The Amazon Canada First Novel Award
achievements of Canadian authors and their debut novels, as well as young writers and their short stories.
The 2023 Finalists
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A Minor Chorus
- A Novel
- Written by: Billy-Ray Belcourt
- Narrated by: Jesse Nobess
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An unnamed narrator abandons his unfinished thesis and returns to northern Alberta in search of what eludes him: the shape of the novel he yearns to write, an autobiography of his rural hometown, the answers to existential questions about family, love, and happiness.
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A Minor Chorus
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Jesse Nobess
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Release date: 2022-09-27
- Language: English
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Price: $25.71 or 1 Credit
Sale price: $25.71 or 1 Credit
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Bad Cree
- A Novel
- Written by: Jessica Johns
- Narrated by: Tanis Parenteau
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Mackenzie, a Cree millennial, wakes up in her one-bedroom Vancouver apartment clutching a pine bough she had been holding in her dream just moments earlier. When she blinks, it disappears....
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as spooky as it was authentic
- By Nevion on 2023-04-21
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Bad Cree
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Tanis Parenteau
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Release date: 2023-01-10
- Language: English
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Price: $32.62 or 1 Credit
Sale price: $32.62 or 1 Credit
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Hollow Bamboo
- A Novel
- Written by: William Seto Ping
- Narrated by: Richard Lam
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The hilarious and heartbreaking story of two William Pings in Newfoundland—the lost millennial and the grandfather he knows nothing about....
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Humour and heartbreak
- By Mishy on 2023-06-23
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Hollow Bamboo
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Richard Lam
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Release date: 2023-02-21
- Language: English
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Price: $32.62 or 1 Credit
Sale price: $32.62 or 1 Credit
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The Island of Forgetting
- A Novel
- Written by: Jasmine Sealy
- Narrated by: Varia Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Lost soul Iapetus roams the island, scared and alone, driven mad after witnessing his father’s death at the hands of his mother and his older brother, Cronus. Just before Iapetus is lost forever, he has a son, but the baby is not enough to save him from himself—or his family’s secrets....
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Loved it!
- By Isaac Murisa on 2023-03-14
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The Island of Forgetting
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Varia Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Release date: 2022-04-26
- Language: English
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Price: $29.13 or 1 Credit
Sale price: $29.13 or 1 Credit
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In the Upper Country
- A Novel
- Written by: Kai Thomas
- Narrated by: Wesley French, Milton Barnes, Tymika Tafari
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Young Lensinda Martin is a protegee of a crusading Black journalist in mid-18th century southwestern Ontario, finding a home in a community founded by refugees from the slave-owning states of the American south—whose agents do not always stay on their side of the border....
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In the Upper Country
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Wesley French, Milton Barnes, Tymika Tafari
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Release date: 2023-01-10
- Language: English
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Price: $31.47 or 1 Credit
Sale price: $31.47 or 1 Credit
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Previous Winners
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Ghost Forest
- A Novel
- Written by: Pik-Shuen Fung
- Narrated by: Pik-Shuen Fung
- Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
How do you grieve, if your family doesn’t talk about feelings? This is the question the unnamed protagonist of GhostForest considers after her father dies. One of the many Hong Kong “astronaut” fathers, he stays there to work, while the rest of the family immigrated to Canada before the 1997 Handover, when the British returned sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. As she revisits memories of her father through the years, she struggles with unresolved questions and misunderstandings.
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Elegant, Simple and Utterly Perfect
- By Karen W. Lam on 2022-06-17
Written by: Pik-Shuen Fung
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Five Little Indians
- A Novel
- Written by: Michelle Good
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them.
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Poor narration,mediocre plot
- By Alan Scheer on 2020-09-16
Written by: Michelle Good
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The Dishwasher
- Written by: Stéphane Larue, Pablo Strauss - translator
- Narrated by: Robert Naylor
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It’s October in Montreal, 2002, and winter is coming on fast. Past due on his first freelance gig and ensnared in lies to his family and friends, a graphic design student with a gambling addiction goes after the first job that promises a paycheck: dishwasher at the sophisticated La Trattoria. Though he feels out of place in the posh dining room, warned by the manager not to enter through the front and coolly assessed by the waitstaff in their tailored shirts, nothing could have prepared him for the tension and noise of the kitchen, or the dishpit’s clamor and steam.
