Amazon Canada and The Walrus announced the nominees for the annual Amazon Canada First Novel Award.

The finalists are:

• Subterrane by Valérie Bah (Esplanade Books/Véhicule Press)
• When We Were Ashes by Andrew Boden (Goose Lane Editions)
• Juiceboxers by Benjamin Hertwig (Freehand Books)
• Oil People by David Huebert (McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada)
• How It Works Out by Myriam Lacroix (Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House Canada)
• I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue (HarperCollins Publishers)

The award comes with a $60,000 prize. Each of the finalists receive $6,000.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Toronto on June 5, with Mona Awad as guest speaker.

This year the judging panel was composed of Jean Marc Ah-Sen, Liz Harmer, Chelene Knight, and Shani Mootoo.

The First Novel Award was established in 1976. The most recent winner was Alicia Elliott for And Then She Fell.

The winner of the 2025 Amazon Canada Youth Short Story Award will also be announced at the award ceremony.

Authors between the ages of 13 and 17 are eligible to submit a short story under 3,000 words. The winner will receive $5,000, and the five finalists each receive $500.

The finalists in this category are:

• Emma Chappel, “Lost Boy”
• Willow Greenfield, “Autumn Nights”
• Thivya Jeyapalan, “In The Chair”
• Victoria Nguyen, “Heed My Prayers”
• Abbie Pasowisty, “The Colour of Your Thoughts”
• Vicky Zhu, “Suzanne”