40 books shortlisted for 2019 ReLit Awards
CBC Books | | Posted: April 12, 2021 4:45 PM | Last Updated: April 12, 2021
The ReLit Awards honour the best Canadian books published by independent presses
Forty books have been shortlisted for the 2019 ReLit Awards.
The ReLit Awards honour the best Canadian books published by independent presses.
There are three categories: novel, short fiction and poetry. The prize is known for releasing long shortlists.
The prize was first founded in 2000 by Newfoundland filmmaker and author Kenneth J. Harvey. The year 2017 marked the last year the prizes were previously awarded.
The ReLit Awards are now being managed by Harvey's daughter, Katherine Alexandra Harvey.
Having been on hiatus since 2017, the awards are celebrating four years of awards in the month of April.
Each week, the shortlists for a particular year will be announced on Monday, and the winners for that year will be announced on Friday.
Winners receive the ReLit Ring, which consists of four dials that are inscribed with the alphabet. However, Harvey says financial donations are needed to ensure this tradition continues.
The 2018 award winners were announced last week. Martin West, Daniel Zomparelli and Rhonda Ganz were that year's winners.
This week, the prize is turning to 2019.
The finalists in the short fiction category are:
- The Knockoff Eclipse by Melissa Bull
- All the Lonely People by Barry Callaghan
- The High-Rise in Fort Fierce by Paul Carlucci
- Hider/Seeker by Jen Currin
- Tread & Other Stories by Barry Dempster
- You and Me, Belonging by Aaron Kreuter
- Difficult People by Catriona Wright
The finalists in the poetry category are:
- What Your Hands Have Done by Chris Bailey
- Safe Words by Michelle Brown
- Mrs. Romanov by Lori Cayer
- Listen Before Transmit by Dani Couture
- What Kind of Men Are You by Degan Davis
- Anatomic by Adam Dickinson
- City Poems by Joe Fiorito
- Divided by Linda Frank
- Quarrels by Eve Joseph
- We Like Feelings. We Are Serious by Julie McIsaac
- Goodbye Horses by Nathaniel G. Moore
- Night on Prose Mountain by bpNichol
- Full Circle by Helen Fogwill Porter
- Nightlight for Children of Insomniacs by Shannon Quinn
- Sit How You Want by Robin Richardson
- Midday at the Super-Kamiokande by Matthew Tierney
The finalists in the novel category are:
- Marry, Bang, Kill by Andrew Battershill
- Queen Solomon by Tamara Faith Berger
- Army of the Brave and Accidental by Alex Boyd
- Atomic Road by Grant Buday
- The Embalmer by Anne-Renée Caillé, translated by Rhonda Mullins
- In Which by Louise Carson
- Little Beast by Julie Demers
- The Abandoned by Kyp Harness
- Amusement Park of Constant Sorrow by Jason Heroux
- No Quarter by John Jantunen
- No Good Asking by Fran Kimmel
- Hummingbird by Devin Krukoff
- Adjacentland by Rabindranath Maharaj
- Twin Studies by Keith Maillard
- Black Star by Maureen Medved
- The Deserters by Pamela Mulloy
- Chameleon (Days) by Dean Serravalle
The 2019 winners will be revealed on Friday, April 16, 2021.
Next week, the 2020 shortlists and winners will be announced.
Past winners include Bill Gaston, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Lisa Moore, Ivan Coyote, Megan Gail Coles and Suzette Mayr.