Book Portal Gillers

Guess The Giller responses

2012-10-31T19:07:18Z

A big thank you to everyone who entered this year's Guess The Giller contest! By now, you probably know that Calgary's Will Ferguson, author of 419, took this year's prize. But who did most Canadians pick to win? Here's the breakdown:

1. The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler (28 per cent)

2. 419 by Will Ferguson (27 per cent)

3. Ru by Kim Thuy (23 per cent)

4. Inside by Alix Ohlin (12 per cent)

5. Whirl Away by Russell Wangersky (10 per cent)

By a hair, Nancy Richler's The Imposter Bride tops the list!

To relive all of this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize excitement, read interviews, listen to audio clips and watch the 2012 gala at our special coverage page.

Replay the 2012 Giller gala

2012-10-31T12:41:43Z

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Guess The Giller update

2012-10-16T17:50:43Z

Thanks to everyone who has entered our Guess The Giller contest so far. Here's a quick update about which book people think should win this year's award. As of Tuesday morning this week, Will Ferguson's 419 leads the pack in our readers' poll, followed closely by Nancy Richler's The Imposter Bride. You can read excerpts from all the books and Q&As with the authors.

Numbers breakdown:

419 by Will Ferguson (26.69 per cent)
The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler (25.98 per cent)
Ru by Kim Thuy (21.83 per cent)
Inside by Alix Ohlin (11.57 per cent)
Whirl Away by Russell Wangersky (10.92 per cent)

Be sure to explore all the great CBC Books Scotiabank Giller Prize content, including excerpts, Q&As with the shortlisted authors and more.

Q&A: Billie Livingston

2012-10-01T12:56:24Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here we have Billie Livingston, author of One Good Hustle.

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: For most of my life I've known that my father was a con artist. Growing up, I saw little of him and even less as an adult. A few years back we arranged to meet for lunch and while driving to the restaurant, he suggested that he tell me about the life he'd lived. "Maybe you could make a book out of it," he said. Lunch went completely off the rails, but I was left with the germ of a story. What if my mother and father had both been con artists? How would it have been to be a part of that world?

Q: What would you say is at the core of it?

A: The fear that one is merely a product of his or her heritage and the wonder if there is any such thing as redemption.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: Jodie Foster, at the age of 16, would have been stellar. Among contemporary young actors, Haille Steinfeld was an incredible Mattie Ross in True Grit and I think she'd make a great Sammie. And there's a Canadian actress named Jodelle Ferland who plays tougher characters. For Marlene, Sammie's con artist mother, I could see Maria Bello or Toni Collette. Deborah Kara Unger could be good too. And for Sammie's father, Sam Sr: I think my husband, Tim Kelleher, who is an accomplished actor, would make a great con artist father. Gary Oldman could also work. Or Sam Rockwell.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: It changes: August and September have been beautiful in Vancouver and lately I've been writing in the backyard in the shade. It's good to feel the sun and air around me and still be getting some work done. When the rains come, I'll be lying on the couch with my laptop against my knees.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event, or location close to your heart that you'd love to write about in the future?

A: I'm curious about the intersection of faith and superstition, how we struggle to find something beyond the self to believe in.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: Early on I thought there might be a secret recipe that I wasn't aware of, some inside knowledge of rules. But there are none. The only secret to writing is the AIC method: Ass in Chair.

Q&A: Nancy Richler

2012-09-28T16:15:28Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here is Nancy Richler, author of The Imposter Bride.

Q: What inspired you to write The Imposter Bride?

A: My paternal grandmother immigrated to Montreal from eastern Europe for the purposes of marriage only to be rejected by her prospective bridegroom at the moment of her arrival. When I started writing The Imposter Bride I wanted to explore what it might be like for a young woman alone in the world to be rejected on sight by the man on whom she depended to build her new life.

Once I wrote that scene, though, I realized I wanted to set the arrival of my protagonist Lily in the time period immediately following the Second World War because I was very interested in capturing the feel of Montreal in those immediate post war years when so many refugees and Holocaust survivors arrived in Montreal. I wanted to explore the many crosscurrents operating in the Montreal Jewish community at that time and the many issues raised by a young woman arriving after the war who had stolen someone else's identity as a way to begin anew.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: How people build new lives after experiencing overwhelming loss and trauma, and the continuity/discontinuity of identity over the course of a lifetime.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: I could see Tilda Swinton as the older Lily.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: I haven't read all the other books yet so I can't choose one over another.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: The Calabria Bar café in Vancouver, B.C. I wrote The Imposter Bride and Your Mouth is Lovely at one of the window tables at that café.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that you'd love to write about in the future?

