22 Sep 2005
TORONTO, ON - September 22, 2005 – Jack Rabinovitch, founder of The Giller Prize and Rick Waugh, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Scotiabank announced today that Scotiabank will become the first ever co-sponsor of Canada’s richest literary award for fiction.
Under the new agreement, the prize will be known as The Scotiabank Giller Prize. The purse will double, growing to Cdn$50,000 with $40,000 going to the winner, and $2,500 being given to each of the four finalists.
“This new relationship ensures that the prize will endure far into the future,” Rabinovitch said. “Scotiabank’s enthusiasm for The Giller Prize and more importantly, for the promotion of great Canadian literature, convinced us they’d be the ideal partner.”
Rabinovitch established The Giller Prize in 1994 as a tribute to his late wife, Doris Giller, a leading literary journalist. Since its inception, the prize has awarded $25,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English. The Giller Prize has so far endowed more than $250,000 to Canadian writers from coast to coast. In the first 10 years of the prize, 2.5 million Giller-nominated books were sold. To date, more than $60 million dollars in book sales have been generated as a direct result of the prize.
“Literature is a cornerstone for arts and culture in Canada and Scotiabank is proud to support and celebrate the literary accomplishments and aspirations of Canadian writers,” said Rick Waugh, Scotiabank’s President and CEO. “At Scotiabank, we realize that we have a responsibility to assist a much broader spectrum of stakeholders. We believe our sponsorships and donations are intrinsically linked to the goals we have set for ourselves as an organization.”
Each year in the fall, a distinguished jury panel of three judges announces The Giller Prize shortlist at a news conference held in Toronto. This year, the jury – writers Warren Cariou, Elizabeth Hay and Richard B. Wright – will announce the finalists on Wednesday, September 28th. The Scotiabank Giller Prize gala to celebrate the shortlisted authors and announce the winner will be held on Tuesday, November 8th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.
The launch of The Giller Prize twelve years ago coincided with a growing recognition of Canadian authors and literature both at home and abroad. With such acclaimed writers as Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood and Mordecai Richler winning honours and accolades around the world, the popularity of Canadian literature has continued to flourish.
More information about the prize, as well as a complete list of past winners, can be found at: www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca.
Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2004 the Bank provided more than $33 million in sponsorships and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas of healthcare, education and social services. Scotiabank is on the World Wide Web at www.scotiabank.com.
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For more information, contact:
Elana Rabinovitch
The Scotiabank Giller Prize, at 416.934.0755 or 416.275.5418
Frank Switzer
Scotiabank Director of Public Affairs, 416.866.7238