Books in Canada First Novel Award

The Books in Canada First Novel Award is a literary award given annually to the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident of Canada. It has been awarded since 1976.

The Books in Canada First Novel Award has a tumultuous history. It was founded by the literary magazine Books in Canada but when money ran short the award was managed by Smithbooks and became the "Smithbooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award". When Smithbooks was acquired by Chapters Books Inc., it became the "Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award". In 1999 the magazine decided to end its affiliation with Chapters. It is now officially the "Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award".

Winners and nominees

1976

The 1976 award was a tie.

• Ian McLachlan, The Seventh Hexagram
• Michael Ondaatje, Coming Through Slaughter
• Alice Boissoneau, Eileen McCullough
• David Kellum, The Falling World of Tristram Pocket
• Susan Kerslake, Middlewatch
• Sharon Riis, The True Story of Ida Johnson
• Carol Shields, Small Ceremonies
• Mary Soderstrom, The Descent of Andrew McPherson

1977

• Oonah McFee, Sandbars
• Shane Dennison, Sidehill Gouger
• Pauline Gedge, Child of the Morning
• Jack Hodgins, The Invention of the World
• M.T. Kelly, I Do Remember the Fall
• Helen Levi, A Small Informal Dance
• Morley Torgov, The Abramsky Variations

1978

• Joan Barfoot, Abra
• Michael Dorland, The Double-Cross Circuit
• Clive Doucet, Disneyland, Please
• Margaret Drury Gane, Parade on an Empty Street
• Kevin Major, Hold Fast
• Frank Paci, The Italians

1979

• Clark Blaise, Lunar Attractions
• Victoria Branden, Mrs. Job
• Stan Dragland, Peckertracks
• Florence Evans, A Man Without Passion
• Shirley Faessler, Everything in the Window
• Katherine Govier, Random Descent
• Betty Lambert, Crossings

1980

• W.D. Valgardson, Gentle Sinners
• Martyn Burke, Laughing War
• Susan Musgrave, The Charcoal Burners
• Graham Petrie, Seahorse
• Leon Rooke, Fat Woman

1981

• Joy Kogawa, Obasan
• Jim Christy, Streethearts
• George Jonas, Final Decree
• Edward O. Phillips, Sunday's Child
• Gary Ross, Always Tip the Dealer

1982

• W.P. Kinsella, Shoeless Joe
• Lorris Elliott, Coming for to Carry
• Nessa Rapoport, Preparing for Sabbath
• Geraldine Rahmani, Blue
• Ann Rosenberg, The Bee Book

1983

• Heather Robertson, Willie: A Romance
• Robert G. Collins, Tolerable Levels of Violence
• Susan Swan, The Biggest Modern Woman in the World
• George Szanto, Not Working
• Wayne Tefs, Figures on a Wharf

1984

• Geoffrey Ursell, Perdue, or How the West Was Lost
• Sharon Butala, Country of the Heart
• Douglas Glover, Precious
• John Gray, Dazzled
• Sara Stambaugh, I Hear the Reaper's Song
• Armin Wiebe, The Salvation of Yasch Siemens

1985

• Wayne Johnston, The Story of Bobby O'Malley
• Susan Charlotte Haley, A Nest of Singing Birds
• Ann Ireland, A Certain Mr. Takahashi
• Frank Jones, Master and Maid
• Robert Walshe, Wales' Work

1986

• Karen Lawrence, The Life of Helen Alone
• Jo Anne Williams Bennett, Downfall People
• Marc Diamond, Momentum
• David Gilmour, Back on Tuesday
• Paulette Jiles, The Late Great Human Road Show

1987

• Marion Quednau, The Butterfly Chair
• D.F. Bailey, Fire Eyes
• W.D. Barcus, Squatters' Island
• Pauline Holdstock, The Blackbird's Song
• Seán Virgo, Selakhi

1988

• Rick Salutin, A Man of Little Faith
• Neil Bissoondath, A Casual Brutality
• Joan Clark, The Victory of Geraldine Gull
• David Homel, Electrical Storms
• Janice Kulyk Keefer, Constellations
• Helen Fogwill Porter, January, February, June or July

1989

• Sandra Birdsell, The Missing Child
• Marilyn Bowering, To All Appearances a Lady
• Barry Callaghan, The Way the Angel Spread Her Wings
• Jacqueline Dumas, Madeleine and the Angel
• Kristjana Gunnars, The Prowler
• Kenneth Radu, Distant Relations

1990

• Nino Ricci, Lives of the Saints
• Gail Bowen, Deadly Appearances
• Rita Donovan, The Dark Jewels
• Glen Huser, Grace Lake
• Margot Livesey, Homework
• Carsten Stroud, Sniper's Moon

1991

• Rohinton Mistry, Such a Long Journey
• Douglas Coupland, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture
• Ekbert Faas, Woyzeck's Head
• Michael Kenyon, Kleinberg
• Alberto Manguel, News From a Foreign Country Came

