Five finalists have been chosen for the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. The winner of the prize, which was renamed earlier this year in honour of Writers’ Trust co-founders Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, will receive $60,000. Each finalist receives $5,000. The winner will be announced at a digital ceremony on Nov. 3.

The finalists are:

● Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen (Harper Perennial)

● We Want What We Want by Alix Ohlin (House of Anansi Press)

● Fight Night by Miriam Toews (Knopf Canada)

● August into Winter by Guy Vanderhaeghe (McClelland & Stewart)

● The Strangers by Katherena Vermette (Hamish Hamilton Canada)

The jury, comprised of Rebecca Fisseha, Michelle Good, and Steven Price, chose the shortlisted books from 130 books submitted by 60 publishers. In addition to a new name for the Writers’ Trust fiction prize, this year also marks the first year the award is sponsored by Research in Motion’s former CEO Jim Balsillie, who will endow the prize through 2030.