20 Sep 2010
September 20, 2010 (Toronto, ON) – The 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury today announced its longlist of books in the running for this year’s award. The jury selected 13 titles out of 98 books, submitted by 38 publishers from every region of Canada.
This year’s jury is made up of Canadian broadcaster and journalist Michael Enright, American author and professor Claire Messud, and award-winning UK writer Ali Smith.
Two thousand and ten marks the 17th year of the prize.
From a highly competitive field, the Scotiabank Giller Prize jury has selected the following titles for this year’s longlist:
David Bergen for his novel THE MATTER WITH MORRIS, Phyllis Bruce Books/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Douglas Coupland for his novel PLAYER ONE, House of Anansi Press
Michael Helm for his novel CITIES OF REFUGE, McClelland & Stewart
Alexander MacLeod for his short story collection LIGHT LIFTING, Biblioasis
Avner Mandelman for his novel THE DEBBA, Other Press/Random House of Canada
Tom Rachman for his novel THE IMPERFECTIONISTS, The Dial Press/Random House of Canada
Sarah Selecky for her short story collection THIS CAKE IS FOR THE PARTY, Thomas Allen Publishers
Johanna Skibsrud for her novel THE SENTIMENTALISTS, Gaspereau Press
Cordelia Strube for her novel LEMON, Coach House Books
Joan Thomas for her novel CURIOSITY, McClelland & Stewart
Jane Urquhart for her novel SANCTUARY LINE, McClelland & Stewart
Dianne Warren for her novel COOL WATER, Phyllis Bruce Books/Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Kathleen Winter for her novel ANNABEL, House of Anansi Press
**MEDIA NOTE: all resources are available at http://scotiabankgillerprize.ca/downloads
Of the longlist, the jury writes:
"This is a vibrant and exciting list. We came very harmoniously to our final decision, which, in the ranging of its featured books between astonishing debuts and brilliant new work by already well-known, major Canadian writers, and between the historical and the contemporary, the traditional and the experimental, the long, the short and the unexpected in both story and form, stands as a showcase in its own right of the vision, the energy, the internationalism and the open-eyed versatility of contemporary Canadian fiction."
The shortlisted finalists will be announced at a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday, October 5th.
CTV
CTV is the proud broadcast partner of The Scotiabank Giller Prize. Broadcast details will be disclosed at a later date.
Scotiabank
Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2008 the Bank provided about $43 million in sponsorships and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas of healthcare, education, social services and arts and culture. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.
The Scotiabank Giller Prize awards $50,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and $5,000 to each of the finalists. The Scotiabank Giller Prize is named in honour of the late literary journalist Doris Giller and was founded in 1994 by her husband Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch.
