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Tom Rachman in London.Randy Quan/The Globe and Mail

The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman's buzzy debut novel about the decline of the newspaper industry - has made the long list for the $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Since the New York Times gave the book a lavish front-page review in the spring, the Vancouver-raised author has become one of the most talked about figures in publishing.

Other high-profile authors whose books made the short list of 13 books are: Jane Urquhart for Sanctuary Line, David Bergen for The Matter With Morris and Douglas Coupland for Player One.

Bergen won the Giller in 2005.

The long list is notable for the number of books from small, independent presses, including Johanna Skibsrud for The Sentimentalists (Gaspereau), Alexander MacLeod for Light Lifting (Biblioasis), Cordelia Strube for Lemon (Coach House) and two books from House of Anansi: Player One, the novel Douglas Coupland adapted from his Massey Lecture, and Annabel by Kathleen Winter.

Surprise omissions include Room, by Emma Donoghue, which is on the short list of the prestigious 2010 Man-Booker prize. Donoghue was born in Ireland but lives in Canada. Permanent residents of Canada are eligible for the Giller; her novel The Sealed Letter was long listed for the Giller in 2008.

Also snubbed were Ilustrado, a highly touted novel by Miguel Syjuco, a Filipino writer living in Montreal, and Beatrice & Virgil, the controversial new novel by Yann Martel.

The prize jury - made up of broadcaster Michael Enright, author Claire Messud and writer Ali Smith - selected 13 titles out of 98 books submitted by 38 publishers.

The short list will be announced on Oct. 5 with the winner to be revealed Nov. 9.

The jury called the long list "vibrant and exciting." The entire list is:

  • Tom Rachman for The Imperfectionists (Dial Press)
  • Jane Urquhart for Sanctuary Line (McClelland & Stewart)
  • David Bergen for The Matter With Morris (HarperCollins)
  • Douglas Coupland for Player One (Anansi)
  • Joan Thomas for Curiosity (McClelland & Stewart)
  • Michael Helm for Cities of Refuge (McClelland & Stewart)
  • Alexander MacLeod for Light Lifting (Biblioasis)
  • Avner Mandelman for The Debba (Other Press)
  • Sarah Selecky for This Cake is for the Party (Thomas Allen)
  • Johanna Skibsrud for The Sentimentalists (Gaspereau)
  • Cordelia Strube for Lemon (Coach House)
  • Dianne Warren for Cool Water (Phyllis Bruce/HarperCollins)
  • Kathleen Winter for Annabel (Anansi)

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