OH, my lovelies -- it is time for the Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist. On October 6th, the epic list of twelve Canadian writers was whittled down to the Final Five and the GAME IS ON.
In case you are new to all things Giller, this prestigious literary award possesses the power to launch a writer's career within these borders and well beyond. Since the Giller Prize teamed up with Scotiabank in 2005, the award is now worth $70,000 in cash -- $50,000 goes to the winner and $20,000 is split between the four finalists. Oh, and you can't forget the HEAP of exposure generated through a nomination and the guaranteed sales in Canada ALONE (right in time for the holiday season, no doubt).
The Scotiabank Giller Prize is the largest cash prize for literature in the country, aside from the epic honour that is a Governor General's Award. Past winners include the absolute titans of Can. lit. including Margaret Atwood (*Hiss, boo*), Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje, and Mordecai Richler. So, yes -- winning this is a BIG DEAL for a writer, to say the least.
This year, the media has been in an absolute frenzy over the selections. See, in 2008, the longlist was an out and out shock -- three female finalists were chosen compared to twelve male finalists. This time around, the media's been buzzing about "The Girls' List" that was the Giller Prize -- two male finalists faced off against ten women. In both cases, the shortlist came down to two members of one sex/gender vs. three members of the opposite sex/gender, so it seems to balance out in the end. Still, the media likes to make stories out of.... well, out of everything it can sometimes.
Anyway.
THE GIRLS OF THE SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE SHORTLIST:
With Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood out of the shortlist, Anne Michaels is the favourite to win the 2009 Prize. Michaels' first novel was Fugitive Pieces, a title that dominated the Canadian bestseller list for two years. The same novel garnered her an impressive selection of awards and accolades including the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Trillium Book Award, the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction. Taking the Scotiabank Giller Prize sounds quite possible for Michaels, no doubt.
Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean (Random House Canada)
I am completely biased and love Annabel Lyon's writing. Lyon's first book/collection of short stories (Oxygen) was nominated for the Danuta Gleed Award and her second collection (The Best Thing For You) was nominated for the Ethel Wilson Prize for Fiction and the City of Vancouver Book Award. The Golden Mean is Lyon's first full-length novel and a win for her could secure a lucrative career and ample success for years to come. Plus, she's lovely and I love her.
Kim Echlin, The Disappeared (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
Kim Echlin is a writer through and through -- while The Disappeared is her third published novel, Echlin has also produced television for the CBC and written for independent documentary producers. In addition, she teaches at U of T's School for Continuing Studies. Out of the shortlisted authors, Echlin is still a relative unknown when it comes to the Canadian literary scene. She's not a household name as of yet, but her resume is a strong one. Who knows, this award could see her switching to writing fiction full-time should her book win the grand prize.
In addition, we have our representatives from the Canadian gentlemen in the form of Linden MacIntyre's The Bishop's Man and Colin McAdam's Fall (but, since this is a lady blog, I will stick to profiling the women of the Scotiabank Giller Prize -- though no doubt, I would argue you should check out ALL of these writers and support Canadian literature in all its facets).
I've got quite the stack of reading ahead of me -- congrats to all the writers who were nominated and may the most Canadian of books win.
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