David Bezmozgis adjusts his bowtie as he poses for a photo on the red carpet during the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize event in Toronto on November 8, 2011.Michelle Siu/The Globe and Mail
David Bezmozgis's celebrated first novel is among the finalists for the $20,000 Trillium Book Award.
Bezmozgis is up for his book The Free World, which was short-listed for the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Literary Awards.
Other nominees for the English prize include: David Gilmour for The Perfect Order of Things; Ken Babstock for Methodist Hatchet; Kristen den Hartog for And Me Among Them; Tony Burgess for Idaho Winter and Phil Hall for Killdeer.
The Trillium Book Award is open to all genres, including poetry collections from established authors. The Trillium Book Award for Poetry is only open to the first, second or third collections from new poets. The poetry prize nominees are: Helen Guri for Match (Coach House Books); Jacob McArthur Mooney for Folk and Nick Thran for Earworm (Nightwood Editions).
Winners will be announced on June 20, with English and French winners receiving $20,000 apiece and the other finalists getting $500.
Previous winners include Margaret Atwood, Austin Clarke and Michael Ondaatje.
The Trillium Book Award recognizes excellence among Ontario authors.