A: I'm interested in divided cities -- cities divided along religious, ethnic and/or linguistic lines. The tension between the different groups can make these cities particularly creative and dynamic but can also flare into animosity, violence and war. Montreal and Jerusalem are the most personally compelling to me.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: How I feel about a book while I'm writing it -- i.e., the constant judgements I make about its quality and the process of writing it -- is irrelevant and a distraction from the work.

Read more longlist Q&As

Q&A: Annabel Lyon

2012-09-27T18:33:50Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here we have Annabel Lyon, author of The Sweet Girl.

Q: What inspired you to write The Sweet Girl?

A: Aristotle's will, which is a real historical document. It's a rare glimpse into his personality as a father and husband and head of a household. He expresses so much love and concern for the people around him, and what will happen to them all after his death. He worries about the marriage of his daughter, Pythias; he wants his companion, Herpyllis, to remarry if she so chooses; he provides for all his slaves, including the freeing of some in thanks for their lifelong service to him. This novel tries to imagine what happened to that household after his death.

Q: What would you say is at the core of it?

A: For me it's about the relationship between love and self-reliance, love of others and the need for solitude.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: Aristotle: David Thewlis

Herpyllis: Catherine Keener

Pythias: I don't know. She's young, awkward, not unusually pretty, and highly intelligent. Most actors are more poised and polished than I imagine her to be.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller Prize-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: I haven't read the other books yet, so I can't answer this one.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: Somewhere clean and relatively quiet, without too many distractions. Library, coffee shop, office on campus at UBC, at home once the kids are in bed...I'm pretty flexible.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that you would love to write about in the future?

A: I want to set my next book in contemporary Vancouver.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Anakana Schofield's Malarky. It's a novel of grief and sex and humour and anger and so much else. Rich and challenging and ambitious and incredibly rewarding.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: Treat it like a job. Learn your craft, put in the hours whether you feel like it or not, and get a little bit done each day.

Read more longlist Q&As

Q&A: Kim Thuy

2012-09-26T18:56:21Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here we have Kim Thuy, author of Ru.

Q: What inspired you to write Ru?

A: I have always loved words. But the writing of this book was accidental. I'd gone from one career to another every five years until I was 39, when my husband made me stay home for a month and think about what I wanted to do when I grew up. As an immigrant, just grateful for the freedoms afforded me by a new country, I had never allowed myself to ask such a question, let alone answer it. So, I cheated -- I didn't spend the time researching new careers. Instead, I took the month to write. And then one month lead to another...until the end of the year, when there was a book.

Q: What would you say is at the core of it?

A: It is about the privilege of the lucky few who have survived chaos and seen beauty coming to them in the most unexpected ways.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, who would be your dream director?

A: I have seen The Bridges of Madison County tens of times. I know exactly how Meryl Streep touched Clint Eastwood's collar while she was talking over the phone. As well, I know how the wind gently blew Meryl Streep's hair as she stood by the bridge looking at Clint Eastwood's camera. I love Eastwood's attention to small details and the unsaid. So, I guess he is my dream director!

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: The Emperor of Paris by C.S. Richardson for his elegance in storytelling and his gentle handling of words.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: A place where there is plenty of time, where I don't feel guilty for paying a lot of attention to people who don't even exist!

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that you would love to write about in the future?

A: I wish to build a story about and around the people who have taught me how to love.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: L'accordeur de silences by Mia Couto. I read this book with a pen in hand because on every page there was at least one or two sentences I wanted to remember and go back to. But, mostly, I am still haunted by its images and ideas. For example, about the death of a mother, the son said that he became an orphan not when she died but when he could no longer see her face in his head and hear her voice in his heart.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: I am new to the literary world, still discovering, still fascinated by the complexity of this industry and the number of people working behind the scenes to turn a manuscript into a book and to bring the book from the printer to a reader's home. The only thing I thought I knew -- but did not -- was the importance of the chair in the life of someone who spends most of her days on her behind!

Read more longlist Q&As

Q&A: C.S. Richardson

2012-09-25T18:24:43Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here we have C.S. Richardson, author of The Emperor of Paris.

Q: What inspired you to write The Emperor of Paris?

A: Among many whats: a photograph (taken by Robert Doisneau) of a man on the Pont des Arts, peering intently over the shoulder of a painter working en plein air at an easel. And a where: I'd always wanted to try my hand at setting a novel in Paris.

Q: What would you say is at the core of it?

A: The power of imagination, the wonder of books, the miracles of happenstance.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, who would be your dream director?

A: Baz Luhrmann, Jean-Pierre Jeunet or Christopher Nolan, because each has done Paris so well. More, please.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller Prize-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: Kim Thúy's Ru.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: I call it my studio. My family calls it the TV room, or the spare room, or the room where we put stuff when we don't know where else to put stuff.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that you would love to write about in the future?

