Giller Prize

The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries. The prize was established in 1994 by Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his late wife Doris Giller, a former literary editor at the Toronto Star, and is awarded in November of each year along with a cash reward (then CAN$25,000).[1]

Giller Prize
Awarded for	English-language Canadian fiction including translations
Country	Canada
Presented by	Scotiabank and the Giller Prize Foundation
First awarded	November 1994
Website	scotiabankgillerprize.ca

From 1994 to 2004, the prize included a bronze figure created by artist Yehouda Chaki.[2] The current prize includes a trophy designed by Soheil Mosun.[3]

On September 22, 2005, the Giller Prize established an endorsement deal with Scotiabank, a major Canadian bank. The total prize package for the award was increased to $50,000, with $40,000 presented to the winning author and $2,500 each for the other four shortlisted nominees. The award's official name was also changed at that time to the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

In 2006, the prize instituted a longlist for the first time, comprising no fewer than 10 and no more than 15 titles. In 2008, the prize fund was increased to $50,000 for the winning author and $5,000 for each of the authors on the shortlist. In 2014, the prize package was expanded further, to $100,000 for the winning author and $10,000 for each of the shortlisted authors.[4] In 2015, the jury was expanded from three to five people.[5]

Over the years, the Giller Prize has run different promotions to extend its recognition and support of Canadian literary talent[6] to highlight all Canadian fiction eligible for the prize in a given publishing year. For example, the Crazy for CanLit feature, which highlights the initial list of all titles that are under consideration for the award's longlist and shortlist nominations, seeks to publicize Canadian literature by engaging readers and writers through social media tools.

Since its inception, the Giller Prize has been awarded to emerging and established authors from both small independent and large publishing houses in Canada.

Since Rabinovitch's death in 2017, the Giller Prize Foundation is now overseen by his daughter Elana Rabinovitch.[7]

Cultural debate

Following Vincent Lam's win of the Giller Prize in 2006, Geist columnist Stephen Henighan criticized the Giller Prize for its apparent dependency for its shortlists and winners on books published by Bertelsmann AG-affiliated Canadian publishing houses, all of which are based in Toronto.

Arguing that the trend towards centralization of Canadian publishing in Toronto has led to a monopolistic control of the Giller Prize by Bertelsmann and its authors, Henighan wrote, "Year after year the vast majority of the books shortlisted for the Giller came from the triumvirate of publishers owned by the Bertelsmann Group: Knopf Canada, Doubleday Canada and Random House Canada. Like the three musketeers, this trio is in fact a quartet: Bertelsmann also owns 25 percent of McClelland & Stewart, and now manages M&S’s marketing."[8] Henighan added that all of the Giller Prize winners from 1994 to 2004, with the exception of Mordecai Richler, lived within a two-hour drive of downtown Toronto.

The article raised debate within the media and in the wider public over the credibility of the Giller Prize.[9][10][11] Henighan revisited that article in 2015.[12]

In 2010, there was much talk about how small presses dominated that year’s shortlist.[13] Montrealer Johanna Skibsrud won the Giller Prize that year for her novel The Sentimentalists, published by independent Gaspereau Press. The company produces books using a 1960s offset printing press and hand-bindery equipment.[14] As a result, while there was great demand for the book in the marketplace, the publisher had trouble keeping up with production.[15] In the end, they turned to Douglas & McIntyre,[16] a large West-coast publisher, to print copies of the book.

