The Giller Prize 2026 Longlist

I’m only familiar with 4 authors and 1 title from this year’s Giller Prize longlist, so this is going to be just a quick rundown of the nominated titles and what I understand of them from their descriptions. Links take you to each book’s page on its publisher’s website. I got the list from GillerPrize.ca.

The Longlist

• Jennifer Chevalier for her novel The Winter Witch, published by Simon & Schuster Canada

Inspired by the “bride ships” that sailed to the New World in the 17th century bringing potential wives to the settlers… but with a witchy twist. Set in New France (Quebec).

• Patrick deWitt for his novel Dodge City, published by House of Anansi Press

About a drug-fueled American draft dodger heading for Canada in 1967, stopping to say goodbye to family members along the way.

• Patricia Finn for her novel The Golden Boy, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

A Canadian-born man loses a high-profile job in American network television and retreats to Maui, where “a letter arrives with a request from the dead to do something for the living.”

• Tara Gereaux for her novel Wild People Quiet, published by Scribner Canada

A Métis woman passing as white in 1940s Saskatchewan has to choose between her carefully-maintained life and standing up for her Métis community when she learns of the government’s plans for them.

• Hollay Ghadery for her novel The Unravelling of Ou, published by Palimpsest Press

Sock puppet Ecology Paul tells the story of Minoo, the grandmother to whom he has been a constant companion and emotional support for a long time.

• Michelle Good for her novel Eliza Sunshine, published by Random House Canada

A family saga following three generations of Cree women connected through their storytelling.

• Nicholas Herring for his novel Your Breath in Charcoal, published by Goose Lane Editions

A “working-class odyssey” following two New Brunswickers in Toronto.

• Nazanine Hozar for her novel The Small Ones, published by Knopf Canada

A “gripping fable” about child martyrs in the Iran-Iraq War trying to “create a little family of their own.”

• Wayne Johnston for his novel The Novice of Holloway Hall, published by Knopf Canada

This “tragicomic saga” set in 1930s Newfoundland follows a turbulent week in the life of Vivvy Holloway, as she returns home from a convent to face her sister’s erratic behaviour and her family’s long-buried secrets.

• Colin McAdam for his novel Daphnis and Chloe, published by Biblioasis

Narrated by Eros, this is a modern retelling of the Greco-Roman myth of the same name.

• Mai Nguyen for her novel Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead, published by Simon & Schuster Canada

A grieving mother gets a job at a funeral home “and discovers the power of confronting grief.”

• Lisa Robertson for her novel Riverwork, published by Coach House Books

Set in Paris, France, a woman continues her missing aunt’s research on Paris’ lost river Bièvre.

• Patmeena Sabit for her novel Good People, published by Crown

In this novel that reads like true crime, an immigrant family is thrust under a microscope after tragedy strikes.

• Cordelia Strube for her novel At Sea in a Sieve, published by ECW Press

About a superior court judge who is also a single mother, as her tightly-controlled life is upended by the unpredictability of her brother and her ex.

My thoughts

I haven’t read any of these, though my Libby hold on Good People just came in today. Honestly, I could be convinced to pick up pretty much all of them, with the possible exception of Daphnis and Chloe. From the descriptions, I’m especially excited about Good People, The Novice of Holloway Hall, The Small Ones, The Unravelling of Ou, The Golden Boy, and maybe Dodge City.

The shortlist will be announced Monday, October 5, at 9am ET.