14 books make longlist for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize

A graphic novel and three debut novels have made the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist. Fourteen titles made the list in total.

The$100,000 award annually recognizes the best in Canadian fiction.

Seth has made the longlist for his graphic novel Clyde Fans. This yearmarksthe first timegraphic novels are eligible for the prestigious literary award.

The debut novels on the list areAll I Ask by Newfoundland's Eva Crocker,Butter Honey Pig Bread by Nigerian-Canadian writer francesca ekwuyasiandFive Little Indians by Cree lawyer Michelle Good.

Two previous winners have made the longlist: Winnipeg's David Bergen and Nova Scotia's Lynn Coady.

Bergen is nominated for his short story collectionHere the Dark. He won the Giller Prize in 2005 forhis novelThe Time in Between.

Coady is nominated in 2020 for her novelWatching You Without Me. Shewon the Giller Prize in 2013 for her short story collection Hellgoing.

2020 Griffin Poetry Prize winner Kaie Kellough is nominated for his shortstory collectionDominoesat the Crossroads. Kellough won the Griffin Poetry Prize forMagnetic Equator.

Two of the longlisted titles are not yet available to the public.Butter Honey Pig Bread is set to be published on Sept. 15 andConsent byAnnabel Lyon will be published on Sept. 29.

Other writers to have made the 2020 longlist include Emma Donoghue, Emily St. John Mandel, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Gil Adamson, Shani Mootoo and Thomas King.

Here is the full 2020 longlist:

• Ridgerunner byGil Adamson
• Here the Dark byDavid Bergen
• Watching You Without Me byLynn Coady
• All I Ask byEva Crocker
• The Pull of the Stars byEmma Donoghue
• Butter Honey Pig Bread by francesca ekwuyasi
• Five Little Indians byMichelle Good
• Dominoesat the Crossroads byKaie Kellough
• Indians on Vacation byThomas King
• Consent byAnnabel Lyon
• Polar Vortex byShani Mootoo
• The Glass Hotel byEmily St. John Mandel
• Clyde Fans bySeth
• How to Pronounce Knife bySouvankham Thammavongsa

The longlist was chosen from the 118 titles that were submitted for consideration this year.

Mark Sakamoto, author of theCanada Reads-winning memoir Forgiveness, is the jury chair. The five-person panel also includes Canadian novelists Eden Robinson, David Chariandyand Tom Rachmanand British critic Claire Armitstead.

"We were determined to find the most powerful pieces of fiction published this year.And, despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic, we experienced an embarrassment of riches.Exquisite prose has emerged from many parts of Canada and multiple walks of life; and we have filled our months with witty, intense and achingly beautiful stories," the jury said in a statement.

"We are proud of the collection of books that has emerged from our lengthy debates; and we believe that this longlist is but one clear reflection of the talent and global relevance of Canadian writers. To the nominees, we offer our sincere gratitude and our heartfelt congratulations."

The shortlist will be announced on Oct. 5, 2020. The winner will be announced on Nov. 9, 2020.

Last year's winner wasReproductionby Ian Williams.

• Read an excerpt fromReproductionby Ian Williams

Other past Giller Prize winners includeEsi EdugyanforWashington Black.Michael RedhillforBellevue Square,Margaret AtwoodforAlias Grace,Mordecai RichlerforBarney's Version,Alice MunroforRunaway,Andr AlexisforFifteen DogsandMadeleine ThienforDo Not Say We Have Nothing.

Get to know the 2020longlisted books below.

Ridgerunner byGil Adamson

Ridgerunneris a novel aboutWilliam Moreland, the notorious thief known as Ridgerunner, as he moves through the Rocky Mountains, determined tosecure financial stability for his son. His son, JackBoulton, is trapped in a life not of his own making. Semi-orphaned and under the care of a nun, Sister Beatrice, Jack has found himself in a secluded cabin inAlberta. Little does he know, his father is coming for him.

• Why it took Gil Adamson 10 years to write a swashbuckling follow-up to her bestselling novel The Outlander

Adamson is a writer and poet. Her first novel,The Outlander,won the Amazon.ca First Novel Award andwas aCanada Readsfinalist in 2009, when it was championed by Nicholas Campbell. She has published several volumes of poetry, includingPrimitiveandAshland.

