The Giller Prize Announces 2003 Shortlist

October 2, 2003

Today, in a morning press conference that drew over 100 media and members of the publishing industry, the Giller Prize announced its 2003 shortlist and revealed special plans to mark its 10th anniversary. Selected by an esteemed jury panel, comprised of jurist Rosalie Silberman Abella, scholar and academic David Staines and author Rudy Wieb, the five finalists were chosen from 93 books submitted for consideration. Those books were submitted by 38 publishers from every region of the country.

The jury named the finalists. They are:

Jack Rabinovitch, who founded the Prize in memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, spoke at the press conference and announced several initiatives underway to mark the 10th anniversary of the Prize.

The Broadcast

For the first time, the awards ceremony will be simulcast live across Canada on three networks: Bravo! NewsStyleArtsChannel, Book Television: The Channel and CBC Television. The show will run from 9:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. Eastern. This is Bravo!’s sixth year broadcasting the awards, and the first time CBC will air the ceremony live.

The Gala

On Tuesday, November 4, the finalists will be honoured and a winner announced at a gala black-tie dinner and awards ceremony to be held at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel.

In a departure from tradition, Jack Rabinovitch will be handing over gala hosting duties this year to Mary Walsh, host of CBC Television’s Open Book and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. “Short of winning the much coveted award, says Walsh, “nothing could thrill me more than hosting it.”

Public Library Promotion

As part of a focused campaign to bring Canadian literature to a wider reading audience, the Giller Prize has teamed up with the Toronto Public Library (TPL) to launch a pilot project involving this year’s shortlisted books, set to begin Tuesday, October 14, 2003.

The TPL – with over 30 million actual and virtual visitors each year – will carry ballot boxes in 15 branches across the city and will also run the promotion through their website at www.tpl.toronto.on.ca. On the ballots, contest participants will be asked to predict the winner. The draw will take place on November 5. The first five winning entries will receive the entire 2003 shortlist library.

Statistics gathered by the TPL indicate that demand for the Giller shortlisted and winning titles increases each year. Josephine Bryant, City Librarian, says given readers’ enthusiasm, the association is a perfect fit. “The Toronto Public Library has long been a proud supporter of Canadian literature. We know our patrons have a keen interest in stories by and about Canadians and we’re delighted to respond to that interest by working with the Giller Prize on this project,” says Bryant.

The Giller Prize is committed to widening the scope of the Library program to include every region of the country once the pilot project is completed and assessed.

The Giller Light

Also on November 4, Frontier College will host its second-annual Giller Light Bash at Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto. The goal is to raise funds to help children and youth improve their reading and writing skills through an expansion of Frontier College’s Homework Clubs, its after-school literacy program for inner-city students. Last year, the Giller Light Bash raised $12,500. Please visit www.gillerlight.ca for more information.

Department of Canadian Heritage

We are pleased to announce that the Department of Canadian Heritage, through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) is providing financial support for this, the 10th year of the Prize.

The Giller Prize awards $25,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English. The 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.