Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist announced

Today the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist was announced, separating 13 titles from the hundreds published in Canada since October 1st, 2011. The Giller jury this year consists of Gary Shteyngart, Roddy Doyle and Anna Porter, and perhaps the quirky jurors reflect on the quirky list. Several previous winners, including Vincent Lam and Linden MacIntyre, were not considered. The list is left to relative newcomers:

Marjorie Celona for her novel Y, published by Hamish Hamilton Canada
Lauren B. Davis for her novel Our Daily Bread, published by HarperCollins Canada
Cary Fagan for his short story collection My Life Among the Apes, published by Cormorant Books
Will Ferguson for his novel 419, published by Viking Canada
Robert Hough for his novel Dr. Brinkley’s Tower, published by House of Anansi Press
Billie Livingston for her novel One Good Hustle, published by Random House Canada
Annabel Lyon for her novel The Sweet Girl, published by Random House Canada
Alix Ohlin for her novel Inside, published by House of Anansi Press
Katrina Onstad for her novel Everybody Has Everything, published by McClelland & Stewart
CS Richardson for his novel The Emperor of Paris, published by Doubleday Canada
Nancy Richler for her novel The Imposter Bride, published by HarperCollins Canada
Kim Thúy for her novel Ru, translated by Sheila Fischman, published by Random House Canada
Russell Wangersky for his short story collection Whirl Away, published by Thomas Allen Publishers

Of the nominees, only Annabel Lyon has been nominated before, for The Golden Mean, the book to which her 2012 offering is a sequel. Will Ferguson may be familiar as a Stephen Leacock Medal-winning humourist; 419 is decidedly not humour. Kim Thuy's novel Ru was orginally written in French and won the 2010 Governor General's Award for Fiction in French. 

It is a wide open award this year! Such is the excitement of awards season. 

For more info on the prize and the nominees, read this article by Quill & Quire, or check out the Scotiabank Giller Prize home site.