A septuagenarian retired bricklayer is among the six debut novelists in the running for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award.

Brian Thomas Isaac, who was born in 1950 on the Okanagan Indian Reserve in southcentral B.C., is a finalist for the $60,000 prize for his coming-of-age story, 鈥淎ll the Quiet Places,鈥� published by Brindle & Glass.

Also on the short list is writer and translator Aimee Wall for the Giller-longlisted 鈥淲e, Jane,鈥� from Book*hug Press, exploring rural access to abortion in Newfoundland.

Other contenders include M茅tis-Ukrainian writer and educator Conor Kerr for his Edmonton-set story about Indigenous youth, 鈥淎venue of Champions,鈥� from Nightwood Editions, and M茅tis and n锚hiyaw author Lisa Bird-Wilson with her book about an adopted woman鈥檚 search for her Indigenous identity, 鈥淧robably Ruby,鈥� published by Doubleday Canada.

Vancouver-raised Pik-Shuen Fung is nominated for her portrait of a Chinese-Canadian family grappling with grief in 鈥淕host Forest,鈥� published by Strange Light, while Ottawa-based Emily Austin is recognized for her story of an atheist lesbian woman who winds up working as a receptionist at a Catholic Church in 鈥淓veryone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead,鈥� from Atria Books.

The prize, which is co-presented by Amazon and the Walrus Foundation, will be awarded at an in-person ceremony on June 1.

The winner will receive $60,000, while the runners-up will each receive $6,000.

Established in 1976, previous winners of the First Novel Award include Michael Ondaatje, W.P. Kinsella, Nino Ricci, David Bezmozgis, Andre Alexis and Madeleine Thien.

鈥擳he Canadian Press