Sharon Bala (Nadra Ginting)

The Walrus Foundation and Amazon Canada have announced the six shortlisted books for the 42nd annual First Novel Award. The $40,000 grand prize will be presented at a gala in Toronto on May 22.

The 2018 shortlist:

• The Boat People, by Sharon Bala (McClelland & Stewart)
• The Bone Mother, by David Demchuk (ChiZine Publications)
• American War, by Omar El Akkad (M&S)
• The Water Beetles, by Michael Kaan (Goose Lane Editions)
• The Black Peacock, by Rachel Manley (Cormorant Books)
• Dazzle Patterns, by Alison Watt (Freehand Books)

The winner will be chosen by judges Irene Gammel, Ryerson University’s Canada Research Chair in Modern Literature and Culture; The Bleeds author Dimitri Nasrallah; and journalist and editor Donna Bailey Nurse.

The panel will also select the winner of the inaugural Youth Author Award, a $5,000 prize for the best short story under 3,000 words submitted by an author ages 13 to 17.