The 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist
The 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury announced its longlist on Tuesday, September 6. This is the 18th year of the prize and a record-breaking number of books were submitted by publishers across the country, a total of 143. This year’s jury is made up of: award-winning Canadian writer and 2009 Giller finalist Annabel Lyon; American author, memoirist and Guggenheim fellow Howard Norman; and acclaimed UK playwright and prize-winning novelist Andrew O’Hagan.
For the first time ever, the Scotiabank Giller Prize partnered with CBC Books to invite the public to choose a book for the longlist. The Readers’ Choice contest received more than 4,000 entries from passionate readers arguing their case for a favourite book. The Readers’ Choice selection was Extensions by Myrna Day, a debut novel published by Newest Press.
Readers' Choice winner
Of the longlist, the jury writes:
“Each title on our longlist dignifies world literature, not only Canadian literature. That said, the Canadian fiction we have unanimously chosen exhibits an astonishing range of dramatic incident, subject, narrative strategy and memorable characters. What connects these wonderful books is an excellence of craft. Many of these novels and collections have intensely cinematic qualities; others, decidedly influenced by l9th century classics. All have the deepest levels of engagement with the art of storytelling and bring life to the page with vivid immediacy. Our list is a celebration of eclectic and fearless writing.”
The finalists will be revealed at a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday, October 4th. CBC is the proud broadcast partner of The Scotiabank Giller Prize. Broadcast details will be disclosed at a later date. 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 business man Jack Rabinovitch.