The Gaspereau situation prompted an examination within the cultural community about what makes a book and the nature of publishing and marketing books.[17] The book also became the top-selling title for Kobo eReaders, outselling even George W. Bush's memoir Decision Points.[18]

Nominees and winners

Year	Winner	Shortlisted	Longlisted
1994 Jury: Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, David Staines	M.G. Vassanji, The Book of Secrets	Bonnie Burnard, Casino and Other Stories Eliza Clark, What You Need Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy Steve Weiner, The Museum of Love	No longlists released
1995 Jury: Mordecai Richler, David Staines, Jane Urquhart	Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance	Timothy Findley, The Piano Man's Daughter Barbara Gowdy, Mister Sandman Leo McKay, Jr., Like This Richard B. Wright, The Age of Longing
1996 Jury: Bonnie Burnard, Carol Shields, David Staines	Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace	Gail Anderson-Dargatz, The Cure for Death by Lightning Ann-Marie MacDonald, Fall on Your Knees Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces Guy Vanderhaeghe, The Englishman's Boy
1997 Jury: Bonnie Burnard, Mavis Gallant, Peter Gzowski	Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version	Michael Helm, The Projectionist Shani Mootoo, Cereus Blooms at Night Nino Ricci, Where She Has Gone Carol Shields, Larry's Party
1998 Jury: Margaret Atwood, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Peter Gzowski	Alice Munro, The Love of a Good Woman	André Alexis, Childhood Gail Anderson-Dargatz, A Recipe for Bees Barbara Gowdy, The White Bone Greg Hollingshead, The Healer Wayne Johnston, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
1999 Jury: Alberto Manguel, Judith Mappin, Nino Ricci	Bonnie Burnard, A Good House	Timothy Findley, Pilgrim Anne Hébert, Am I Disturbing You? Nancy Huston, The Mark of the Angel David Macfarlane, Summer Gone
2000 Jury: Margaret Atwood, Alistair MacLeod, Jane Urquhart	Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost David Adams Richards, Mercy Among the Children	Alan Cumyn, Burridge Unbound Elizabeth Hay, A Student of Weather Eden Robinson, Monkey Beach Fred Stenson, The Trade
2001 Jury: David Adams Richards, Joan Clark, Robert Fulford	Richard B. Wright, Clara Callan	Sandra Birdsell, The Russlander Michael Crummey, River Thieves Michael Redhill, Martin Sloane Timothy Taylor, Stanley Park Jane Urquhart, The Stone Carvers
2002 Jury: Barbara Gowdy, Thomas King, W. H. New	Austin Clarke, The Polished Hoe	Bill Gaston, Mount Appetite Wayne Johnston, The Navigator of New York Lisa Moore, Open Carol Shields, Unless
2003 Jury: Rosalie Abella, David Staines, Rudy Wiebe	M.G. Vassanji, The In-Between World of Vikram Lall	Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake John Bemrose, The Island Walkers John Gould, Kilter: 55 Fictions Ann-Marie MacDonald, The Way the Crow Flies
2004 Jury: M. G. Vassanji, Alistair MacLeod, Charlotte Gray	Alice Munro, Runaway	Shauna Singh Baldwin, The Tiger Claw Wayson Choy, All That Matters Pauline Holdstock, Beyond Measure Paul Quarrington, Galveston Miriam Toews, A Complicated Kindness
2005 Jury: Warren Cariou, Elizabeth Hay, Richard B. Wright	David Bergen, The Time in Between	Joan Barfoot, Luck Camilla Gibb, Sweetness in the Belly Lisa Moore, Alligator Edeet Ravel, A Wall of Light
2006 Jury: Adrienne Clarkson, Alice Munro, Michael Winter[19]	Vincent Lam, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures	Rawi Hage, De Niro's Game Pascale Quiviger, The Perfect Circle (tr. Sheila Fischman) Gaétan Soucy, The Immaculate Conception (tr. Lazer Lederhendler) Carol Windley, Home Schooling	David Adams Richards, The Friends of Meager Fortune Caroline Adderson, Pleased to Meet You Todd Babiak, The Garneau Block Randy Boyagoda, Governor of the Northern Province Douglas Coupland, jPod Alan Cumyn, The Famished Lover Kenneth J. Harvey, Inside Wayne Johnston, The Custodian of Paradise Annette Lapointe, Stolen Russell Wangersky, The Hour of Bad Decisions
