Author Joseph Boyden Wins the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize

11 Nov 2008

Toronto, ON (November 11, 2008) – Joseph Boyden was named the winner of the 15th annual Scotiabank Giller Prize tonight for his novel Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada. The announcement was made at a black-tie dinner and award ceremony broadcast that drew more than 500 members of the publishing, media and arts communities.

Hosted by Canada AM’s Seamus O’Regan, the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala aired live tonight at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo! Encore broadcasts of the event will air on CTV tomorrow, on Wednesday, November 12 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET (check local listings). The gala was also streamed to readers around the world on CTV.ca, via the giller.ctv.ca website, and is currently available on demand on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca.

The largest annual prize for fiction in the country, the Scotiabank Giller Prize awards $50,000 each year to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and $5,000 to each of the finalists. A shortlist of five authors and their books was announced on October 7, 2008. Those finalists were:

			Joseph Boyden for his novel Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada
			Anthony De Sa for his collection of short stories Barnacle Love, published by Doubleday Canada
			Marina Endicott for her novel Good to A Fault, published by Freehand Books/Broadview Press
			Rawi Hage for his novel Cockroach, published by House of Anansi Press
			Mary Swan for her novel The Boys in the Trees, published by Henry Holt/HB Fenn

Selected by an esteemed jury panel comprised of award winning author and previous Giller Prize winner Margaret Atwood; Liberal MP, Foreign Affairs critic and author Bob Rae; and renowned international journalist, professor and author Colm Toíbín, the five finalists were chosen from 95 books submitted for consideration by 38 publishing houses from every region of the country.

Of the winning book, the jury remarked:

Suzanne Bird, a beautiful aboriginal model from the James Bay coast, goes missing in New York. In a gripping story filled with humour, suspense, and remarkable insights into both nature and human nature, Joseph Boyden takes us on two journeys. Suzanne's sister Annie retraces her sister's steps, from the Native poverty below the Gardiner Expressway to the extravagant fast lanes of New York. Will, their uncle, follows a very different path as he deals with the demons of memory, revenge, and darkest loss. In spare prose that ranges from lyrical to brutal, the two journeys are brought together brilliantly. Joseph Boyden shows us unforgettable characters and a northern landscape in a way we have never seen them before.

Joseph Boyden is a Canadian with Irish, Scottish and Métis roots. His first novel, Three Day Road, has been published in 10 languages. The book was selected for The Today Show Book Club, won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the CBA Libris Awards Fiction Book of the Year, the Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the 2005 McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award. Boyden is the author of Born with a Tooth, a collection of stories that was shortlisted for the Upper Canada Writer’s Craft Award. Boyden divides his time between Northern Ontario and Louisiana, where he teaches writing at the University of New Orleans.

During tonight’s award ceremony, a roster of celebrity presenters – Rex Harrington, Alan Hawco, Dr. Vincent Lam, Alice Munro, and Dr. Samantha Nutt – introduced video profiles of the shortlisted authors, and presented each of them with a leather bound copy of their book.

Guess the Giller

Now in its sixth year, the Guess the Giller contest ran in over 30 public library systems. One hundred and seventy five bookstores including Chapters Indigo, post-secondary schools, literary festivals and over 1000 Scotiabank branches have promoted the contest to Canadian readers and the Indigo online book community has set up discussion forums for readers to debate and deliberate on the shortlist. The annual contest gives participants the chance to win a trip for two to any Canadian literary festival of their choice and a signed Scotiabank Giller Prize book set, a package valued at $5,000. For more information, please visit the Guess the Giller page.

Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2007 the Bank provided more than $43 million in sponsorships and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas of healthcare, education, social services and arts and culture. Scotiabank is on the World Wide Web at www.scotiabank.com

Bravo!

Bravo! is an oasis in the television landscape where viewers make a regular appointment with the arts. Whether it’s a classic opera, an art documentary, a concert performance in the Bravo! Concert Hall, or a cutting-edge film, Bravo! gives viewers an opportunity for enriching and thought-provoking experiences. Make an appointment with the arts each night on Bravo! (www.bravo.ca). Bravo! is owned by CTV Limited, a division of CTVglobemedia, Canada's premier multi-media company.

CTV

CTV, Canada's largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the number-one national newscast, CTV NATIONAL NEWS WITH LLOYD ROBERTSON, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTVglobemedia Inc. is Canada's premier multi-media company which owns CTV Inc. and The Globe and Mail. CTV Inc. also owns radio stations across the country, and leading national specialty channels. Other CTVglobemedia investments include an interest in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and in Dome Productions, a North American leader in the provision of mobile high definition production facilities. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize Anthology

In celebration and recognition of the 15th Anniversary of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Penguin Group (Canada) has published an anthology of selections by past winners since 1994 as well as the 2008 shortlisted authors called The Scotiabank Giller Prize: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Canadian Fiction. The collection is widely available in bookstores across Canada.

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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.

For further information, please contact:

The Scotiabank Giller Prize:
Elana Rabinovitch 416.934.0755

CTV:
Allie Page 416.332.4596

Scotiabank:
Livy Feldgajer 416.866.6203