Hamilton graphic novel shortlisted for literary award

Joe Ollmann’s “Fictional Father” is one of five finalists in the Governor General’s fiction category

“Fictional Father,” a graphic novel by Hamilton cartoonist/ author Joe Ollmann, has been shortlisted in the fiction category of the Governor General’s Literary Awards, which recognize excellence in Canadian writing.

The book, which has been garnering glowing reviews, is now one of five finalists in the category.

The finalists in all the categories, including poetry, non-fiction, drama and others, were revealed Thursday in an announcement from The Canada Council For The Arts, which administers the awards.

“Fictional Father,” published by Drawn & Quarterly, tells the story of Caleb, a middle-aged painter, who grew up and lives in the shadow of a father world famous for his beloved comic “Sonny Side Up.”

The father, in real life, remote and absent, is markedly different from the fond and involved one depicted in the comic. The novel has been described as a complex and absorbing look at family, art and regret.

Ollmann, who has in the past done cartoons for The Hamilton Spectator, has produced many short story collections, two graphic novels (“MidLife” is the other) and one long work of non-fiction, “The Abominable Mr. Seabrook,” a graphic biography of the writer William Seabrook, who, aside from exploring the occult, was known to have practised cannibalism. He also had a long-running strip in Exclaim! magazine.

Ollmann’s “This Will All End in Tears” collection won the Doug Wright Award in 2007.

Each winner of the Governor General’s Literary Awards receives $25,000, with the publisher receiving $3,000 to promote the winning book. Finalists receive $1,000 each.