38 books shortlisted for 2020 ReLit Awards
CBC Books | | Posted: April 27, 2021 6:24 PM | Last Updated: April 27, 2021
The ReLit Awards honour the best Canadian books published by independent presses
Thirty-seven books have been shortlisted for the 2020 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.
This week, the prize focuses on the year 2020.
The finalists in the novel category are:
- Proof I Was Here by Becky Blake
- Skin House by Michael Blouin
- Crocuses Hatch From Snow by Jaime Burnet
- The Western Alienation Merit Badge by Nancy Jo Cullen
- The Lost Sisters by Andrea Gunraj
- The Ticking Heart by Andrew Kaufman
- There Has to Be a Knife by Adnan Khan
- Itzel I: A Tlatelolco Awakening by Sarah Xerar Murphy
- This is Agatha Falling by Heather Nolan
- Dual Citizens by Alix Ohlin
- Provisionally Yours by Antanas Sileika
- Crow by Amy Spurway
- We All Will Be Received by Leslie Vryenhoek
The finalists in the short fiction category are:
- Use Your Imagination! by Kris Bertin
- Lost Boys by Darci Bysouth
- Moccasin Square Gardens by Richard Van Camp
- A Dark House and Other Stories by Ian Colford
- Dig by Terry Doyle
- Dead Flowers by Alexander Laidlaw
- Swallows Playing Chicken by David Menear
- Cracker Jacks for Misfits by Christine Ottoni
- Meteorites by Julie Paul
- Half-Sisters by Ryan Turner
- Send More Tourists… the Last Ones Were Delicious by Tracey Waddleton
The finalists in the poetry category are:
- The Suicide's Son by James Arthur
- Winter's Cold Girls by Lisa Baird
- The National Gallery by Jonathan Ball
- Renaissance Normcore by Adèle Barclay
- NDN Coping Mechanisms by Billy-Ray Belcourt
- Boom Time by Lindsay Bird
- Fresh Pack of Smokes by Cassandra Blanchard
- New and Collected Poems by Tom Dawe
- Our Latest in Folktales by Matthew Gwathmey
- Bounce House by Jennica Harper
- Breakfast with a Heron by James Hawes
- The Inflatable Life by Mark Laba
- This is the Emergency Present by Vincent Pagé
- Motel of the Opposable Thumbs by Stuart Ross
The 2020 winners will be announced on Friday, April 30, 2021.
Past winners include Bill Gaston, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Lisa Moore, Ivan Coyote, Megan Gail Coles and Suzette Mayr.