Amazon.ca Announces the 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award Winner: Anakana Schofield for Malarky

TORONTO, April 24, 2013 /CNW/ - This evening, Amazon.ca presented the 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award and a cheque for $7,500 to Anakana Schofield, author of Malarky (Biblioasis), at a ceremony hosted by award-winning broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and best-selling author, Jian Ghomeshi, at The Four Seasons in Toronto. Schofield was selected to receive the award from a shortlist of five authors, all of whom had their first novels published in 2012.

Anakana Schofield is an Irish-Canadian writer of fiction, essays and literary criticism.  Her first novel, Malarky, is the story of an Irish mother forced to look grief in the eye and of a wife who comes face-to-face with the mad agony of longing. Anakana Schofield has also contributed to the London Review of Books, The Globe and Mail and The Vancouver Sun. She has lived in London and Dublin and now resides in Vancouver.

Along with Schofield, the 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award finalists are Marjorie Celona for Y (Hamish Hamilton Canada), Scott Fotheringham for The Rest Is Silence (Goose Lane Editions), Pasha Malla for People Park (House of Anansi Press), and Kim Thúy for Ru (Random House Canada).  Each finalist took home a $750 gift card to Amazon.ca.

"Amazon.ca would like to thank and congratulate all the first-time novelists who participated in the 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award," said Steve Oliver, country manager for Amazon.ca. "Every year, we are thrilled and inspired by emerging Canadian authors that captivate audiences through their written word. Being able to recognize their achievements and provide a platform to showcase their talent is an honour."

Now in its 37^th year, the First Novel Award continues to recognize and award outstanding achievement by first-time Canadian novelists. Recent winners include David Bezmozgis, who won the award in 2011 for The Free World, Eleanor Catton for The Rehearsal (2010), Jessica Grant for Come, Thou Tortoise (2009), Joan Thomas for Reading by Lightning (2008) and Gil Adamson for The Outlander (2007). Since 1976, the First Novel Award has launched the careers of some of Canada's most beloved novelists, including Michael Ondaatje, Joan Barfoot, Joy Kogawa, W.P. Kinsella, Nino Ricci, Rohinton Mistry, Anne Michaels and André Alexis.

The 2012 shortlist was selected by Stuart Woods, Editor of Quill & Quire, from entries submitted to the magazine. Before working as a print journalist, Woods worked as an Editor at the Montreal publishing house Price-Patterson.  He is a graduate of the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The winner was selected from the shortlist by a three-person jury comprised of: John Degen, the Executive Director of The Writers' Union of Canada; Meaghan Strimas, the Academic Coordinator for creative writing at the University of Guelph; and author Alexi Zentner, whose first novel, Touch, was nominated for the 2011 Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

"Malarky is a bold first novel from an author whose prose hums with electric wit and linguistic daring," says Stuart Woods. "The novel traverses darkly comic territory with intelligence and poise, relating the story of an unnamed narrator whose resilience in the face of life's disappointments will stay with readers long after the verbal pyrotechnics have dissipated. Anakana Schofield is a true original, and her novel is a delight."

For more information about the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, please go to www.amazon.ca/firstnovelaward. Amazon.ca is accepting submissions for the 2013 First Novel Award until November 1, 2013.

About Amazon.ca

Amazon.ca (www.amazon.ca) is part of the global family of Amazon Web sites that have become known for great prices, selection, and convenience. Amazon.ca customers can find and discover millions of English and French books, Kindle books, CDs, videos, sports and outdoors products, DVDs, electronics, watches, tools, baby, beauty, health and personal care items, home and garden, and pet products, as well as a vast array of software, video games, and consoles--all at everyday low prices. Amazon.ca offers FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime, and FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualified orders of $25 CAD or more delivered to a single Canadian address. Amazon.ca sources products directly from Canadian publishers and distributors, ensuring a rich offering of Canadian titles and content. Features such as original editorial reviews in English and French and product recommendations help Amazon.ca customers find the right products for them among the site's broad selection.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

SOURCE: Amazon.ca

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