Mona Awad

The Amazon.ca First Novel Award shortlist has been announced. A jury comprised of author Gurjinder Barsran and The Walrus fiction editor Nick Mount, and headed by University of Toronto English professor Russell Brown – who selected the finalists – will announce the winner of the $40,000 prize on May 26.

• Karim Alrawi, Book of Sands (Harper Avenue)
• Mona Awad, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl (Penguin Canada)
• Aaron Cully Drake, Do You Think This Is Strange? (Brindle & Glass)
• W. Mark Giles, Seep (Anvil Press)
• Judith McCormack, Backspring (Biblioasis)
• Elizabeth Philips, The Afterlife of Birds (Freehand Books)