A small but lively crowd gathered on Wednesday evening at Toronto’s swank Drake Hotel for the 2007 Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award. Author Gil Adamson eventually walked away with the $7,500 prize for her novel The Outlander, but not before each of the six shortlisted authors had a chance to read from their nominated title.

Coach House Books editor Alana Wilcox with her author Andrew Wedderburn, who was shortlisted for The Milk Chicken Bomb. (Photo courtesy of Stan Bevington.)

House of Anansi Press publisher Lynn Henry with David Chariandy, who was shortlisted for Soucouyant (Arsenal Pulp Press). (Photo courtesy of Evan Munday.)

Brian Tucker, shortlisted for Big White Knuckles (Nimbus Publishing), with a friend. (Photo courtesy of Evan Munday.)

In the right foreground, shortlisted author Kyo Maclear (The Letter Opener, HarperCollins Canada) chats with Scholastic Canada’s Denise Anderson. In the background is David Chariandy and Amazon PR assistant Kinley Campbell. (Photo courtesy of Evan Munday.)

Wedderburn entertains the crowd. (Photo courtesy of Stan Bevington.)

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