The 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize Announces Its Shortlist
October 1, 2012
Today in a morning press conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Toronto, more than 100 media and members of the publishing industry gathered to hear the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury announce its shortlist
The five finalists were chosen by the award-winning, three-member jury empanelled for the 2012 prize: Irish author and screenwriter Roddy Doyle; Canadian publisher, writer and essayist Anna Porter; and American author and satirist Gary Shteyngart.
This is the 19th year of the prize.
The shortlist was selected from a longlist of 13 books. One hundred and forty-two titles were submitted by 51 publishing houses from across the country.
Anna Porter and Gary Shteyngart were present to announce the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist. The finalists are:
- Will Ferguson for his novel 419, published by Viking Canada
- Alix Ohlin for her novel Inside, published by House of Anansi Press.
- Nancy Richler for her novel The Imposter Bride, published by published by HarperCollins Publishers
- Kim Thúy for her novel Ru, translated by Sheila Fischman, published by Random House Canada
- Russell Wangersky for his short story collection Whirl Away, published by Thomas Allen Publishers
Jian Ghomeshi, host of CBC Radio One’s and TV's arts and culture program Q, hosted this morning’s press conference. Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller Prize, spoke at the event as did Jacqueline Ryan, Vice-President Sponsorship & Partnership Programs at Scotiabank, and Kirstine Stewart, Executive Vice-President CBC English Services.
The gala and winner announcement will be held on Tuesday, October 30.
For the first time in its 19-year history, the Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala will be held at a brand new venue, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Toronto. Also a first, the Gala evening will commence at 5 p.m. so that taping for a national CBC Television broadcast can begin at 8 p.m. sharp (live to the East Coast).
The Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala will air on CBC Television at 9:00 p.m./9.30 NT.
For the second year in a row, Jian Ghomeshi will host the Gala.
CBC Books has launched a “Guess the Giller” contest tied to the shortlisted books, and will feature book excerpts, interviews and Q&A’s leading up the livestreamed Gala with accompanying live chat.
International Festival of Authors (IFOA), Harbourfront Centre
For the ninth year in a row, the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists will read from their nominated books at IFOA’s Closing Night on Saturday, October 27 at 8 p.m.
The Scotiabank Giller Light
The Scotiabank Giller Light Bash is now in its 11th year and expanding again. There will be Giller Light Bash events taking place in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and beginning this year, Halifax too. The Scotiabank Giller Light has raised over $265,000 for Frontier College, Canada’s original literacy organization.
About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, ‘Bright Future’. Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $45 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit at www.scotiabank.com.
About CBC/Radio-Canada:
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages, plus seven languages for international audiences. In 2012, CBC/Radio-Canada has been serving Canadians for 76 years, being at the center of the democratic, social and cultural life of Canada.
About CBC Books
CBC Books features all of CBC’s rich literary content across all platforms - audio, video and digital. This one-stop destination for book lovers includes in-depth information on books, exclusive interviews with authors, the latest news stories from the publishing world, book reviews, best-seller lists, discussions and blogs. It’s an online meeting place where literary enthusiasts can find the books they want to read, connect with other Canadians who love to read as much as they do, and keep up on all of CBC’s major literary events and programs such as Canada Reads, the Massey Lectures and Canada Writes.
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.