October 5, 1998
THE GILLER PRIZE ANNOUNCES
SHORTLIST
Canada's Premier Prize for Fiction Names Its Finalists
TORONTO - Today, in a morning press conference
that drew over 100 media and members of the publishing industry,
The Giller Prize announced its 1998 shortlist and revealed
special plans to mark the Prize's fifth anniversary. Selected
by the jury panel, comprised of authors Margaret Atwood
and Guy Vanderhaeghe and writer/broadcaster Peter Gzowski,
the finalists were chosen from over 60 books submitted for
consideration. Those books were submitted by 30 publishers,
from seven provinces and every region of the country.
Speaking on behalf of the jury, Margaret
Atwood named the finalists. They are:
- André Alexis for his novel Childhood,
published by McClelland & Stewart
- Gail Anderson-Dargatz for her novel A Recipe for
Bees, published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada
- Barbara Gowdy for her novel The White Bone, published
by HarperFlamingoCanada
- Greg Hollingshead for his novel The Healer, A
Phyllis Bruce Book / HarperFlamingoCanada
- Wayne Johnston for his novel The Colony of Unrequited
Dreams, published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada
- Alice Munro for her short story collection The Love
of a Good Woman, published by McClelland & Stewart
/ A Douglas Gibson Book
More
shortlist info
While the rules of The Giller Prize allow
the jury to select between three and six finalists, this
is the first time a Giller jury has not selected five. It
is also the first time in the Prize's history that previous
finalists appear: Gail Anderson-Dargatz was on the 1996
Giller Prize shortlist and Barbara Gowdy was nominated in
1995.
Jack Rabinovitch, who founded the Prize in
memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller,
also spoke at the press conference, making two announcements
that will commemorate this fifth anniversary year of the
Prize. An official Giller Prize website has been created
to provide browsers with a glimpse into the Prize's history
(www.thegillerprize.org). The most dramatic announcement,
though, was that, for the first time in Canadian literary
prize history, the entire awards ceremony will be broadcast
live across Canada. On Tuesday, November 3, the finalists
will be honoured and a winner announced at a black-tie dinner
and awards ceremony to be held at Toronto's Four Seasons
Hotel. From 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. EST, the entire award proceedings
will be broadcast live on Bravo!NewsStyleArtsChannel.
In a statement, Moses Znaimer, Bravo's President
and Executive Producer, commented, "I've been a guest
of The Giller Prize since its inception. Watching our videographers
shoot the event as 'news' I thought more than once; these
are witty people, the video profiles of the finalists are
great, and the crowd is certainly glittering. Why not shoot
it all 'live'? " Jack Rabinovitch remarked, "Especially
in this fifth year of the Prize, I am delighted that Bravo!
is helping to make the celebration of the finalists a national
event."
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.
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