2007 Jury: David Bergen, Camilla Gibb, Lorna Goodison	Elizabeth Hay, Late Nights on Air	Michael Ondaatje, Divisadero Daniel Poliquin, A Secret Between Us (tr. Donald Winkler) M. G. Vassanji, The Assassin's Song Alissa York, Effigy	David Chariandy, Soucouyant Sharon English, Zero Gravity Barbara Gowdy, Helpless Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes Paulette Jiles, Stormy Weather D. R. MacDonald, Lauchlin of the Bad Heart Claire Mulligan, The Reckoning of Boston Jim Mary Novik, Conceit Michael Winter, The Architects Are Here Richard B. Wright, October
2008 Jury: Margaret Atwood, Bob Rae, Colm Toibin	Joseph Boyden, Through Black Spruce	Anthony De Sa, Barnacle Love Marina Endicott, Good to a Fault Rawi Hage, Cockroach Mary Swan, The Boys in the Trees	David Adams Richards, The Lost Highway David Bergen, The Retreat Austin Clarke, More Emma Donoghue, The Sealed Letter Steven Galloway, The Cellist of Sarajevo Kenneth J. Harvey, Blackstrap Hawco Patrick Lane, Red Dog, Red Dog Pasha Malla, The Withdrawal Method Paul Quarrington, The Ravine Nino Ricci, The Origin of Species
2009 Jury: Russell Banks, Victoria Glendinning, Alistair MacLeod	Linden MacIntyre, The Bishop's Man	Kim Echlin, The Disappeared Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean Colin McAdam, Fall Anne Michaels, The Winter Vault	Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood Martha Baillie, The Incident Report Claire Holden Rothman, The Heart Specialist Paulette Jiles, The Color of Lightning Jeanette Lynes, The Factory Voice Shani Mootoo, Valmiki’s Daughter Kate Pullinger, The Mistress of Nothing
2010 Jury: Michael Enright, Claire Messud, Ali Smith[20]	Johanna Skibsrud, The Sentimentalists	David Bergen, The Matter with Morris Alexander MacLeod, Light Lifting Sarah Selecky, This Cake Is for the Party Kathleen Winter, Annabel	Douglas Coupland, Player One Michael Helm, Cities of Refuge Avner Mandelman, The Debba Tom Rachman, The Imperfectionists Cordelia Strube, Lemon Joan Thomas, Curiosity Jane Urquhart, Sanctuary Line Dianne Warren, Cool Water
2011 Jury: Howard Norman, Annabel Lyon, Andrew O'Hagan[21]	Esi Edugyan, Half-Blood Blues	David Bezmozgis, The Free World Lynn Coady, The Antagonist Patrick deWitt, The Sisters Brothers Zsuzsi Gartner, Better Living Through Plastic Explosives Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table	Clark Blaise, The Meagre Tarmac Michael Christie, The Beggar's Garden Myrna Dey, Extensions Marina Endicott, The Little Shadows Genni Gunn, Solitaria Pauline Holdstock, Into the Heart of the Country Wayne Johnston, A World Elsewhere Dany Laferrière, The Return (tr. David Homel) Suzette Mayr, Monoceros Guy Vanderhaeghe, A Good Man Alexi Zentner, Touch
2012 Jury: Roddy Doyle, Gary Shteyngart, Anna Porter[22]	Will Ferguson, 419[23]	Alix Ohlin, Inside Nancy Richler, The Imposter Bride Kim Thúy, Ru Russell Wangersky, Whirl Away	Marjorie Celona, Y Lauren B. Davis, Our Daily Bread Cary Fagan, My Life Among the Apes Robert Hough, Dr. Brinkley's Tower Billie Livingston, One Good Hustle Annabel Lyon, The Sweet Girl Katrina Onstad, Everybody Has Everything C.S. Richardson, The Emperor of Paris
2013 Jury: Margaret Atwood, Esi Edugyan, Jonathan Lethem[24]	Lynn Coady, Hellgoing[25]	Dennis Bock, Going Home Again Craig Davidson, Cataract City Lisa Moore, Caught Dan Vyleta, The Crooked Maid	Joseph Boyden, The Orenda Elisabeth de Mariaffi, How to Get Along With Women David Gilmour, Extraordinary Wayne Grady, Emancipation Day Louis Hamelin, October 1970 (tr. Wayne Grady) Wayne Johnston, The Son of a Certain Woman Claire Messud, The Woman Upstairs Michael Winter, Minister Without Portfolio
