A Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) instructor is in the running for Canada’s leading and most influential literary prize for fiction.
Nazanine Hozar’s novel The Small Ones is one of fourteen novels named in the 2026 Giller Prize longlist. For Hozar, the news came as a total shock.
“This was totally unexpected. It's a very difficult industry, and when you're a writer, you're faced with a lot of rejection. Never in my career did I imagine such a thing, because it’s so rare. I’m very grateful and honoured,” says Hozar, who teaches creative writing at KPU.
The Small Ones is a fable about children who are caught up in a military insurgence along the Iran–Iraq border in the early 1980s and forced to become soldiers and martyrs. Hozar’s inspiration for the book is rooted in her own experience growing up in Tehran, Iran during the Iran-Iraq war.
“We would see footage and images on the news of these young kids, mostly boys, heading off into battle, and it was really difficult. We were afraid of the war as children, but to see that, it was very confusing.
“It was at once a bit terrifying, but also a bit enticing as if maybe we could be like these children too, go off to war. There was always an air of violence in the atmosphere, in society and a sort of inclination towards war-like things and I effectively wanted to write an anti-war novel.”
The Small Ones, which is Hozar’s second published novel, will be released on Sept. 29. Her debut novel, Aria, is a national bestseller and was shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Amazon Canada First Novel Award.
“The Giller Prize is one of the highest honours in Canadian literature, and Naz’s being longlisted is truly impressive,” says Dr. Shelley Boyd, Dean of KPU’s Faculty of Arts. “For KPU students taking creative writing courses, this fall semester will be infused with excitement as they have the incredible opportunity to be learning from such a talented writer. We are delighted for Naz and thrilled to have her teaching with us at KPU.”
Founded in 1994, the Giller Prize recognizes the author of the best Canadian novel, graphic novel or short story collection published in English. Every year, $100,000 is awarded to the winner, and $10,000 to each of the finalists.
The 2026 Giller Prize longlist was chosen from more than 140 works of fiction by a jury panel of independent booksellers. The shortlist will be announced on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026.