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Awesome book
- By Christine on 2020-07-04
Written by: Stéphane Larue, and others
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Little Fish
- A Novel
- Written by: Casey Plett
- Narrated by: A. Almeida
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It's the dead of winter in Winnipeg and Wendy Reimer, a 30-year-old trans woman, feels like her life is frozen in place. When her Oma passes away Wendy receives an unexpected phone call from a distant family friend with a startling secret: Wendy's Opa (grandfather) - a devout Mennonite farmer - might have been transgender himself. At first she dismisses this revelation, but as Wendy's life grows increasingly volatile, she finds herself aching for the lost pieces of her Opa's truth.
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Amazing story
- By Britttay Unger on 2023-09-20
Written by: Casey Plett
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The Water Beetles
- Written by: Michael Kaan
- Narrated by: Richard Lee
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
The Leung family leads a life of secluded luxury in Hong Kong. But in December 1941, the Empire of Japan invades the colony. The family is quickly dragged into a spiral of violence, repression, and starvation. To survive, they entomb themselves and their friends in the Leung mansion. But this is only a temporary reprieve, and the Leungs are forced to send their children away. The youngest boy, Chung-Man, escapes with some of his siblings, and together they travel deep into the countryside to avoid the Japanese invaders.
Written by: Michael Kaan
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The Break
- Written by: Katherena Vermette
- Narrated by: Michaela Washburn
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break - a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house - she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime. In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim - police, family, and friends - tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night.
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Every Canadian must read
- By Anonymous User on 2018-03-20
Written by: Katherena Vermette
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Ghost Forest
- A Novel
- Written by: Pik-Shuen Fung
- Narrated by: Pik-Shuen Fung
- Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you grieve, if your family doesn’t talk about feelings? This is the question the unnamed protagonist of GhostForest considers after her father dies. One of the many Hong Kong “astronaut” fathers, he stays there to work, while the rest of the family immigrated to Canada before the 1997 Handover, when the British returned sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. As she revisits memories of her father through the years, she struggles with unresolved questions and misunderstandings.
-
-
Elegant, Simple and Utterly Perfect
- By Karen W. Lam on 2022-06-17
Written by: Pik-Shuen Fung
-
Five Little Indians
- A Novel
- Written by: Michelle Good
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them.
-
-
Poor narration,mediocre plot
- By Alan Scheer on 2020-09-16
Written by: Michelle Good
-
The Dishwasher
- Written by: Stéphane Larue, Pablo Strauss - translator
- Narrated by: Robert Naylor
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s October in Montreal, 2002, and winter is coming on fast. Past due on his first freelance gig and ensnared in lies to his family and friends, a graphic design student with a gambling addiction goes after the first job that promises a paycheck: dishwasher at the sophisticated La Trattoria. Though he feels out of place in the posh dining room, warned by the manager not to enter through the front and coolly assessed by the waitstaff in their tailored shirts, nothing could have prepared him for the tension and noise of the kitchen, or the dishpit’s clamor and steam.
-
-
Awesome book
- By Christine on 2020-07-04
Written by: Stéphane Larue, and others
-
Little Fish
- A Novel
- Written by: Casey Plett
- Narrated by: A. Almeida
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the dead of winter in Winnipeg and Wendy Reimer, a 30-year-old trans woman, feels like her life is frozen in place. When her Oma passes away Wendy receives an unexpected phone call from a distant family friend with a startling secret: Wendy's Opa (grandfather) - a devout Mennonite farmer - might have been transgender himself. At first she dismisses this revelation, but as Wendy's life grows increasingly volatile, she finds herself aching for the lost pieces of her Opa's truth.
