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Giller Prize
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
Spelling variants:Scotiabank Giller Prize
n. — Entertainment
an annual award given to a Canadian writer of English-language fiction.
Type: 1. Origin — This award was named in memory of Doris Giller by her husband, Jack Rabinovitch (see the 1994 quotation). Since 2005, when Scotiabank began to co-sponsor the award, it has been called the Scotiabank Giller Prize (see the 2005 quotation). Although the prestigious award is widely recognized, it is named and discussed most frequently in Canada (see Chart 1). The award for the Giller Prize winner has steadily increased: from the original $25,000 to $50,000 in 2005, and to $100,000 in 2014. The Giller Prize has a dramatic effect on authors' book sales and careers (see Giller effect).
See also COD-2, s.v. "Giller Prize", which is marked "Cdn".
See: Giller effect
Quotations
1994
A new literary prize named for the late Doris Giller, assistant books editor of The Star until her death last year, promises to be the richest annual award to be given for a work of Canadian fiction.
The Giller prize, modelled on Britain's prestigous Booker prize, has been set up and endowed by her husband, Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch.
1996
By the time the Canadian leg ends in late November [...] Atwood could be the recipient of two prestigious Canadian literary awards, the Giller Prize and the Governor General's, as well as The Booker Prize from the U.K.
2005
The Giller Prize, Canada's biggest literary award, has just got even bigger - doubling the size of its purse and the length of its name. The new Scotiabank Giller Prize will now be worth $50,000 annually, founder Jack Rabinovitch announced yesterday alongside the award's new co-sponsor, Scotiabank's CEO Rick Waugh.
2008
In fact, From Harvey River by Goodison - a juror for last year's Scotiabank Giller Prize for Canadian English-language fiction - is one of the three nominees for the B.C. prize, to be awarded Feb. 7 in Vancouver.
2014
Over dinner at a New York Italian restaurant, Mr. Shteyngart - a former judge for the Scotiabank Giller Prize - was asked if fiction writers should be subsidized.
"Let me say this. I was the judge of a Canadian prize, and it's subsidized, they all get grants," he replied. "Out of a million entries, we found four or five really good ones, but people just don't take the same damn risks."
References
- COD-2
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