"My Life Among the Apes" on the Giller Long List

It was a bit of a shock to hear Marc Cote of Cormorant tell me on the phone this morning that the new story collection, "My Life Among the Apes," is one of the thirteen books on the Giller long list. Now the shock has worn off, many emails from friends have come in, and I'm feeling...pretty darn good. Most exciting is knowing that more people will actually read the book. By the way, if you're looking for the book it is shipping to bookstores at this very moment. Yes, the trucks are rolling out. By Thursday or Friday it should be in stores in Toronto and also available online; a little longer for the rest of the country. The ebook editions will be up by up by the end of the week. The long list gets whittled down to the finalists, to be announced on Oct. 1. I've been writing and publishing long enough to know you have to enjoy the good stuff when it happens so I'll celebrate now. And congratulations to the other authors, whose books I look forward to reading. I hope you'll come and celebrate at the book launch, which will be a casual affair--no reading. Monday, Sept 24, 6-8 p.m. at Another Story Books, 315 Roncesvalles Ave. Do come and say hi. **** Here's the whole list: http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/2012-longlist/