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Art & Books

Toronto’s best books

The shortlist for the 2009 Toronto Book Awards has been announced giving five Toronto authors the chance to win $11,000. This isn’t your typical award though – you get $1,000 just for being a finalist.

Now in its 35th year, the Toronto Book Awards celebrates books about Toronto that rock. The winner will be announced on October 15. Here’s a rundown of the competition:

Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa

In his debut novel, Anthony De Sa takes the reader on a journey from a small Portugal village to Toronto’s little Portugal in a story about immigration and the relationship between a father and son. Reviewers have called Barnacle Love an irresistible tale that is relatable to any immigrant. The novel was also on the 2008 Giller Prize shortlist. De Sa, a member of Toronto’s Portuguese community, heads the English department at an arts high school.

Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City that Might Have Been by Mark Osbaldeston

In what appears to be a love affair with city planning, Mark Osbaldeston digs out forgotten building projects that never materialized – like a highway through the Annex and plans for a Queen subway line. Osbaldeston is a lawyer who has a forte for writing about architecture and has appeared in the National Post and Spacing magazine.

More by Austin Clarke

Austin Clarke knows Toronto well. In this NOW review, it says Clarke becomes a guide through the bustle of the city’s streets in his eleventh novel. More rotates around the life of a mother that immigrated from Barbados who loses sight of her son and husband. Clarke has won a skew of prizes for his work included the 2002 Giller Prize and 2003 Commonwealth Prize.

In the Land of Long Fingernails: A Grave Digger’s Memoir by Charles Wilkins

In his latest writing adventure, Charles Wilkins recalls that 1969 summer many moons ago when he was a gravedigger and his union went on a city-wide strike. Reviewers say Wilkins’ memoir is delivered in a comical way sticking with a funny tone – even when he sees bodies being dug up for a murder case. He’s written a dozen books and In the Land of Long Fingernails has also been short listed for the 2009 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

Girls Fall Down by Maggie Helwig

Maggie Helwig‘s third novel follows a photographer who tries to capture Toronto as it disintegrates into panic mode after a series of unexplained medical attacks. Mixing in fears of terrorism and themes of love, Girls Fall Down is a sure “shoo-in” for the Toronto Book Award says this NOW review. Helwig was named best author by NOW back in 2008 and is also the associate director of the Scream Literary Festival.

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