Open Book for more Giller and book prize news!

The 2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist:

• Mona Awad for her novel 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl (Penguin Canada)
• Gary Barwin for his novel Yiddish for Pirates (Random House Canada)
• Andrew Battershill for his novel Pillow (Coach House Books)
• David Bergen for his novel Stranger (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd)
• Emma Donoghue for her novel The Wonder (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd)
• Catherine Leroux for her novel The Party Wall (Biblioasis International Translation Series, translated by Lazer Lederhendler)
• Kathy Page for her story collection The Two of Us (A John Metcalf Book, an imprint of Biblioasis)
• Susan Perly for her novel Death Valley (Buckrider Books, an imprint of Wolsak and Wynn Publishers)
• Kerry Lee Powell for her story collection Willem De Kooning’s Paintbrush (HarperAvenue, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd)
• Steven Price for his novel By Gaslight (McClelland & Stewart)
• Madeleine Thien for her novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Alfred A. Knopf Canada)

• Zoe Whittall for her novel The Best Kind of People (House of Anansi Press)

  The winner of the 2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize will be announced November 7.