The shortlist has been released for the C$60,000 (about US$45,240) Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, which recognizes the best novel or short story collection of the year by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
The award is named in honor of Writers' Trust of Canada co-founders Margaret Atwood and the late Graeme Gibson, who started the organization in 1976 "with the help of a few fellow writers and an aim to encourage a Canadian literary culture at home." The winner will be announced November 2. This year's finalists, who each receive C$5,000 (US$3,770), are:
Manam by Rima Elkouri
Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring
Querelle of Roberval by Kevin Lambert
Ezra's Ghosts by Darcy Tamayose
Her First Palestinian by Saeed Teebi