''Reproduction'' is the
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
by Canadian writer
Ian Williams, published in 2019 by
Penguin Random House Canada
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase o ...
. The novel centres on the unconventional family life of Army, a
biracial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
man from
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, from the time of his conception as the child of a brief affair between a white father and a
Black Canadian
Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though t ...
mother who met in a hospital room while tending to their own dying parents, through to his adulthood when his parents are themselves dying.
The novel won the 2019
Giller Prize
The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...
. It was also shortlisted for the 2019
Amazon.ca First Novel Award
The Amazon.ca First Novel Award, formerly the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a Canadian literary award, co-presented by Amazon.ca and ''The Walrus'' to the best first novel in English language, English published the previous year by a citize ...
,
"Tanya Tagaq, Ian Williams among finalists for $60,000 Amazon Canada First Novel Award"
''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', April 26, 2019. and the 2019 Toronto Book Awards The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the City of Toronto government
The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city ...
.
References
2019 Canadian novels
Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning works
Black Canadian literature
Novels set in Ontario
2019 debut novels
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