Winnipeg-born author on Giller Prize long list

David Demchuk The Author speaks to Nicole Dube about his debut novel, The Bone Mother

The long list of nominees for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize was released Monday, and Winnipeg-born author David Demchuk received a nod for his debut horror novel, The Bone Mother.

This summer, Demchuk told CTV the novel is made up of a series of stories about “characters who you’ll be familiar with from fairy tales and ghost stories, particularly if you’re of Eastern European or Ukrainian background.”

Demchuk said he chose to retell stories he had heard in childhood in a different format, “oftentimes from the characters’, the monsters themselves.” The novel is set before the Second World War, and also incorporates elements of history.

Demchuk shared his excitement over the long list announcement on Twitter:

The Scotiabank Giller Prize is awarded annually "to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English." The long list of 12 contenders will be whittled down to a short list of five before the prize is awarded in November.