2014 Jury: Shauna Singh Baldwin, Justin Cartwright, Francine Prose[26]	Sean Michaels, Us Conductors[27]	David Bezmozgis, The Betrayers Frances Itani, Tell Heather O'Neill, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night Miriam Toews, All My Puny Sorrows Padma Viswanathan, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao	Arjun Basu, Waiting for the Man Rivka Galchen, American Innovations Jennifer LoveGrove, Watch How We Walk Shani Mootoo, Moving Forwards Sideways Like a Crab Kathy Page, Paradise and Elsewhere Claire Holden Rothman, My October
2015 Jury: John Boyne (jury chair), Cecil Foster, Alexander MacLeod, Helen Oyeyemi, Alison Pick	André Alexis, Fifteen Dogs	Samuel Archibald, Arvida (tr. Donald Winkler) Rachel Cusk, Outline Heather O'Neill, Daydreams of Angels Anakana Schofield, Martin John	Michael Christie, If I Fall, If I Die Patrick deWitt, Undermajordomo Minor Marina Endicott, Close to Hugh Connie Gault, A Beauty Alix Hawley, All True Not a Lie in It Clifford Jackman, The Winter Family Russell Smith, Confidence
2016 Jury: Samantha Harvey, Jeet Heer, Lawrence Hill (jury chair), Alan Warner, Kathleen Winter	Madeleine Thien, Do Not Say We Have Nothing	Mona Awad, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl Gary Barwin, Yiddish for Pirates Emma Donoghue, The Wonder Catherine Leroux, The Party Wall (tr. Lazer Lederhendler) Zoe Whittall, The Best Kind of People	Andrew Battershill, Pillow David Bergen, Stranger Kathy Page, The Two of Us Susan Perly, Death Valley Kerry Lee Powell, Willem De Kooning's Paintbrush Steven Price, By Gaslight
2017 Jury: Andre Alexis, Anita Rau Badami (jury chair), Richard Beard, Lynn Coady, Nathan Englander	Michael Redhill, Bellevue Square[28]	Rachel Cusk, Transit Ed O'Loughlin, Minds of Winter Eden Robinson, Son of a Trickster Michelle Winters, I Am a Truck	David Chariandy, Brother David Demchuk, The Bone Mother Joel Thomas Hynes, We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night Andrée A. Michaud, Boundary (tr. Donald Winkler) Josip Novakovich, Tumbleweed Zoey Leigh Peterson, Next Year, For Sure Deborah Willis, The Dark and Other Love Stories
2018 Jury: Kamal Al-Solaylee, Maxine Bailey, John Freeman, Philip Hensher, Heather O'Neill	Esi Edugyan, Washington Black[29]	Patrick deWitt, French Exit Éric Dupont, Songs for the Cold of Heart (tr. Peter McCambridge) Sheila Heti, Motherhood Thea Lim, An Ocean of Minutes	Paige Cooper, Zolitude Rawi Hage, Beirut Hellfire Society Emma Hooper, Our Homesick Songs Lisa Moore, Something for Everyone Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth Kim Thúy, Vi (tr. Sheila Fischman) Joshua Whitehead, Jonny Appleseed
2019 Jury: Randy Boyagoda, Aminatta Forna, Aleksandar Hemon, Donna Bailey Nurse, José Teodoro	Ian Williams, Reproduction[30]	David Bezmozgis, Immigrant City Megan Gail Coles, Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club Michael Crummey, The Innocents Alix Ohlin, Dual Citizens Steven Price, Lampedusa	André Alexis, Days by Moonlight Margaret Atwood, The Testaments Michael Christie, Greenwood Adam Foulds, Dream Sequence K. D. Miller, Late Breaking Zalika Reid-Benta, Frying Plantain
2020 Jury: Mark Sakamoto, Eden Robinson, Tom Rachman, David Chariandy, Claire Armitstead	Souvankham Thammavongsa, How to Pronounce Knife[31]	Gil Adamson, Ridgerunner David Bergen, Here the Dark Shani Mootoo, Polar Vortex Emily St. John Mandel, The Glass Hotel	Lynn Coady, Watching You Without Me Eva Crocker, All I Ask Emma Donoghue, The Pull of The Stars Francesca Ekwuyasi, Butter Honey Pig Bread Michelle Good, Five Little Indians Kaie Kellough, Dominoes at the Crossroads Thomas King, Indians on Vacation Annabel Lyon, Consent Seth, Clyde Fans

