Amazon.ca First Novel Award
The Amazon.ca First Novel Award , formerly known as the Books in Canada First Novel Award , is a Canadian literary award given annually to the best debut novel in English by a citizen of Canada . This prize has been awarded since 1976.
The First Novel Award was initially established by the literary magazine Books in Canada . Between 1976 and 1994 the Prize was sponsored by Smithbooks. During this phase the award was known as the Smithbooks / Books in Canada First Novel Award . When Smithbooks was taken over by Chapters Books Inc., the award was named Chapters / Books in Canada First Novel Award . The award was fundamentally reorganized when Books in Canada were taken over by Adrian and Olga Stein in 1995. The Steins retained an editor for this first novel, presented a condensed review program for the first work and formalized the admission procedure for the candidates. In 1999 the literary magazine decided to end its association with Chapters and was awarded the Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award by the new sponsor amazon.ca . Amazon.ca doubled the prize money for the winner to 10,000 Canadian dollars . The naming rights for the award were sold to Amazon in 2009, giving the award its current name.
The jury at the last award ceremony consisted of four members from the literary world: Stuart Woods , the editor of Quill & Quire , the Canadian book trade magazine , the writer and former award winner Joan Thomas , the editor Cynthia Good and Jo Steffens , the general director of the Calgary Word Fest.
Winners and nominees
1976
The winning prize in 1976 was a tie .
- Ian McLachlan , The Seventh Hexagram
- Michael Ondaatje , Coming Through Slaughter
- Alice Boissoneau , Eileen McCullough
- David Kellum , The Falling World of Tristram Pocket
- Susan Kerslake , Middlewatch
- Sharon Riis , The True Story of Ida Johnson
- Carol Shields , Small Ceremonies
- Mary Soderstrom , The Descent of Andrew McPherson
1977
- Oonah McFee , sand bars
- Shane Dennison , Sidehill Gouger
- Pauline Gedge , Child of the Morning
- Jack Hodgins , The Invention of the World
- MT Kelly , I Do Remember the Fall
- Helen Levi , A Small Informal Dance
- Morley Torgov , The Abramsky Variations
1978
- Joan Barfoot , Abra
- Michael Dorland , The Double-Cross Circuit
- Clive Doucet , Disneyland, Please
- Margaret Drury Gane , Parade on an Empty Street
- Kevin Major , Hold Fast
- Frank Paci , The Italians
1979
- Clark Blaise , Lunar Attractions
- Victoria Branden , Mrs. Job
- Stan Dragland , Peckertracks
- Florence Evans , A Man Without Passion
- Shirley Faessler , Everything in the Window
- Katherine Govier , Random Descent
- Betty Lambert , Crossings
1980
- WD Valgardson , Gentle Sinners
- Martyn Burke , Laughing War
- Susan Musgrave , The Charcoal Burners
- Graham Petrie , Seahorse
- Leon Rooke , Fat Woman
1981
- Joy Kogawa , Obasan
- Jim Christy , Streethearts
- George Jonas , Final Decree
- Edward O. Phillips , Sunday's Child
- Gary Ross , Always Tip the Dealer
1982
- William Patrick Kinsella , Shoeless Joe
- Lorris Elliott , Coming for to Carry
- Nessa Rapoport , Preparing for Sabbath
- Geraldine Rahmani , Blue
- Ann Rosenberg , The Bee Book
1983
- Heather Robertson , Willie: A Romance
- Robert G. Collins , Tolerable Levels of Violence
- Susan Swan , The Biggest Modern Woman in the World
- George Szanto , Not Working
- Wayne Tefs , Figures on a Wharf
1984
- Geoffrey Ursell , Perdue, or How the West Was Lost
- Sharon Butala , Country of the Heart
- Douglas Glover , Precious
- John Gray , Dazzled
- Sara Stambaugh , I Hear the Reaper's Song
- Armin Wiebe , The Salvation of Yasch Siemens
1985
- Wayne Johnston , The Story of Bobby O'Malley
- Susan Charlotte Haley , A Nest of Singing Birds
- Ann Ireland , A Certain Mr. Takahashi
- Frank Jones , Master and Maid
- Robert Walshe , Wales' Work
1986
- Karen Lawrence , The Life of Helen Alone
- Jo Anne Williams Bennett , Downfall People
- Marc Diamond , momentum
- David Gilmour , Back on Tuesday
- Paulette Jiles , The Late Great Human Road Show
1987
- Marion Quednau , The Butterfly Chair
- DF Bailey , Fire Eyes
- WD Barcus , Squatters' Island
- Pauline Holdstock , The Blackbird's Song
- Seán Virgo , Selakhi
1988
- Rick Salutin , A Man of Little Faith
- Neil Bissoondath , A Casual Brutality
- Joan Clark , The Victory of Geraldine Gull
- David Homel , Electrical Storms
- Janice Kulyk Keefer , Constellations
- Helen Fogwill Porter , January, February, June or July
1989