A: Italy, specifically Rome.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Three actually: The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago, Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, the aforementioned Ru.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: That it is work, and is infinitely harder than it looks.

More longlist Q&As

Q&A: Cary Fagan

2012-09-24T16:44:57Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here we have Cary Fagan, author of the short story collection My Life Among the Apes.

Q: What inspired you to write My Life Among the Apes?

A: The book is made up of 10 stories and each had its own inspiration, of course. Most of the time the kernel comes from life. For example, Dreyfus in Wichita was partly inspired by an old friend who wrote a full musical that was performed by students at the school where he taught. The origin of Wolf is much darker -- a visit to a Nazi concentration camp. But I`ve never been interested in writing biographically, and real life is just the starting point for an imagined story. Writing is both a way into life and an escape from my own, I think, so I write about what I've seen or experienced but in an imaginative way that takes me beyond my self. I think I approach the story form a little differently, as well. I treat each one as if it were a little novel, a world in miniature.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: I'm interested in how we imagine our own lives, and how that fantasy intersects or contrasts with reality. So in the story The Little Underworld of Edison Wiese, the young man working in a café has an image of what he wants life to be like that isn't matched by the dim reality, at least not until one particular night.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: Well, there would have to be 10 movies! Or one of those films with many characters and storylines that cross and merge. I'd like to have Michael Caine as the narrator. I just love his voice.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: Actually, as soon as I saw the list I began to acquire the books. For me, this has become one of the pleasures of being on the list. And like other people, I`m excited to discover some writers I haven`t read before. But I've just started, so it`s too early to say.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: I`m not someone who is particularly fussy. In fact, I like to think that I can write in most environments. I do have a small third-floor study but I`ll often write in the dining room if nobody`s around. I also like to go to cafés and restaurants -- sometimes my concentration is better there. I have a new novel for kids coming out and I wrote a large part of it sitting on a bench in Tompkins Square Park in New York. After all, you don`t need anything besides a pen and a notebook.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that you'd love to write about in the future?

I love music and although I've written about musicians before I`m sure the subject will appear again in my writing. As for place, I want to write about Rome. Actually, my wife Rebecca and I were there last year and it was one place where I had a great deal of trouble writing. There was too much beauty, I was overwhelmed. But I have a story I want to tell.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Philip Roth's Nemesis. I've rarely read anything as powerful. He has become the master. Before that it was Henry James's Portrait of a Lady. I`d read it years ago without liking it as much as some of his other work. But this time I was in awe.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: Trust your instincts. Let go.

Read more longlisted author Q&As

Q&A: Lauren B. Davis

2012-09-21T18:38:37Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here we have Lauren B. Davis, author of Our Daily Bread.

Q: What inspired you to write Our Daily Bread?

A: One of the things obsessing me in the past few years is the increasing polarization I see around me. It pops up in any number of places -- religion, politics (both local and international), public rhetoric, the media, and the like. We don't have to look far for examples --perhaps no farther than the town next door, or even our own families.

As I pondered these ever-widening gaps, a story from my past kept rising to the surface. I lived in Nova Scotia for a brief time in the early 1970s. While there, I heard stories about an isolated community on a nearby mountain. They were terrible tales, involving incest and other forms of child abuse. I told myself that these stories couldn't be true. I believed, naïvely, that if they were true, surely someone would have done something to stop it. Then, a decade later, the story of the Goler clan broke, an investigation began and eventually many of the clan's adult members were put in jail and the children placed in foster care.

I was horrified, but also mystified. If all those rumours had been true, why had it taken so long for someone to intervene? The answer seemed to be that the people who lived on the mountain had, for generations, been considered "those people," as in "What do you expect from those people?"

An episode like that inspired me to fictionally explore how ordinary people could do dreadful things, or permit dreadful things to continue. The notion of extreme marginalization of a community and the terrible repercussions of ostracism haunted me.

The book is not, however, about the Golers, and other than a few snippets of dialogue taken from the trial transcripts in the last chapter, nothing of Golers appears on the page. I have invented a fictional town and fictional people set near the Delaware River (where I now live) because I wanted people to understand something like this can happen anywhere, and, sadly it does.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: The question I'm asking is: What happens when we view out neighbor as "the Other" and what is the transformative power of unlikely friendships?

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, who would be your dream director?

A: Deborah Granick, because of Winter's Bone, which has a similar sensibility to Our Daily Bread; and Paul Haggis because of, among other things, The Black Donnellys and Crash. They're both bloody brilliant.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: We've all been awarded a great prize already, besides since most of them are still on my to-read list, I can't pick a favourite.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: In my office, looking out over the garden, fireplace crackling, cup of tea at hand, dog nearby, Best Beloved in the next room.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event, or location close to your heart that'd you love to write about in the future?