CBC Books5:35David Bergen takes the Proust questionnaire

David Bergen, author of "Leaving Tomorrow", answers the Proust Questionnaire

Here the Dark byDavid Bergen

InHere the Dark,David Bergendelivers short stories that interweave across space, exploring faith, loss and complex moral ambiguities.From Danang, Vietnam, to Honduras and the Canadian Prairies, the book collects narratives about place and heart.

• 6 lessons David Bergen has learned from 25 years writing fiction

Bergenis a Canadian novelist and short story writer. In 2005, his novelThe Time in Betweenwon the Scotiabank Giller Prize. His other books includeThe Matter with Morris,andStrangerin 2016.His novelThe Age of Hopewas defended by Ron MacLeanonCanada Readsin 2013.

Watching You Without Me byLynn Coady

In Watching You Without Me, the death of her mother sends Karen home to Nova Scotia. Her elder sister Kelli, born with a developmental disability, requires full-time care. Karen is quickly overwhelmed, regrettingthe distance she'd always put between herself and herfamily. She gratefully accepts help from Trevor, a support worker, who was close with her mother. Gradually, though, Trevor's true nature is revealed.

• Lynn Coady muses about love, loss and long-term care with novel Watching You Without Me

Coadyis a short story writer and novelist originally from Nova Scotia. Her other books include the novelsStrange Heaven,Saints of Big Harbour,Mean BoyandThe Antagonist,and the short story collectionHellgoing.

The Next Chapter3:44Michelle Good on Five Little Indians

Michelle Good on her debut novel Five Little Indians, which follows five characters after they leave residential school.

All I Ask byEva Crocker

One morning, Stacey wakes up to the police pounding on her door inAll IAsk. They claim they are looking for "illegal digital material" and seize her phone and computer. Worried for her safety, Stacey bands together with her friends to seek a way toan authentic, unencumbered way of life.

• The CBC Books writers to watch 2020 list

Crocker is a novelist and short story writer from Newfoundland. Her first bookwas the short story collectionBarrelling Forward.CBC Books named Crocker a writer to watch in 2020.

The Pull of the Stars byEmma Donoghue

The Pull of the Stars, set in a war and disease-ravaged Ireland during the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, tells the story of three women a nurse, a doctor and a volunteer helper working on the front lines of the pandemic in an understaffed maternity ward of a hospital, where expectant mothers infected with the virus are quarantined.The timely tale explores how thesewomen change each other's lives in unexpected ways, while witnessing loss and delivering new life.

• Emma Donoghue shares her favourite books

Donoghueis an Irish-Canadian writer. Her books include the novelsLanding,Room,Frog Music,The Wonderand the children's bookThe Lotterys Plus One.

The Next Chapter18:02Shani Mootoo on Polar Vortex

Shani Mootoo on her new novel Polar Vortex, about the secrets, lies and half-truths at the heart of a love triangle.

Butter Honey Pig Bread by francesca ekwuyasi

Butter Honey Pig Breadis a novel about twin sisters, Kehinde and Taiye, and their mother, Kambirinachi. Kambirinachi believes she was a spirit who was supposed to die as a small child. By staying alive, she is cursing her family a fear that appears to come true when Kehinde experiences something that tears the family apart, and divides the twins for years. But when the three women connect years later, they must confront their past and find forgiveness.

• Black queer voices matter and these authors are writing a more inclusive future for CanLit

ekwuyasiis a writer, filmmaker and visual artist. Her writing has appeared in the Malahat Review, Guts and Brittle Paper, and she was longlisted for the 2019 Journey Prize.Butter Honey Pig Breadis her first book.

Five Little Indians byMichelle Good

InFive Little Indians, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie were taken from their families and sent to a residential school when they were very small. Barely out of childhood, they are released and left to contend with the seedy world of eastside Vancouver. Fuelled by the trauma of their childhood, the five friends cross paths over the decades and struggle with the weight of their shared past.

• Michelle Good's Five Little Indians is a fictional look at the real Canadian legacy of residential schools

Good is a Cree writer and lawyer, as well as a member of Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.Five Little Indiansis her first book. CBC Books named Good a writer to watch in 2020.

The Next Chapter16:03Emily St John Mandel on The Glass Hotel

Emily St John Mandel on The Glass Hotel, her follow-up to her breakout novel Station Eleven.

