The Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist was announced this morning, and it included a mix of “sure bets” and surprise nods. The biggest surprise, however, was the omission of Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood (McClelland & Stewart), which was widely considered the frontrunner going into the announcement. The five shortlisted titles are:

• Kim Echlin, The Disappeared (Penguin Canada)
• Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean (Random House Canada)
• Linden MacIntyre, The Bishop’s Man (Random House Canada)
• Colin McAdam, Fall (Penguin Canada)
• Anne Michaels, The Winter Vault (McClelland & Stewart)

The shortlist, selected by Canadian author Alistair MacLeod, U.S. author Russell Banks, and U.K. author Victoria “Muskoka Chair” Glendinning, included no independent publishing houses. It also included the only two male authors to make the 12-title longlist, Linden MacIntyre and Colin McAdam. Titles left off the list include the aforementioned The Year of the Flood, Martha Baillie’s The Incident Report (Pedlar Press), Claire Holden Rothman’s The Heart Specialist (Cormorant Books), Shani Mootoo’s Valmiki’s Daughter (House of Anansi Press), Kate Pullinger’s The Mistress of Nothing (McArthur & Company), Jeanette Lynes’ The Factory Voice (Coteau Books), and Paulette Jiles’ The Colour of Lightning (HarperCollins Canada).

The winner of the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize will be announced on Nov. 10.

Earlier today, the international publishing giant Hachette Book Group announced that it will be moving Canadian sales and distribution of its U.K. lines to its U.S. offices. The decision will have major ramifications for several players in the Canadian publishing scene, including HarperCollins Canada, Penguin Canada, and H.B. Fenn and Company.  No one, however, will be more affected than McArthur & Company, which currently represents the bulk of Hachette’s U.K. lines in Canada, including Orion, Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder Headline, John Murray, and Hachette Children’s Books. According to a press release sent out by Hachette, McArthur will continue representing those lines until Dec. 31, 2009, after which point Hachette will take over permanently. This will be a major blow to McArthur, as the lines make up approximately two thirds of its business.

Look for a more detailed report later today on Q&Q Omni.