On October 6, the Scotiabank Giller Prize revealed its 2025 shortlist, marking the 32nd anniversary of the renowned literary award. Vancouver author Eddy Boudel Tan is among the five authors shortlisted for this year’s award.
An acclaimed author, he has been a finalist for the Edmund White Award, the ReLit Best Novel Award, and the Ferro-Grumley Award for his novels After Elias and The Rebellious Tide. He was named a Rising Star by Writers’ Trust of Canada in 2021. His short stories can be found in Joyland, Yolk, and various literary journals and anthologies. His third novel, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut, earned him a shortlist spot for the Scotiabank Giller Prize along standout works by Mona Awad, Emma Donoghue, Emma Knight, and Souvankham Thammavongsa.
The Tiger and the Cosmonaut
The novel is a noir-inspired page-turner about a mysterious disappearance and a moving portrait of a Chinese Canadian family navigating insecurities, expectations, and simmering anger in their small BC town.
The novel follows Casper Han, the dutiful son of immigrants who never felt entirely welcome in their remote corner of British Columbia. Now an adult, living in Vancouver with a boyfriend whose privilege he quietly resents, Casper rarely returns to his hometown, the site of a grief his family doesn’t discuss: the loss of his twin brother, Sam.
Over twenty years have passed since Sam went missing, and a crisis brings Casper and his siblings back. Their father has vanished, only to be found wandering the vast woods beyond the family home, confused and clutching a pair of scissors, seemingly trapped in the memory of that tragic night. In order to move forward, the Han family must finally confront the past and untangle the mystery of what really happened to Sam.
Combining the atmosphere and intrigue of a cracking good suspense novel with the depth of a rich character study, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut tells the story of a family whose members have long made themselves small and quiet and obedient—and what happens when the cycle is finally broken.
About the 2025 Scotiabank Giller Prize
Originally founded in 1994 and sponsored by Scotiabank, the award recognizes excellent in Canadian fiction, whether long format or short stories, and provides the winning author with a cash prize of $25,000, the biggest literary prize in the country.
This year’s jury consists of Dionne Irving (jury chair), Loghan Paylor, and Deepa Rajagopalan, who carefully selected the longlist and shortlist from over a hundred submissions.
The winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize will be announced during a live CBC broadcast on November 17, 2025. The ceremony will be available for streaming on CBC Gem, and a livestream can also be accessed at cbcbooks.ca/gillerprize.
