Longlisted for the 2014 Frank O''Connor Award

Novelists: the soul of an age, certainly. Brilliant? Perhaps. Yet aren’t they also doddering, petulant, pedantic, knockkneed, skittish, and thunderingly insecure—resentful, awkward, annoying—demanding, deluded, and vexingly indifferent to reality? New from short fiction devotée C.P. Boyko, Novelists is a comedy of manners (and manuscripts), rivalling Vanity Fair for its satirical wit… though not, mercifully, for its length.


PRAISE FOR NOVELISTS

“Proudly, gloriously, gleefully old-fashioned in their style and settings, these largely comic stories about the worst traits of artists are more serious than they at first seem: they depict the petty insecurities that fuel every creative act.”—Russell Smith

“If you are a normal person, these stories, with their pitch-perfect satirical humour and their finely tuned sentences, will make you laugh out loud. If you are a writer, first you will squirm with recognition while envying his impressive vocabulary, his nimble grammar, and his startling imagery, and then you’ll laugh out loud.”—Diane Schoemperlen


PRAISE FOR C.P. BOYKO

“Readers will enjoy the author’s versatility, quirky (sometimes uproarious) sense of humor, sardonic view of the world, and fruitful imagination … Libraries with any short-fiction readers should buy this book and keep an eye out for the next one.”—Booklist, starred review

“Nothing short of astonishing.”—The Walrus

“Keep your eye on this young Canadian talent.”—Chatelaine

“Stunning … Boyko has an unstoppable imagination.”—The Globe & Mail

“Stealthy, seductive … A collection that in many ways … will provide thought-fodder, not to mention good old-fashioned pleasure, for months.”— The Montreal Gazette

“Fans of satirical fiction will love this … impeccably researched and unflinchingly intelligent.” —The National Post