Ottawa – From intense drama, humour and biography to riveting history, political commentary and elegant poetry, this year’s finalists for the 2019 Ottawa Book Awards and Prix du livre d’Ottawa have something for everyone.
The awards recognize the top English and French books published in the past year by local authors. This year’s finalists include 17 prominent authors from Ottawa’s thriving literary community.
2019 Ottawa Book Awards finalists:
English Fiction
- Paul Carlucci – The High-Rise in Fort
Fierce
Goose Lane Editions - Mark Frutkin – The Rising
Tide
The Porcupine’s Quill - Kagiso Lesego Molope – This Book Betrays My
Brother
Mawenzi House Publishers - Michael F. Stewart – Ray Vs the Meaning of
Life
Self-published - Jean Van Loon – Building on River
Cormorant Books Inc.
English Non-Fiction
- Bruce Campbell – The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers - Tony Clarke – Getting to Zero: Canada Confronts Global Warming
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers - Tim Cook – The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War
Allen Lane Canada (Penguin Canada) - Elizabeth Hay – All Things Consoled: A daughter’s memoir
McClelland & Stewart
2019 Prix du livre d’Ottawa finalists:
French Fiction
- Andrée Christensen – L’Isle aux abeilles noires
Les Éditions David - Michelle Deshaies – XieXie
Les Éditions David - Daniel Groleau Landry – Fragments de ciels
Les Éditions L’Interligne - Lisa L’Heureux – Et si un soir
Les Éditions Prise de parole - Éric Mathieu – Le Goupil
La Mèche
French Non-Fiction
- Damien-Claude Bélanger – Thomas Chapais, historien
Les Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa - Maurice Henrie – Donc je suis
Les Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa - Maurice Henrie – Le poids du temps
Les Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa - Yvon Malette – Entre le risque et le rêve : Une brève histoire des Éditions David
Les Éditions David
Descriptions of short-listed books and author biographies are available on the Ottawa Book Awards webpage.
The winners of each category will be announced at the awards ceremony, which will take place at Ottawa City Hall on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30 pm in Jean Pigott Place. Each winner will receive $7,500, while finalists will each receive $1,000.
The Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry and Le Prix littéraire Émergence AAOF – 2019 will also be presented at the ceremony.
Past winners of the Ottawa Book Awards include John Metcalf, Charlotte Gray and David O’Meara. Past winners of the Prix du livre d’Ottawa include Pierre-Luc Landry, Alain Bernard Marchand and Margaret Michèle Cook.
