It’s Giller Prize season again. (It seems to have come around especially quickly this year; it’ll be Christmas before we know it!)
As per usual, I’m going to take part in the Shadow jury, something I’ve done every year since 2011, which means reading all the (shortlisted) titles and then selecting a Shadow winner in advance of the real winner. (You can read more about how it all works and who is on the Shadow jury at KevinfromCanada’s blog.)
The titles on the longlist are:
- Zolitude by Paige Cooper
- French Exit by Patrick deWitt
- Songs for the Cold of Heart by Eric Dupont, translated by Peter McCambridge
- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
- Beirut Hellfire Society by Rawi Hage
- Motherhood by Sheila Heti
- Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper
- An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
- Something for Everyone by Lisa Moore
- Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
- Vi by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman
- Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
I won’t be reading all the titles, but focusing on the shortlist when it is announced on October 1. This means I will have seven weeks to hunt out the books (not all are published in the UK) and read them in advance of the winner being named on November 19. I already have Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black lying in wait…
Reading Matters 
It’s interesting to me that Washington Black appears a second time, the first being for the Man Booker Prize this year. I wonder if it is actually that good; I haven’t yet read it as I await our library’s copy.
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The same thing happened with Half Blood Blues (in 2011) and it *was* that good. It won the Giller that year and the Governor General (if I remember correctly). It was shortlisted for the Booker but lost out to Julian Barnes.
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I have not made it a habit of reading Giller Prize books; I look forward to your views and trying a few myself.
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I’m hoping the excellent ‘Songs for the Cold of Heart’ makes it – as it’s 600 pp., I suspect you might be crossing your fingers that it doesn’t 😉
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You’re a cruel man, Tony 😆
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Happy reading, Kim, I hope there’s no disappointments this year:)
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Well, there’s always at least one disappointing read in these lists, but I’m excited about this one as it seems to have some really intriguing books on it.
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Giller Prize season already? Wow, this year is flying by. I’m surprised at how many of these books are already available in the US. Usually, I have to wait until after the winner is announced to source them. Looking forward to reading the Shadow Giller judges’ thoughts!
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I know… the year is flying! Not all of the books are available in the UK, but hoping when the shortlist is announced I won’t have too spend too much money sourcing them from Canada. Sometimes this jury thing becomes an expensive exercise!
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I haven’t read any of these but do have French Exit and Motherhood. so I might try and read those before mid-November.
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I think they’re the only ones currently available here (along with Washington Black) so hoping they’ll make the cut!
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I really enjoyed Washington Black. Reading the deWitt at the mo and loving that!
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I’ve heard lots of good things about Washington Black… I’ve just started reading it and can already tell I’m going to like it. I’ve read deWitt’s previous work (he always gets shortlisted for the Giller) so will look forward to reading the new one. Has it been released in UK yet? (I no longer get sent review copies 😩)
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It came out this week.
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Kim, I’d love to read along. Although I’m not sure I’d fit them all in by the time the prize is announced! I may well give it a go, though…
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Be great to have you along, Steve, however many you choose to read.
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Washington Black is an excellent place to start!
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Started it yesterday, Naomi, and really loving it. It’s what I would call my kind of book. I love historical fiction with a sense of adventure!
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Yay!
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Hope you’re still enjoying your shortlist reading (for some reason, I wasn’t able to leave a comment before – maybe the bookish universe didn’t want me to say anything until the shortlist was announced)!
I’m really excited to be part of the Shadow Jury this year: looking forward to lots of good books and good discussion.
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So great to have you on board… sorry you couldn’t leave a comment… my blog is set so that if it’s the first time you comment it gets held in moderation… just to prevent the spammers… but now I’ve “approved” your first comment you shouldn’t have any problem from now on.
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