The shortlist for the 2012 Relit Awards have been announced celebrating the best in independent publishing. The Relits are all about "Ideas - not money". Every year Newfoundland's Kenneth J. Harvey recognizes fine writing from Canada's independent publishers. In the novel category are:
Easy to Like (M) by Edward Riche "...a savagely funny satire about "C"-list screenwriter and wannabe vintner
Elliot Johnson. Disillusioned by his floundering Los Angeles existence —
his writing career is at a low, his struggling vineyard is being
investigated by the Feds, and his son, a former child star, is in prison
— Elliot does what any self-respecting wino would do: escape to France.
But fate has other things in store. Stranded in Canada by an
expired passport, he is encouraged to remain there due to his bit part
in a growing Hollywood scandal. Deciding that Toronto may just be the
perfect city in which to lay low, Elliot kills time by bluffing his way
to the top of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation." publisher
Monoceros (M) by Suzette Mayr "Bullied at school and in love with a boy, Ginger, who wants to end their
relationship because of his girlfriend, 17-year-old gay high school
student Patrick Furey can't see a way out of his situation, and commits
suicide. Mayr's novel examines the repercussions of his death on his
Catholic school classmates and administrators. ... Mayr (Venous Hum) has crafted a thoughtful tale examining
how the death of one person can have ripple effects even on people who
didn't know the deceased. Effectively portraying a range of ages,
emotions, genders, and motivations, Mayr quickly engages readers." Publishers Weekly
Dirty Feet (M) by Edem Awumey
(translated from the French by Lazer Lederhendler)
"Dirty Feet is a remarkable, inventive,and darkly compelling novel that
tells the story of a man’s search for the mysterious, nomadic father who
abandoned him years earlier. As a small child, Askia was forced, along
with his family, to wander the African desert as if under a curse.
First driven from their home by drought and hunger, they were then kept
from the villages they passed through by the fear and suspicion of
others, who did not want to see their "dirty feet" stay for too long. ...
A brutal, indelibly powerful look at the harrowing, often violent lives
of those who are condemned to wander." publisher
Break Me (M) by Tom Reynolds "A Peeping Tom, a child’s disappearance, a fire, a startling decision and
a truth learned too late: these are the elements that make up Break Me,
an amusing and sinister little book. The story is superbly constructed
and the narration is addictive." publisher
Prick (M) by Ashley Little (out of print, try Interlibrary loan) "PRICK is narrated by twenty-one year old Anthony “Ant” Young:
an artist, an asshole, an anti-hero. After fleeing a violent home life
in Calgary, Ant moves to Victoria, BC, where he earns his tattooing
apprenticeship under Hank the Tank, a founding member of the powerful
Lucifer’s Choice motorcycle gang. Under Hank’s guidance, Ant learns the
craft and business of tattoo, but he is also exposed to a vicious and
frightening criminal underworld." publisher
Flowers of Spit (M) by Cathering Mavrikakis
(Translated from the French by Nathanael)
"Flowers of Spit is a corrosive narrative that surrounds the inflamed
character of Flore Forget. Written as a long soliloquy, this novel is a
delirious howl, an expectoration in the face of the world, a dolorous
dive into the depths of identity. Is it possible to emancipate oneself
from one's tragedies, from the the individuals that have touched our
lives and have died? Is it possible for flowers to bloom from cinders
and spit? Filled with a vitriolic rage that teeters between despair and
redemption, this work propels us into the memories inherent to scorched
flesh. It is an implacable story, one propelled by a raw, breathless
style that strikes us where it hurts the most." publisher
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