Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist Announced, including Writer-in-Residence Angélique Lalonde's Debut Collection

It's a nerve-wracking and exciting morning for writers and publishers across the country as the Scotiabank Giller Prize announces their 2021 longlist. The 12-title list is a nod to the books that will loom large in the literary landscape this season and year, with nominations for the biggest and most established fiction prize in the country. 

Last year’s winner, Souvankham Thammavongsa, announced the list in a live stream on the Giller Prize website, with the books chosen from 132 eligible titles submitted by Canadian publishers. Even to be submitted to the Giller is a secretive honour, as each publisher is strictly limited in how many titles they can submit. Now in its 28th year, the Giller counts past winners that include

We are especially excited to see our own September writer-in-residence, Angélique Lalonde, nominated for her short fiction collection, Glorious Frazzled Beings. Don't miss her beautiful and thoughtful original postings on the writer-in-residence page throughout September.

The 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist:

• Cedar Bowers for her novel Astra (McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada)
• Omar El Akkad for his novel What Strange Paradise (McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada)
• Angélique Lalonde for her story collection Glorious Frazzled Beings (House of Anansi)
• Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onubia for her novel The Son of The House (Dundurn Press)
• Casey Plett for her story collection A Dream of a Woman (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Rachel Rose for her story collection The Octopus Has Three Hearts (Douglas & McIntyre)
• Linda Rui Feng for her novel Swimming Back to Trout River (Simon & Schuster)
• Jordan Tannahill for his novel The Listeners (HarperCollins Canada)
• Kim Thúy for her novel Em (Random House Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, translated by Sheila Fischman)
• Miriam Toews for her novel Fight Night (Knopf Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada)
• Katherena Vermette for her novel The Strangers (Hamish Hamilton Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada)
• Aimee Wall for her novel We, Jane (Book*hug Press)

It's a fairly even split between independent Canadian houses and multi-nationals, with five nominations for publishers in the former and seven in the latter. Also notable is that the list features a majority of women authors. 

The longlist was selected by Canadian authors Zalika Reid-Benta (Jury Chair), Megan Gail Coles, Joshua Whitehead, Malaysian novelist Tash Aw and American author Joshua Ferris. 

The Giller Prize shortlist will be announced on Tuesday, October 5, at 11 a.m. ET at a press conference at The Park Hyatt hotel in Toronto. It will also be livestreamed on the Giller Prize website, and the Scotiabank Giller Prize’s YouTube and Facebook page.

The prize winner will be announced on Monday, November 8, at 9 p.m. ET on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

Congratulations to all the nominees and special congratulations to Angélique!