Mona Awad, Souvankham Thammavongsa shortlisted for Giller Prize

Previous Giller Prize winner Souvankham Thammavongsa arrives on the red carpet for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in Toronto, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Mona Awad’s sequel to the dark academia novel “Bunny” is among five books shortlisted for this year’s Giller Prize.

The finalists for the $100,000 award were announced Monday, and include “We Love You, Bunny,” which gives the floor to the side characters from Awad’s 2019 surrealist novel.

Also on the short list is past winner Souvankham Thammavongsa for her novel “Pick a Colour,” about a manicurist’s rich inner life.

The list also includes Emma Donoghue’s “The Paris Express,” a historical novel inspired by a real-life rail disaster, and Emma Knight’s tale of female friendship “The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus.”

Rounding out the finalists is Eddy Boudel Tan for “The Tiger and the Cosmonaut,” a portrait of a Chinese-Canadian family in small-town British Columbia.

The Giller will be handed out on Nov. 17 during a televised ceremony hosted by Rick Mercer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2025.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press