Wayne Grady has been awarded the 2013 Amazon.ca First Novel Award for Emancipation Day, published by Doubleday Canada. Grady was presented with the prize, worth $7,500, at a gala hosted by Jian Ghomeshi in Toronto Wednesday evening. Amazon presents the annual award in partnership with Quill & Quire.

The five first-time novelists nominated for the award included Kenneth Bonert for The Lion Seeker (Knopf Canada), Krista Bridge for The Eliot Girls (Douglas & McIntyre), Susan Downe for Juanita Wildrose: My True Life (Pedlar Press) and D.W. Wilson for Ballistics (Hamish Hamilton Canada).

A jury comprising authors Angie Abdou, Kamal Al-Solaylee, and Brian Francis selected the winner. The shortlist was chosen by Q&Q editor Stuart Woods.