Four Canadian novelists and one short story author have been named to the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist.
These authors were chosen from a longlist of 12, which had been narrowed down from 145 submitted entries to the prestigious contest.
The nominated authors are:
- Sarah Bernstein for her novel Study For Obedience, published by Knopf Canada
- Eleanor Catton for her novel Birnam Wood, published by McClelland & Stewart
- Kevin Chong for his novel The Double Life of Benson Yu, published by Simon & Schuster
- Dionne Irving for her short story collection, The Islands: Stories, published by Catapult Press
- CS Richardson for his novel All The Colour in the World, published by Knopf Canada
“These five authors offered up hypnotic, mesmerizing stories to this year's jury,” said Elana Rabinovitch, Executive Director, Scotiabank Giller Prize. “Each one rare, each one unique. The jury agonized over the final five books, arguing passionately and forcefully for their choices. The list and the authors they ultimately arrived at showcases the depth and breadth of Canadian literature. Congratulations to all.”
Founded by Jack Rabinovitch in 1994, the Giller Prize is Canada’s leading and most influential literary prize for fiction. The Giller Effect has been recognized industry-wide as one of the top drivers of book sales in Canada. Scotiabank has been title sponsor since 2005. The Scotiabank Giller Prize now awards $100,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel, graphic novel or short story collection published in English, and $10,000 to each of the finalists. The award is named in honour of Jack Rabinovitch's wife, the late literary journalist, Doris Giller.
This year’s jury consisted of Canadian authors Ian Williams (jury chair), Sharon Bala and Brian Thomas Isaac, and American author Rebecca Makkai and Indian-British writer, Neel Mukherjee.
The Scotiabank Giller Prize winner will be announced live on CBC at an event hosted by the incomparable Rick Mercer on November 13 at 9 p.m. EST. The broadcast will be presented commercial-free courtesy of Scotia Wealth Management. CBC Gem will stream the ceremony, with a livestream also available on cbcbooks.ca/gillerprize. Listeners can tune in to the broadcast special on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen.
“Congratulations to the authors named to the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist,” said Laura Curtis-Ferrera, Chief Marketing Officer, Scotiabank. “This group of authors have created timeless stories and I am certain their celebrated works will be fixtures on bookshelves for years to come. At Scotiabank, we are proud of our longstanding partnership with the Giller Foundation. It is an honour to support diverse Canadian storytellers from coast-to-coast-to-coast and we look forward to celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Prize through the Between the Pages tour and winner’s gala this fall.”
Over the coming weeks, four Canadian cities will host Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists, which will take audiences inside the minds and creative lives of the writers on the 2023 shortlist. Find out more about these events here.
The 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlisted books are available in accessible format for print-disabled Canadians through the National Network for Equitable Library Services (NNELS) and the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA).
Take a closer look at the 2023 finalists:
Sarah Bernstein
![Sarah Bernstein beside book cover Study for Obedience](/content/experience-fragments/scotiabank/ca/en/newsroom/Impact/2023-10-giller-award-shortlist-/master/_jcr_content/root/row_copy/row-par-1/image.img.png/1697009698291.png)
Nominated work: Study For Obedience
Bio: Sarah Bernstein is from Montreal, Canada, and lives in Scotland. Her writing has appeared in Granta among other publications. Her first novel, The Coming Bad Days, was published in 2021. In 2023 she was named as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.
Eleanor Catton
![Eleanor Catton beside book cover for Birnam Wood](/content/experience-fragments/scotiabank/ca/en/newsroom/Impact/2023-10-giller-award-shortlist-/master/_jcr_content/root/row_copy_copy/row-par-1/image.img.png/1697009718857.png)
Nominated work: Birnam Wood
Bio: Eleanor Catton is the author of the international bestseller The Luminaries, winner of the Man Booker Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. Her debut novel, The Rehearsal, won the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the Betty Trask Award, and the NZ Society of Authors’ Best First Book Award, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize, and longlisted for the Orange Prize. As a screenwriter, she adapted The Luminaries for television, and Jane Austen’s Emma for feature film. Born in London, Ontario, and raised in New Zealand, she now lives in Cambridge, England.
Website: eleanorcatton.com
Kevin Chong
![Kevin Chong beside cover for The Double Life of Benson Yu](/content/experience-fragments/scotiabank/ca/en/newsroom/Impact/2023-10-giller-award-shortlist-/master/_jcr_content/root/row_copy_copy_copy/row-par-1/image.img.png/1697009739474.png)
Nominated work: The Double Life of Benson Yu
Bio: Kevin Chong is the award-winning author of several books of fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Rumpus, and more. He currently lives in Vancouver and is an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia.
Website: thatkevinchong.com
Dionne Irving
![Dionne Irving beside book cover for The Islands](/content/experience-fragments/scotiabank/ca/en/newsroom/Impact/2023-10-giller-award-shortlist-/master/_jcr_content/root/row_copy_copy_copy_c/row-par-1/image.img.png/1697009755112.png)
Nominated work: The Islands
Bio: Dionne Irving is originally from Toronto, Ontario. Her work has appeared in Story, Boulevard, LitHub, Missouri Review, and New Delta Review, among other journals and magazines. Her first novel Quint came out in the fall of 2021. She currently teaches in the Creative Writing Program and the Initiative on Race and Resilience at the University of Notre Dame, and lives in Indiana with her husband and son.
Website: dionneirving.com
CS Richardson
![CS Richardson beside the cover for All The Colour In The World](/content/experience-fragments/scotiabank/ca/en/newsroom/Impact/2023-10-giller-award-shortlist-/master/_jcr_content/root/row_copy_copy_copy_c_554987841/row-par-1/image.img.png/1697009778054.png)
Nominated work: All The Colour In The World
Bio: CS Richardson’s first novel, The End of the Alphabet, was an international bestseller, published in fourteen countries and ten languages, and won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Canada and the Caribbean). His second novel, The Emperor of Paris, was a national bestseller, named a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year, and longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. An award-winning book designer, CS Richardson worked in publishing for forty years. He is a multiple recipient of the Alcuin Award, Canada's highest honour for excellence in book design. He lives and writes in Toronto.
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