Congratulations to Michael Crummey, who is nominated for his novel, Galore (Doubleday Canada/Other Press), and the only Canadaian to make the cut.

Congratulations to Todd Babiak, whose novel Toby: A Man, published by HarperCollins Canada, is shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal, a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of humour published in Canada.

AN AMAZON.COM BOOK OF THE MONTH

There's been no shortage of buzz about Michael Crummey's critically acclaimed novel, Galore , published by the Other Press in the US this month.

Galore is featured on The April 2011 Indie Next List Great Reads, Crummey has an interview in Publishers Weekly, and ForeWord Reviews says "[Galore]...sizzles with an edge of the fantastic… Capturing the speech and temper of a primitive world, and communicating it perfectly, the writer delivers a masterpiece.”

Galore has also been recommended by Vanity Fair in their April issue and is an Amazon Book of the Month pick for April.

The sweeping tale by Camilla Gibb, set in Vietnam, has made its debut in the US and the UK to stunning reviews:

"Gibb’s fictional portrait of contemporary Vietnam should be essential reading for anyone mulling a visit to Hanoi, whose profusion of motorbike traffic and culinary aromas issues from these pages with graphic verisimilitude."
-New York Times

"Gibb fluidly takes the reader from the bitter years of war to the Hanoi that has emerged in the reform era, which, despite all its modernzation, is still a mystery to many of us."
-Booklist

"Well written and engaging, with characters that represent the participants and consequences of a country in the middle of great change."
-Library Journal

"Camilla Gibb drapes her story over good strong bones — characters (including the grandson of a poet friend of Hung's) that span several generations, the nobility of the artists in contrast to the war and its political players. But the true beauty of the novel radiates from the details — the smell of the soup, the feeling of the early-morning streets, the sense of community in poverty and the community woven by memories."
-L.A. Times

"Part history lesson, and part social commentary on Vietnam’s past to future, Movement’s flawlessly constructed characters satisfy like a warm bowl of pho after a wicked-bad hangover. ...an absorbing read...Gibb’s thoughtful and intricate writing weaves an unforgettable portrait of the past and present, and her observations of humanity make clear the similarities in all of us."
-Seattlest

"...delicious little novel... Inspired by the real-life Nhan Van affair, it achieves one of fiction's greatest aims: making the personal universal, and vice versa."
-The Independent