Prize watch: Wow, the long list for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award really does live up to its name! There are 142 books nominated – 11 of them by Canadians. I suppose when you are the richest literary prize in the world (€100,000) you can have the longest long list.

An interesting mix of literary and popular fiction here, which you don’t often see with awards. I’ve read 14 of these, with a few more on my wish list. My faves of the nominees are: Americanah, The Orenda, The Lowland, TransAtlantic, A Tale for the Time Being, and The Woman Upstairs (I’m happy to see this one getting some attention, seeing as how it was overlooked by all the CanLit awards last year).

I will be very curious to see the short list in April!