More Than 20 Atlantic-penned Gems on the ReLit Longlists |

The ReLit Awards are author Kenneth J. Harvey’s benevolent, fine idea to shine a spotlight on the country’s best books from independent presses every year.

Their longlists — for fiction, short fiction, and poetry – are always interesting because in sniffing out the very best of from Canada’s independent presses every year, they turn up lists with combinations like the following on them:

- A Booker finalist by a novelist and poet with 4 books out there ( Far to Go by Alison Pick) alongside some worthy first-timers, like Darren Hynes (Flight) and Bruce Johnson (Firmament)

- Seasoned writers like Kevin Major (New Under the Sun) and Leslie Choyce (Raising Orion) who have more than 10 books each under their belt, alongside notable new names like superstars Alexander MacLeod (Light Lifting) and this year’s Giller winner, Johanna Skibsrud (nominated here for her collection of poetry, I Do Not Think I Could Love A Human Being)

- The entire shortlist for this year’s Winterset Award for Excellence in Newfoundland Writing: Russell Wangersky (Glass Harmonica) Samuel Thomas Martin (This Ramshackle Tabernacle), and Craig Francis Power (Blood Relatives).

- Kathleen Winter‘s mega-hit, Annabel, alongside the taking-a-risk fresh voiced latest work of Joey Comeau (One Bloody Thing After Another).

In terms of poetry not yet mentioned, Tammy Armstrong made the cut for The Scare in the Crow. She remains the youngest ever finalist for a GG award. I loved Matt Robinson‘s fierce Agaisnt the Hard Angle and Julia McCarthy‘s Return to Erebus is on the list here, after just winning the CAA Poetry award.

Other Atlantic-penned titles include another GG-finalist, Allan Donaldson, for The Case Agasint Owen Williams, Jerrod Elson‘s The Goon, which the Telegraph-journal called his best yet, David Arnason‘s The Balder’s Song, Paul Butler‘s Cupids, Richard Cumyn‘s The Young in their Country, and Sheilagh’s Brush by Maura Hanrahan.