- Sandra Birdsell , The Missing Child
- Marilyn Bowering , To All Appearances a Lady
- Barry Callaghan , The Way the Angel Spread Her Wings
- Jacqueline Dumas , Madeleine and the Angel
- Kristjana Gunnars , The Prowler
- Kenneth Radu , Distant Relations
1990
- Nino Ricci , Lives of the Saints
- Gail Bowen , Deadly Appearances
- Rita Donovan , The Dark Jewels
- Glen Huser , Grace Lake
- Margot Livesey , Homework
- Carsten Stroud , Sniper's Moon
1991
- Rohinton Mistry , Such a Long Journey
- Douglas Coupland , Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture
- Ekbert Faas , Woyzeck's Head
- Michael Kenyon , Kleinberg
- Alberto Manguel , News From a Foreign Country Came
1992
- John Steffler , The Afterlife of George Cartwright
- Douglas Anthony Cooper , Amnesia
- Carole Corbeil , voice-over
- Kenneth J. Harvey , brother
- Greg Hollingshead , Spin Dry
1993
- Deborah Joy Corey , Losing Eddie
- Catherine Bush , Minus Time
- Don Dickinson , The Crew
- Douglas How , Blow Up the Trumpet in the New Moon
- Carol Malyon , If I Knew I'd Tell You
1994
- Shyam Selvadurai , Funny Boy
- Charles Foran , Kitchen Music
- Diane Schoemperlen , In the Language of Love
- Russell Smith , How Insensitive
- Cordelia Strube , Alex & Zee
1995
- Keath Fraser , Popular Anatomy
- Diana Atkinson , Highways and Dancehalls
- Wayson Choy , The Jade Peony
- Larissa Lai , When Fox Is a Thousand
- Yan Li , Daughters of the Red Land
1996
- Anne Michaels , Fugitive Pieces
- Gail Anderson-Dargatz , The Cure for Death by Lightning
- Ann-Marie MacDonald , Fall on Your Knees
- Yann Martel , Self
- Shani Mootoo , Cereus Blooms at Night
1997
- Margaret Gibson , Opium Dreams
- Kim Echlin , Elephant Winter
- Allan Levine , The Blood Libel
- Rabindranath Maharaj , Homer in Flight
- Tim Wynveen , Angel Falls
1998
- André Alexis , Childhood
- Loranne Brown , The Handless Maiden
- Tomson Highway , Kiss of the Fur Queen
- Terry Jordan , Beneath That Starry Place
- Kerri Sakamoto , The Electrical Field
1999
- David Macfarlane , Summer Gone
- Alan R. Wilson , Before the Flood
- Alistair MacLeod , No Great Mischief
- Donna Morrissey , Kit's Law
- Jim Munroe , Flyboy Action Figure Comes with Gasmask
- Catherine Simmons-Niven , A Fine Daughter
2000
- Eva Stachniak , Necessary Lies
- Steven Galloway , Finnie Walsh
- Scott Gardiner , The Dominion of Wyley McFadden
- Susan Juby , Alice, I Think
- Lydia Kwa , This Place Called Absence
2001
- Michael Redhill , Martin Sloane
- Dennis Bock , The Ash Garden
- Michael Crummey , River Thieves
- Marina Endicott , Open Arms
- Linda Little , Strong Hollow
- Elizabeth Ruth , Ten Good Seconds of Silence
2002
- Mary Lawson , Crow Lake
- Christy Ann Conlin , Heave
- Aislinn Hunter , Stay
- Clint Hutzulak , The Beautiful Dead End
- Michael V. Smith , Cumberland
- Marnie Woodrow , Spelling Mississippi
2003
- Michel Basilières , Black Bird
- Clayton Bailey , The Expedition
- John Bemrose , The Island Walkers
- Lisa Grekul , Kalyna's song
- Bettina von Kampen , Blue Becomes You
- Edeet Ravel , Ten Thousand Lovers
2004
- Colin McAdam , Some Great Thing
- David Elias , Sunday Afternoon
- Ibi Kaslik , skinny
- Arthur Motyer , What's Remembered
- Catherine Safer , Bishop's Road
2005
- Joseph Boyden , Three Day Road
- Howard Akler , The City Man
- Brenda Brooks , Gotta Find Me an Angel
- Anne Giardini , The Sad Truth About Happiness
- Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer , The Nettle Spinner
- B. Glen Rotchin , The Rent Collector
2006
- Madeleine Thien , Certainty
- Peter Behrens , The Law of Dreams
- John Degen , The Uninvited Guest
- Annette Lapointe , Stolen
- Heather O'Neill , Lullabies for Little Criminals
- Adam Lewis Schroeder , Empress of Asia
2007
- Gil Adamson , The Outlander
- David Chariandy , Soucouyant
- Kyo Maclear , The Letter Opener
- CS Richardson , The End of the Alphabet
- Brian Tucker, Big White Knuckles
- Andrew Wedderburn , The Milk Chicken Bomb
2008
- Joan Thomas , Reading by Lightning
- Mike Blouin , Chase & Haven
- Claudia Dey , stunt
- Patrick Lane , Red Dog, Red Dog
- Mary Swan , The Boys in the Trees
2009
- Jessica Grant , Come, Thou Tortoise
- Diana Fitzgerald Bryden , No Place Strange
- Annabel Lyon , The Golden Mean
- Damian Tarnopolsky , Goya's Dog
- Dragan Todorović , Diary of Interrupted Days
- Ian Weir , Daniel O'Thunder
2010
- Eleanor Catton , The Rehearsal
- Shaughnessy Bishop Stall, Ghosted
- Miguel Syjuco , Ilustrado
- Kathleen Winter, Annabel
- Dianne Warren, Cool Water
Web links
- First Novel Award on Amazon. Approx