Irish-Canadian author Anakana Schofield is the proud recipient of the Amazon.ca First Novel Award for “Malarky”.

““Malarky” is a bold first novel from an author whose prose hums with electric wit and linguistic daring,” said Stuart Woods, head judge and editor of Quill & Quire magazine.

“The novel traverses darkly comic territory with intelligence and poise, relating the story of an unnamed narrator whose resilience in the face of life’s disappointments will stay with readers long after the verbal pyrotechnics have dissipated. Anakana Schofield is a true original, and her novel is a delight.”

As the award-winner Ms. Schofield will receive a $7,500.00 prize. She also appeared on CTV’s Canada AM, the most widely watched national morning show in the country.

The First Novel Award has been launching the careers of some of Canada's most beloved novelists since 1976. Previous winners include Michael Ondaatje, Joan Barfoot, Joy Kogawa, W.P. Kinsella, Nino Ricci, Rohinton Mistry, Anne Michaels, André Alexis, Michael Redhill, Mary Lawson, Colin McAdam, Joseph Boyden, Joan Thomas, and David Bezmozgis.

Other finalists for the 2012 award include Marjorie Celona (Y), Scott Fotheringham (The Rest is Silence), Pasha Malla (People Park), and Kim Thúy (Ru).

Anakana Schofield is an Irish-Canadian writer of fiction, essays, and literary criticism. She has contributed to the London Review of Books, The Recorder: The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, The Globe and Mail, and The Vancouver Sun. She has lived in London and Dublin, and now resides in Vancouver. Her first novel, Malarky, was published by Biblioasis in 2012, and is scheduled for UK release by OneWorld in 2013.