A few weeks before Christmas, the Quebec Booksellers Association presents the preliminary lists for the Quebec Booksellers Prize, as a preview of the books that will be under the tree!
The members of the five committees of the Prix des libraires du Québec, which share the categories “Novel – short stories – story”, “Poetry”, “Essay” and “Comics”, discussed and debated their literary favorites in order to concoct the preliminary lists, which suggests judicious reading suggestions.
Novel / Short stories / Story – Quebec
Before burningVirginie DeChamplain (La Peuplade)
The mirror maskJean-Simon DesRochers (Boreal)
AsbestosSébastien Dulude (La Peuplade)
HexaGabrielle-Filteau-Chiba (XYZ)
The ocean’s shareDominique Fortier (Alto)
Snow trailsKev Lambert (Heliotrope)
I ask you to close your eyes and imagine a quiet placeMichelle Lapierre-Dallaire (La Mèche)
The summer of angerElizabeth Lemay (Boreal)
Glass peopleCatherine Leroux (Alto)
I work in noiseYannick Marcoux (XYZ)
Like a long tank crashJoël Martel (La Mèche)
The irreparablePierre Samson (Heliotrope)
Novel / Short stories / Story – Outside Quebec
The dream of the jaquarMiguel Bonnefoy (Shore)
Pour BritneyLouise Chennevière (POL)
Madelaine before dawnSandrine Collette (JC Lattès)
WatchdogsDahlia de la Cerda (Editions du sous-sol)
PunishmentCéline Denjean (Michel Lafon)
JacarandaGael Faye (Grasset)
AlienePhoebe Hadjimarkos-Clarke (Éditions du sous-sol)
The flickering lightNino Haratischwili (Gallimard)
BabelRebecca F. Kuang (De Saxus)
JulienneScholastique Mukasonga (Gallimard)
The Empouses BanquetOlga Tokarczuk (Noir sur Blanc)
Crying at the supermarketMichelle Zauner (Christian Bourgois)
Poetry
I don’t like purpleDanielle Fournier and Louise Marois (Le Noroît)
I watch porn when I’m sadSayaka Araniva-Yanez (Triptych)
Pietà fearNicholas Dawson (Le Noroît)
The mouth to show a series of bladesMégane Desrosiers (Les Herbes rouge)
Our Lady of all maybesDominique Fortier (Les éditions du passage)
AppearanceAngelina Guo (Le Quartanier)
The apple trees were everywhere overhanging the fencesTania Langlais (The Red Herbs)
BelongHector Ruiz (Le Noroît)
Essay
ChimerasFrédérique Bernier (Nota Bene)
One bee is enoughGeneviève Boudreau (Le Noroît)
Out of playFlorence-Agathe Dubé-Moreau (Remue-ménage)
Men and feminismFrancis Dupuis-Déri (Housekeeping)
Why don’t I writeBenoit Jodoin (Triptych)
Gaza before the 7thGuillaume Lavallée (Boréal)
Garbage!Simon Paré-Poupart (Lux)
Working less is not enoughJulia Posca (Ecosociety)
Comic strip – Quebec
MotherCatherin (Pow Pow)
Secret passages (t. 1): Trompe-l’oeil, Axelle Lenoir (Pow Pow)
A completely natural sacrificeMartin PM (The Watermelon/Workshop 10)
DédéChristian Quesnel (Libre Expression)
Nothingness will followMireille St-Pierre (New address)
Botanica DramaThom (Pow Pow)
Comic strip – Outside Quebec
King Medusa (t. 1)Brecht Evens (Actes Sud)
InsideWill McPhail (Editions 404)
Seek youKristen Radtke (Quebec America)
GreensPatrick Lacan and Marion Besançon (Rue de Sèvres)
The roadManu Larcenet, based on the work of Cormac McCarthy (Dargaud)
The dog who wanted to see the southSeishu Hase et Takashi Murakami (Akata)
The committees will have to meet again to determine the finalists. These will be announced on February 13. It will then be up to all Quebec booksellers to vote for the book of their choice in each category. The winners will be announced next spring, during the Prix des libraires du Québec Gala. Until then, let’s check out these bookseller-approved reads!