1992

• John Steffler, The Afterlife of George Cartwright
• Douglas Cooper, Amnesia
• Carole Corbeil, Voice-Over
• Kenneth J. Harvey, Brud
• Greg Hollingshead, Spin Dry

1993

• Deborah Joy Corey, Losing Eddie
• Catherine Bush, Minus Time
• Don Dickinson, The Crew
• Douglas How, Blow Up the Trumpet in the New Moon
• Carol Malyon, If I Knew I'd Tell You

1994

• Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
• Charles Foran, Kitchen Music
• Diane Schoemperlen, In the Language of Love
• Russell Smith, How Insensitive
• Cordelia Strube, Alex & Zee

1995

• Keath Fraser, Popular Anatomy
• Diana Atkinson, Highways and Dancehalls
• Wayson Choy, The Jade Peony
• Larissa Lai, When Fox Is a Thousand
• Yan Li, Daughters of the Red Land

1996

• Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces
• Gail Anderson-Dargatz, The Cure for Death by Lightning
• Ann-Marie MacDonald, Fall on Your Knees
• Yann Martel, Self
• Shani Mootoo, Cereus Blooms at Night

1997

• Margaret Gibson, Opium Dreams
• Kim Echlin, Elephant Winter
• Allan Levine, The Blood Libel
• Rabindranath Maharaj, Homer in Flight
• Tim Wynveen, Angel Falls

1998

• André Alexis, Childhood
• Loranne Brown, The Handless Maiden
• Tomson Highway, Kiss of the Fur Queen
• Terry Jordan, Beneath That Starry Place
• Kerri Sakamoto, The Electrical Field

1999

The 1999 award was a tie.

• David Macfarlane, Summer Gone
• Alan R. Wilson, Before the Flood
• Alistair MacLeod, No Great Mischief
• Donna Morrissey, Kit's Law
• Jim Munroe, Flyboy Action Figure Comes with Gasmask
• Catherine Simmons-Niven, A Fine Daughter

2000

• Eva Stachniak, Necessary Lies
• Steven Galloway, Finnie Walsh
• Scott Gardiner, The Dominion of Wyley McFadden
• Susan Juby, Alice, I Think
• Lydia Kwa, This Place Called Absence

2001

• Michael Redhill, Martin Sloane
• Dennis Bock, The Ash Garden
• Michael Crummey, River Thieves
• Marina Endicott, Open Arms
• Linda Little, Strong Hollow
• Elizabeth Ruth, Ten Good Seconds of Silence

2002

• Mary Lawson, Crow Lake
• Christy Ann Conlin, Heave
• Aislinn Hunter, Stay
• Clint Hutzulak, The Beautiful Dead End
• Michael V. Smith, Cumberland
• Marnie Woodrow, Spelling Mississippi

2003

• Michel Basilières, Black Bird
• Clayton Bailey, The Expedition
• John Bemrose, The Island Walkers
• Lisa Grekul, Kalyna's Song
• Bettina von Kampen, Blue Becomes You
• Edeet Ravel, Ten Thousand Lovers

2004

• Colin McAdam, Some Great Thing
• David Elias, Sunday Afternoon
• Ibi Kaslik, Skinny
• Arthur Motyer, What's Remembered
• Catherine Safer, Bishop's Road

2005

• Joseph Boyden, Three Day Road
• Howard Akler, The City Man
• Brenda Brooks, Gotta Find Me an Angel
• Anne Giardini, The Sad Truth About Happiness
• Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, The Nettle Spinner
• B. Glen Rotchin, The Rent Collector

2006

• Madeleine Thien, Certainty
• Peter Behrens, The Law of Dreams
• John Degen, The Uninvited Guest
• Annette Lapointe, Stolen
• Heather O'Neill, Lullabies for Little Criminals
• Adam Lewis Schroeder, Empress of Asia

2007

• Gil Adamson, The Outlander
• David Chariandy, Soucouyant
• Kyo Maclear, The Letter Opener
• C.S. Richardson, The End of the Alphabet
• Brian Tucker, Big White Knuckles
• Andrew Wedderburn, The Milk Chicken Bomb

2008

• Joan Thomas, Reading by Lightning
• Mike Blouin, Chase & Haven
• Claudia Dey, Stunt
• Patrick Lane, Red Dog, Red Dog
• Mary Swan, The Boys in the Trees

2009

• Jessica Grant, Come, Thou Tortoise
• Diana Fitzgerald Bryden, No Place Strange
• Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean
• Damian Tarnopolsky, Goya's Dog
• Dragan Todorović, Diary of Interrupted Days
• Ian Weir, Daniel O'Thunder

2010

   Eleanor Catton – The Rehearsal

Also shortlisted:

   Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall – Ghosted
   Miguel Syjuco – Ilustrado
   Kathleen Winter – Annabel
   Dianne Warren – Cool Water

External links

• The Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award