-
-
Amazing story
- By Britttay Unger on 2023-09-20
Written by: Casey Plett
-
The Water Beetles
- Written by: Michael Kaan
- Narrated by: Richard Lee
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Leung family leads a life of secluded luxury in Hong Kong. But in December 1941, the Empire of Japan invades the colony. The family is quickly dragged into a spiral of violence, repression, and starvation. To survive, they entomb themselves and their friends in the Leung mansion. But this is only a temporary reprieve, and the Leungs are forced to send their children away. The youngest boy, Chung-Man, escapes with some of his siblings, and together they travel deep into the countryside to avoid the Japanese invaders.
Written by: Michael Kaan
-
The Break
- Written by: Katherena Vermette
- Narrated by: Michaela Washburn
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break - a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house - she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime. In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim - police, family, and friends - tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night.
-
-
Every Canadian must read
- By Anonymous User on 2018-03-20
Written by: Katherena Vermette
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13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl
- Written by: Mona Awad
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Growing up in the suburban hell of Misery Saga (aka Mississauga), Lizzie has never liked the way she looks - even though her best friend, Mel, says she's the pretty one. She starts dating guys online, but she's afraid to send pictures, even when her skinny friend China does her makeup: She knows no one would want her if they could really see her. So she starts to lose. With punishing drive, she counts almonds consumed, miles logged, pounds dropped. She fights her way into coveted dresses.
Written by: Mona Awad
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All True Not a Lie in It
- A Novel
- Written by: Alix Hawley
- Narrated by: Jesse Einstein
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Here is Daniel Boone as you've never seen him. Debut novelist Alix Hawley presents Boone's life, from his childhood in a Quaker colony, through two stints captured by Indians as he attempted to settle Kentucky, the death of a son at the hands of the same Indians, and the rescue of a daughter. The prose rivals Hilary Mantel's and Peter Carey's, conveying that sense of being inside the head of a storied historical figure about which much nonsense is spoken while also feeling completely contemporary.
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Direct and evocative.
- By Matthew D Gorman on 2018-09-19
Written by: Alix Hawley
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The Free World
- Written by: David Bezmozgis
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Summer 1978. Brezhnev sits like a stone in the Kremlin, Israel and Egypt are inching towards peace, and in the bustling, polyglot streets of Rome, strange new creatures have appeared: Soviet Jews who have escaped to freedom through a crack in the Iron Curtain. Among the thousands who have landed in Italy to secure visas for new lives in the West are the members of the Krasnansky family - three generations of Russian Jews.
Written by: David Bezmozgis
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The Rehearsal
- A Novel
- Written by: Eleanor Catton
- Narrated by: Nicole Arumugum
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A teacher's affair with his underage student jolts a group of teenage girls into a new awareness of their own power. Their nascent desires surprise even themselves as they find the practice room where they rehearse with their saxophone teacher is the safe place where they can test out their abilities to attract and manipulate. It seems their every act is a performance, every platform a stage.
Written by: Eleanor Catton
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The Outlander
- Written by: Gil Adamson
- Narrated by: Sabryn Rock
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1903 a mysterious, desperate young woman flees alone across the west, one quick step ahead of the law. She has just become a widow by her own hand. Two vengeful brothers and a pack of bloodhounds track her across the western wilderness. She is 19 years old and half mad. Gil Adamson's extraordinary novel opens in heart-pounding midflight and propels the listener through a gripping road trip with a twist - the steely outlaw in this story is a grief-struck young woman.
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Love this story
- By Anonymous User on 2021-09-16
Written by: Gil Adamson
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Certainty
- Written by: Madeleine Thien
- Narrated by: Laara Sadiq
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Certainty follows Gail Lim, a producer of radio documentaries in Vancouver, as she works to uncover the history of her parents' relationship and struggles to come to terms with the events that brought them together. Gail's search for the truth leads her to Amsterdam where she meets a war photographer named Sipke, who tells her the story of a woman named Ani - and in so doing, reveals valuable information that not only sheds further light on Gail's parents, but also brings Gail face to face with the complications in her own life and closer to unraveling the questions that have gripped her imagination.
Written by: Madeleine Thien