Just in time for summer reading, the city and Toronto Public Library have named 12 books nominated for this year’s Toronto Book Awards. The short list will be announced August 15th and the winner named October 2nd. This is the 45th year for the prize that gives over 15 thousand dollars to authors, $1,000 for finalists and $10,000 goes to the winner. The awards recognize books of literary merit that present strong images of Toronto.
The titles selected for the 2019 longlist are:

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
Be With: Letters to a Caregiver by Mike Barnes
Building Resistance: Children, Tuberculosis, and the Toronto Sanatorium by Stacie Burke
Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants by Ann Hui
Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis
Late Breaking by KD Miller
Reproduction by Ian Williams
The Student by Cary Fagan
The Ward Uncovered: The Archaeology of Everyday Life edited by John Lorinc, Holly Martelle and Michael McClelland
Theory by Dionne Brand
They Call Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada by Cecil Foster
This Country of Mine by Didier Leclair

For more on the full list of nominated books, (click here )