38 books shortlisted for 2020 ReLit Awards

Thirty-seven books have been shortlisted for the 2020 ReLit Awards.

The ReLit Awards honour the best Canadian books published by independent presses.

There are three categories: novel, short fiction and poetry. The prize is known for releasing long shortlists.

The prize was first founded in 2000 byNewfoundlandfilmmaker and authorKenneth J. Harvey. The year 2017 marked the last year the prizes were previously awarded.

The ReLit Awards are now being managed by Harvey's daughter, Katherine Alexandra Harvey.

Having been on hiatus since 2017, the awardsare celebrating fouryears of awards in the month of April.

Each week, the shortlists for a particular year will be announced on Monday, and the winners for that year will be announced on Friday.

Winners receive the ReLitRing, which consists of four dials that are inscribed with the alphabet. However, Harvey says financial donations are needed to ensure this tradition continues.

The 2018, 2019 and 2021 winners have been already announced.

This week, the prize focuses onthe year 2020.

The finalists in the novel category are:

• Proof I Was Here byBecky Blake
• Skin House byMichael Blouin
• Crocuses Hatch From Snow byJaime Burnet
• The Western Alienation Merit Badge by Nancy Jo Cullen
• The Lost Sisters byAndrea Gunraj
• The Ticking Heart byAndrew Kaufman
• There Has to Be a Knife byAdnan Khan
• Itzel I: A Tlatelolco Awakening bySarah Xerar Murphy
• This is Agatha Falling byHeather Nolan
• Dual Citizens byAlix Ohlin
• Provisionally Yours byAntanas Sileika
• Crow byAmy Spurway
• We All Will Be Received byLeslie Vryenhoek

The finalists in the short fiction category are:

• Use Your Imagination! byKris Bertin
• Lost Boys byDarci Bysouth
• Moccasin Square Gardens byRichard Van Camp
• A Dark House and Other Stories by Ian Colford
• Dig byTerry Doyle
• Dead Flowers byAlexander Laidlaw
• Swallows Playing Chicken byDavid Menear
• Cracker Jacks for Misfits byChristine Ottoni
• Meteorites byJulie Paul
• Half-Sisters byRyan Turner
• Send More Tourists the Last Ones Were Delicious byTracey Waddleton

The finalists in the poetry category are:

• The Suicide's Son byJames Arthur
• Winter's Cold Girls byLisa Baird
• The National Gallery byJonathan Ball
• Renaissance Normcore byAdle Barclay
• NDN Coping Mechanisms byBilly-Ray Belcourt
• Boom Time byLindsay Bird
• Fresh Pack of Smokes byCassandra Blanchard
• New and Collected Poems byTom Dawe
• Our Latest in Folktales byMatthew Gwathmey
• Bounce House byJennica Harper
• Breakfast with aHeron byJames Hawes
• The Inflatable Life byMark Laba
• This is the Emergency Present byVincent Pag
• Motel of the Opposable Thumbs byStuart Ross

The 2020 winners will be announced on Friday, April 30, 2021.

Past winners include Bill Gaston,Souvankham Thammavongsa, Lisa Moore, Ivan Coyote, Megan Gail Coles and Suzette Mayr.