TORONTO – Acclaimed writers Thomas King, Michael Crummey and Bill Gaston are among the finalists for this year’s Governor General’s Literary Awards for fiction.
King of Guelph, Ont., who won major non-fiction prizes earlier this year for The Inconvenient Indian, is on the short list for The Back of the Turtle — his first literary novel in 15 years.
Crummey, a 2001 Giller finalist from St. John’s, is on the short list for his novel Sweetland.
And Victoria-based Gaston, who was shortlisted for the Giller in 2002, is a finalist for Juliet Was a Surprise.
The other fiction finalists are Claire Holden Rothman of Westmount, Que., for My October and Winnipeg’s Joan Thomas for The Opening Sky.
The Canada Council for the Arts administers the Governor General’s Literary Awards, which honour writers in both official languages and in seven categories.
Each winner, chosen by peer assessment committees, receives $25,000.
Winners will be announced Nov. 18 and the awards will be presented Nov. 26 in Ottawa.
Here is a list of finalists for this year’s Governor General’s Literary Awards, in top categories:
Fiction
– Michael Crummey of St. John’s for Sweetland
– Bill Gaston of Victoria for Juliet Was a Surprise
– Claire Holden Rothman of Westmount, Que., for My October
– Thomas King of Guelph, Ont., for The Back of the Turtle
– Joan Thomas of Winnipeg for The Opening Sky
Non-fiction
– Michael Harris of Toronto for The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connection
– Arno Kopecky of Squamish, B.C., for The Oil Man and the Sea: Navigating the Northern Gateway
– Edmund Metatawabin with Alexandra Shimo of Fort Albany, Ont. /Toronto for Up Ghost River: A Chief’s Journey through the Turbulent Waters of Native History
– Maria Mutch of North Kingstown, Rhode Island for Know the Night: A Memoir of Survival in the Small Hours
Poetry
– Sadiqa de Meijer of Kingston, Ont., for Leaving Howe Island
– Julie Joosten of Toronto for Light Light
– Christopher Levenson of Vancouver for Night Vision
– Garth Martens of Victoria for Prologue for the Age of Consequence
– Arleen Paré of Victoria for Lake of Two Mountains
Drama
– Rick Chafe of Winnipeg for The Secret Mask
– Sean Dixon of Toronto for A God in Need of Help
– Janet Munsil of Victoria for That Elusive Spark
– Jordan Tannahill of Toronto for Age of Minority: Three Solo Plays
For the full list, click here.
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