The regional shortlists for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize have been released. Canadian authors swept the nominations for best book in the Caribbean and Canadian section, with half of the titles in that category being first novels (Euphoria, Goya’s Dog, and The Golden Mean). Trinidadian author Raymond Ramchartiar, who was nominated for best first book for his short story collection The Island Quintet, is the sole Caribbean author on the lists.

Absent on the list for best book are some of the biggest Canadian literary titles of the past year, including Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, Alice Munro’s Too Much Happiness, and Linden MacIntyre’s Scotiabank Giller Prize“winning The Bishop’s Man. And several titles snubbed by the Giller jury “ notably, Galore and February “ are getting their due. (Michael Crummey’s Galore was also nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Awards.)

The complete Caribbean and Canada shortlists are as follows:

Caribbean and Canada Best Book:
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels (McClelland & Stewart)
February by Lisa Moore (House of Anansi Press)
Euphoria by Connie Gault (Coteau Books)
Goya’s Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
Galore by Michael Crummey (Doubleday Canada)
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Random House Canada)