38 books shortlisted for 2021 ReLit Awards
CBC Books | | Posted: April 19, 2021 6:52 PM | Last Updated: April 19, 2021
The ReLit Awards honour the best Canadian books published by independent presses
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.
This week focuses on the most recent year, 2021. Next week will feature the 2020 shortlists and winners, bringing the prize up to date.
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 finalists in the novel category are:
- Always Brave, Sometimes Kind by Katie Bickell
- Fake It So Real by Susan Sanford Blades
- All I Ask by Eva Crocker
- Seeing Martin by Su Croll
- Honey Butter Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi
- Throw Down Your Shadows by Deborah Hemming
- Dirty Birds by Morgan Murray
- The Baudelaire Fractal by Lisa Robertson
- Fair by Ed Seaward
- Noopiming by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
- After Elias by Eddy Boudel Tan
- Fauna by Christiane Vadnais
The finalists in the short fiction category are:
- Here the Dark by David Bergen
- Seeking Shade by Frances Boyle
- Stoop City by Kristyn Dunnion
- The Swan Suit by Katherine Fawcett
- The End of Me by John Gould
- Swimmers in Winter by Faye Guenther
- Permanent Tourist by Genni Gunn
- Czech Techno by Mark Anthony Jarman
- Dominoes at the Crossroads by Kaie Kellough
- Paradise Island and Other Galaxies by Michael Mirolla
- Goth Girls of Banff by John O'Neill
The finalists in the poetry category are:
- Swivelmount by Ken Babstock
- Pop by Simina Banu
- We Shed Our Skin Like Dynamite by Conyer Clayton
- The Headless Man by Peter Dubé
- Anthesis by Sue Goyette
- Niagara & Government by Phil Hall
- Roguelike by Mathew Henderson
- I Know Something You Don't Know by Amy LeBlanc
- Mythical Man by David Ly
- The Knowing Animals by Emily Skov-Nielsen
- Cult Life by Kyeren Regehr
- The Old Man in the Mirror Isn't Me by Ray Robertson
- it was never going to be okay by Jaye Simpson
- I Am the Big Heart by Sarah Venart
- Word Problems by Ian Williams
The 2021 winners will be revealed on Friday, April 23, 2021.
Past winners include Bill Gaston, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Lisa Moore, Ivan Coyote, Megan Gail Coles and Suzette Mayr.