Canadian Author Nominated for 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction

The long list for the 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly The Orange Prize) has been released and there is one Canadian author amongst this year's selections.

How Should a Person Be (M) was written by Toronto-born Sheila Heti. She finds herself  grouped with  19 other international writers, some new and some well established like Barbara Kingsolver and Hilary Mantel. The Women's Prize for Fiction was established in 1996 "to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible."

In How Should a Person Be "Reeling from a failed marriage, Sheila, a twentysomething playwright, finds herself unsure of how to live and create. When Margaux, a talented painter and free spirit, and Israel, a sexy and depraved artist, enter her life, Sheila hopes that through close—sometimes too close—observation of her new friend, her new lover, and herself, she might regain her footing in art and life. Using transcribed conversations, real emails, plus heavy doses of fiction, the brilliant and always innovative Sheila Heti crafts a work that is part literary novel, part self-help manual, and part bawdy confessional. It's a totally shameless and dynamic exploration into the way we live now, which breathes fresh wisdom into the eternal questions: What is the sincerest way to love? What kind of person should you be?" publisher

The prize will be awarded on June 5th 2013.

Previous years winners have included: The Song of Achilles (M) by Madeline Miller, The Tiger's Wife (M) by Tea Obreht, and The Lacuna (M) by Barbara Kingsolver.