The Association des libraires du Québec (ALQ) unveiled Thursday evening the 24 finalists for the Prix des libraires du Québec, which rewards works from here and elsewhere published over the past year.
Five titles were selected by the booksellers’ committees in the Quebec novel-short stories-narrative category, namely The banality of a shotfrom Mali Navia (Leméac), Sailors can’t swimby Dominique Scali (La Peuplade), Losing the mindby Heather O’Neill (Viola), At homeby Myriam Vincent (Poètes de brousse), and morelby Maxime Raymond Bock (The August Horse).
Outside Quebec, the five novels, short stories and stories that were selected are Adaptby Clara Dupont-Monod (Stock), The gray beesby Andrei Kurkov (Liana Levi), The one who watchesby Louise Erdrich (Albin Michel), Your absence is only darknessby Jón Kalman Stefansson (Grasset), and Mr Lovermanby Bernardine Evaristo (Globe).
As for the Quebec trials, the four finalists are You will choose the mountainsby Andréane Frenette-Vallières (Le Noroît), Scars: conversation notebooksby Sara Danièle Michaud (Nota Bene), Arming rage: for a combat literatureby Marie-Pier Lafontaine (Heliotrope), and The habit of ruins: the sacredness of oblivion and ugliness in Quebecby Marie-Hélène Voyer (Lux).
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Marie-Pier Lafontaine, finalist in the Quebec essays category for her book Arming rage: for a combat literature
Four titles were also selected in the Quebec poetry category: Soaring my handsby Alycia Dufour (Bush poets), domain of restby Emmanuelle Riendeau (Le Noroît), Above all, do not make listsby Lucile de Pesloüan (Rodrigol), and Chickweedby Marie-Hélène Voyer (La Peuplade).
Among Quebec comics, three titles stood out: Sometimes the lakes burnby Geneviève Bigué (Cold Front), A Paris for Dallaireby Marc Tessier and Siris (La Watermelon), and René Lévesque: something like a great manby Marc Tessier and a collective of artists (Moelle Graphik).
Three other comics were also selected in the category outside Quebec: loose leavesby Alexandre Clérisse (Dargaud), Dry cleaningby Joris Mertens (Rue de Sèvres), and Leviathan, volume 1, by Shiro Kuroi (Ki-oon).
The winners of the six categories will be announced on May 11, at Club Soda. The ALQ Award of Excellence will also be awarded on this occasion to highlight the exceptional work of a bookseller.