References

1. "Five vie for Giller Prize". The Globe and Mail. September 28, 2005. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
2. "A taste of the glamorous life". The Globe and Mail. April 17, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
3. "The Scotiabank Giller Prize turns 25". The Fulcrum, November 20, 2018.
4. "Giller Prize money doubles to $140,000". Toronto Star, September 16, 2014.
5. "Introducing the Five-Member Jury Panel for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize". Scotiabank Giller Prize, January 14, 2015.
6. The Scotiabank Giller Prize: Prize History
7. "Elana Rabinovitch ready to write the Giller Prize’s next chapter: Govani". Toronto Star, November 12, 2017.
8. Stephen Henighan, "Kingmakers". Geist, 2006.
9. Shinan Govani (2007-02-28). "An anti-Giller gadfly in Guelph". National Post. Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
10. Bryony Lewicki (2007-01-23). "Secrets of the Canadian literary cabal". Quillblog. Quill & Quire. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
11. Ron Nurwisah (2007-01-23). "Are The Gillers Rigged?". Torontoist. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
12. Stephen Henighan (2015-11-06). "How a Giller Prize critic got invited to the party". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
13. James Adams (2010-10-05). "The Giller Prize: Could this be the year of the small press?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
14. Gaspereau Press Background
15. John Barber (2010-11-10). "Author's angst grows over unavailability of Giller winner". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
16. Mark Medley (2010-11-15). "Gaspereau Press teams up with Douglas & McIntyre for The Sentimentalists". National Post. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
17. Globe Editorial (2010-11-10). "Giller is enough to drive you to Gasperation". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
18. Nick Patch (2010-11-12). "Scarcity of Giller-winning 'Sentimentalists' a boon to eBook sales". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
19. The Great Unknowns: CBC Arts Online analyzes the literary dash for the Giller cash. cbc.ca, October 3, 2006.
20. "Rachman, Bergen, Urquhart and Coupland on Giller long list". The Globe and Mail, September 20, 2010.
21. "DeWitt and Edugyan add Giller nods to Booker nominations" Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, October 4, 2011.
22. "Scotiabank Giller Prize short list announced". Toronto Star, October 1, 2012.
23. "Will Ferguson takes Giller Prize for novel 419" Archived 2012-12-27 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star, October 30, 2012.
24. "Scotiabank Giller Prize announces 2013 longlist nominees". Toronto Star, September 16, 2013.
25. "Lynn Coady Wins The 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize". www.scotiabank.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
26. "Jury for the 2014 Giller Prize unveiled". National Post, February 19, 2014.
27. "Sean Michaels awarded Giller Prize for his book ‘Us Conductors’". The Globe and Mail, November 10, 2014.
28. "Michael Redhill wins Scotiabank Giller Prize". CTV News, November 20, 2017.
29. "Esi Edugyan wins Scotiabank Giller Prize for 'Washington Black'". CTV News, November 19, 2018.
30. "Ian Williams wins the 2019 Scotiabank Giller prize for debut novel". CBC News, November 18, 2019.
31. "Thammavongsa wins Canada's $100k Giller Prize". Books+Publishing. 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-12.

External links

• Official website