Dominoes at the Crossroads byKaie Kellough

In this collection of stories,Dominoes at the Crossroads,Kaie Kelloughnavigates Canada's Caribbean diaspora, as they seek music and a connection to their past. Through a broad cast of characters includingjazz musicians, hitchhikers, suburbanites, student radicals, secret agents, historiansand their fugitive slave ancestors Kelloughstretches the stories from Montreal's Old Port to as far as the South American rainforests.

• Griffin Poetry Prize winner Kaie Kellough plays with words and sound to write vivid poetry and fiction

Kelloughis a writer based in Montreal. His novelAccordonwas a finalist for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award in 2017. He is also the author of the poetry collectionMagnetic Equator,which wonthe 2020 Griffin Poetry Prize.

Indians on Vacation byThomas King

Indians on Vacationis about a couple named Bird and Mimi, who decide to travel through Europe after discovering postcards from Mimi's long-lost Uncle Leroy, whosent them while on his own European adventure almost 100 years ago.

• Thomas King on why humour and tragedy are inseparable

Kingis a Canadian-American writer of Cherokee andGreekancestry. His books includeTruth & Bright Water,The Inconvenient Indian,Green Grass, Running WaterandThe Back of the Turtle. He also writes the DreadfulWater mystery series.

Consent byAnnabel Lyon

InConsent, Sara becomes her intellectually disabled sister Mattie's caregiver after their mother dies. But when Sara returns home, she surprisingly finds Mattie married to her mother's handyman, Robert. Sara gets the marriage annulled, driving a wedge between herself and Mattie. When Robert re-enters their lives, Sara and Mattie get entangled with him and another set of sisters, twins Saskia and Jenny.

• Annabel Lyon on the day job that's helped her writing the most

Lyon is a writer from Vancouver. Her novelThe Golden Meanwonthe Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. Her other books include theshort story collectionOxygen,thenovella collectionThe Best Thing forYouand the young adult novelsAll-Season EdieandEncore Edie.

Polar Vortex byShani Mootoo

Abandoning the city for the picturesque countryside,Priya and Alexandra attempt to give themselves a new lease onlife in the novelPolar Vortex. That is, until Priya reveals that she is running from a fraught relationship with a friend who kept pursuing her:Prakash. After Priya feels safe enough to once again establish an online presence, Prakashcommunicates with her. Inexplicably, Priya asks Prakash to visit them.

• Shani Mootoo's novel Polar Vortex explores love, relationships and real connections in an age of social media

Mootoois a writer and visual artist who has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Her debut novel was 1997'sCereus Blooms at Night.

The Glass Hotel byEmily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel's new book,The Glass Hotel,interweaves several complex narratives. Vincent is a bartender in a prestigious hotel on Vancouver Island. When the owner Jonathan Alkaitis passes Vincent his card, it becomes the beginning of their story together. Meanwhile, a hooded figure scrawls a cryptic note on a wall in the hotel, and a shipping executivefor a company called Neptune-Avramidis Leon Prevant sees the note and is shaken. Thirteenyears later, Vincent disappears from aNeptune-Avramidisship.

• Emily St. John Mandel's latest novel, The Glass Hotel, is a timely look at a world derailed by financial fraud

Mandel is a New York-based Canadian writer. Her fourth novel,Station Eleven, was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Awardand won the 2015 Toronto Book Award.

Clyde Fans bySeth

Seth'sClyde Fansillustrates the quiet desperation of two brothers struggling to keep their family's increasingly irrelevant business afloat. As homes adopt air conditioning, selling oscillating fans proves challenging and less than fulfilling for Simon Matchard, who struggles to shake off his dutiful brother's criticism.

• Seth bids farewell to his 20-year comic Clyde Fans

Seth, who hails from Guelph, Ont., has contributed to publications such asThe New Yorker and New York Times Magazine. He hastwice won the Doug Wright Award for best book.

How to Pronounce Knife bySouvankham Thammavongsa

How to Pronounce Knifeis a collection of idiosyncratic and diverse stories, from a young man painting nails in a salon, to a housewife learning English from soap-operas. Capturing the daily lives of immigrants,Souvankham Thammavongsacaptures their hopes, disappointments, trauma and acts of defiance.

• Souvankham Thammavongsa's stories explore the diversity of the immigrant experience

Thammavongsais a writer and poet.Her stories have won an O. Henry Award and appeared inHarper's,Granta,The Paris ReviewandNOON.She has published four books of poetry, including 2019'sCluster.CBC Books named Thammavongsa a writer to watch in 2020.