Thanks to the votes of huge numbers of readers, the CBC's prestigious Canada Reads program has placed Jeff Lemire's three-part graphic novel Essex County on the short list of 10 Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade!

The decision now falls to a panel of judges, who will select the final list of 5 novels for an epic multimedia elimination tournament on the CBC. The list of 5 will be announced on November 24.

Many thanks go out to the army of Jeff Lemire fans who helped land him in the top 10. This is a great honor for Top Shelf and Jeff -- now let's hope Essex County becomes the first graphic novel to become a Canada Reads finalist!