Reading the 2018 Toronto Book Award
Five books on this year’s shortlist:
✔Dionne Brand’s edited anthology The Unpublished City (2018)
✔David Chariandy’s Brother (2017) *WINNER*
✔Carrianne Leung’s That Time I Loved You (2018)
✔Lee Maracle’s My Conversations with Canadians (2017)
✔Kerri Sakamoto’s Floating City (2018)
Reading the 2018 Giller Prize Longlist
Guessing at each book’s Giller-a-bility
Since the prize’s inception in 1994, I have been reading the Giller Prizelist. I haven’t read all of the nominees; I have read 85 (of 127). Many times, this list has introduced me to writers whose works would become favourites. This is not the only prizelist I follow, but it does mark the beginning of my in-earnest prizelist reading season and I look forward to it each year.
The 2018 Giller jury (Kamal Al-Solaylee, Maxine Bailey, John Freeman, Philip Hensher and Heather O’Neill) announced its shortlist on October 1st. This year, I’ve been invited to join the Giller Shadow Jury, a group initially begun by Kevin Peterson, who blogged at KevinFromCanada for many years. Naomi explains how Kevin began his Giller shadow reading in 1995. In Kevin’s honour, the Shadow Jury keeps the conversation about the Giller alive in his memory. He and I began exchanging emails in 2011 about CanLit and I always wonder what he would have to say about the current Giller’s titles. Meanwhile, we read on.
✔Patrick deWitt’s French Exit
✔Eric Dupont’s Songs for the Cold of Heart (2012; Trans. Peter McCambridge, 2018)
✔Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black
✔Sheila Heti’s Motherhood
✔Thea Lim’s An Ocean of Minutes
✔Paige Cooper’s Zolitude
✔Rawi Hage’s Beirut Hellfire Society
✔Emma Hooper’s Our Homesick Songs
✔Lisa Moore’s Something for Everyone
✔Tanya Tagaq’s Split Tooth
✔Kim Thúy’s Vi (2016; Trans. Sheila Fischman, 2018)
✔Joshua Whitehead’s Jonny Appleseed
Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize
.
.
.
✔Craig Davidson’s The Saturday Night Ghost Club
✔Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black
✔Rawi Hage’s Beirut Hellfire Society
Jen Neale’s Land Mammals and Sea Creatures
✔Kathy Page’s Dear Evelyn **WINNER**
Governor General’s Literary Award
Fiction in English
.
.
.
✔Paige Cooper’s Zolitude
✔Rawi Hage’s Beirut Hellfire Society
Sarah Henstra’s The Red Word **WINNER**
Miriam Toews’ Women Talking
✔Joshua Whitehead’s Jonny Appleseed
Recent Prizelist and Event Reading
December 2018
Thoughts on Reading as a Shadow Giller Jury Member
Let’s start with the obvious: it’s not perfect. This whole question of a literary prizelist. A prizelist is going to reflect many different things,
November 2018
Toronto International Festival of Authors 2018: Photos and Quotations
This year, the Toronto International Festival of Authors ran from October 18th through the 28th. I’ve covered this event through the years in
Shadow Giller: Thea Lim’s An Ocean of Minutes (2018)
Shadow Giller review contents: In Short, a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended to have a broad appeal; In Detail, elaborating on one aspect of
October 2018
Shadow Giller: Emma Hooper’s Our Homesick Songs (2018)
In Short presents a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended to have a broad appeal; In Detail focuses on one aspect of the book which
Shadow Giller: Patrick DeWitt’s French Exit (2018)
Shadow Giller review contents: In Short, a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended to have a broad appeal; In Detail, elaborating on one aspect of
Dewey’s Read-a-thon: October 2018
Updates to this post will appear here throughout the first several hours of the RAT. Then, in the evening I’ll be attending a bookish
Shadow Giller: Sheila Heti’s Motherhood (2018)
As I was saying, my Shadow Giller reviews will appear in a slightly different format: first, In Short, a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended
Shadow Giller: Joshua Whitehead’s Jonny Appleseed (2018)
In Short presents a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended to have a broad appeal; In Detail focuses on one aspect of the book which
Shadow Giller: Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black (2018)
As I was saying, my Shadow Giller reviews will appear in a slightly different format: first, In Short, a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended
Shadow Giller: Paige Cooper’s Zolitude (2018)
As I was saying, my Shadow Giller reviews will appear in a slightly different format: first, In Short, a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended
Reading for the Shadow Giller in 2018
Although I’m tracking my Giller Prize reading on my Autumn 2018 Prizelists and Events page, I have more to say about reading this year’s
September 2018
Lisa Moore’s Something for Everyone (2018)
One remarkable feature of Lisa Moore’s short story writing is her versatility. Sometimes her vocabulary is elevated (consider: koan, ferric, sculpin, recalcitrant, scabrous, and
Even when I didn’t live in Toronto, I still watched this prizelist for books set in the city that I hoped to call home someday.
The International Festival of Authors brought me to Toronto many times before I actually moved to the city. It remains a favourite!
The ReLit Awards peer more closely at the books that are sometimes overlooked, those from smaller and independent presses.