A: I'm finishing up a book called THE EMPTY ROOM, which imagines what a day in the life of a woman who is very much like me might look like, had I not put down the bottle and got sober 17 years ago. Harper Collins Canada will be publishing it in May 2013.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: I read a lot of good books this year: Dany Laferriére's The Return, an elegant meditation on grief, fathers and sons, and identity; and although I don't often read in this genre, Enter, Night, by Michael Rowe is a literary, frightening, complex and character-driven horror story for thinking people. Lastly there's J.R. Moehringer's memoir, The Tender Bar. It's hard to write a book that's funny, thought-provoking, poignant and utterly entertaining, but Moehringer managed it.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: Writing a novel is a mad undertaking. It begins with an effervescent, glimmering vision of perfection, which sets the writer off on her ink-stained quest, assured that THIS time she will reproduce the vision exactly as it first appeared. This mirage is quickly followed by the mossy-toothed skull of doubt, and then long months of slog, wherein the writer is often only propelled forward by a dogged sense of duty, and fatalism. In other words: we keep following the sentences, one after mediocre one, in the hopes of landing somewhere, if not glimmering and effervescent, then at least reasonably well appointed. We also keep going because, really, we don't do anything else even remotely well and if we don't write about what's bothering us, we tend to be even more annoying to live with (My Best Beloved assures me) than we are when we're embedded in slog.

At the moment, I'm working on a new book and I have negotiated with the mossy-toothed skull of doubt, whom I shall call Morton. I have agreed to allow that Morton is perhaps right, and that this idea I had a while back for a perfectly BRILLIANT novel will be, at best, an ACCEPTABLE novel. And perhaps not even that, let's just admit it.

In short, now I realize (as I do with every book I've ever written) that the enchanting opalescent vision the muse first plonked in my noggin in never going to be realized. Oh, sure, I'll write a book, but it won't be the book of my dreams. The characters won't be quite as irresistible, the plot won't be quite as mesmerizing, and the theme won't be quite realized.
I have told this to My Best Beloved, and he has said, as he always does, "Oh, there already are you? What a good sign. You'll be finished the first draft in no time." I have learned not to stomp around muttering when he says things like that. And there's no point in telling him I've thought of just chucking it since he knows from experience, as do I, that I will see this book through to the end, that this is only a phase, and part of the process and the biggest truth of all which is: ALL WRITERS FEEL THIS WAY. We are all filled with self-doubt and we write anyway. Why? Because we are writers first and foremost, even if we are accountants, lion tamers, firemen or priests in our spare time. I wish I'd figured this out years ago.

Read more longlisted author Q&As

Q&A: Katrina Onstad

2012-09-20T17:33:16Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here is Katrina Onstad, author of Everybody Has Everything.

Q: What inspired you to write Everybody Has Everything?

A: As soon as you have kids, there's a low level hum of tragedy, an anticipation that something bad will happen. I ran off from there, allowing the worst to happen.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: Good people searching for wholeness.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: Why, Naomi Watts and Mark Ruffalo, of course. Can you ask them?

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: Ha. Not falling for that one.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: On a farm in northern France, perhaps Brittany -- not that I've ever experienced that. Otherwise, my home office in downtown Toronto is pretty nice.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that'd you love to write about in the future?

A: I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Re-reading the short stories of Ann Beattie was incredibly emotional. Also, This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman slayed me.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: That it's all about keeping your butt in the chair.

Read more longlisted author Q&As

Q&A: Alix Ohlin

2012-09-19T17:49:47Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here is Alix Ohlin, author of Inside:

Q: What inspired you to write Inside?

A: One day as I was writing, a scene appeared in my head: a woman cross-country skiing alone on Mount Royal at dusk comes across a man in trouble, and tries to help him. Who are these people? What happens next? I wrote the whole book, in a way, to find out.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: Inside is about three people whose lives intersect over the course of 10 years, as each of them endures moments of crisis. It's about the impulse to help other people, the importance and limitations of that impulse, and how it brings us humanity even if we don't always succeed.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: I would love for Sarah Polley to be involved somehow, either as an actor or director. I so admire everything she does.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: I can't answer this, because I haven't read them all yet! But I very much look forward to doing so. A great thing about the longlist is how it introduces us to writers whose work is new to us.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: Anywhere accompanied by a strong cup of coffee. Without coffee there is nothing.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that'd you love to write about in the future?

A: I'm superstitious about discussing things I haven't written yet. Until they're on the page, I worry that my ideas will lose their mystery and collapse into dust.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: The Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St. Aubyn -- elegant, brutal, funny books about an imperfect man's tortured life.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: That the writing life doesn't have to be lonely. There is a community of writers and readers out there -- now more connected through social media than ever -- who care deeply about literature.

Read more longlisted author Q&As

Q&A: Russell Wangersky

2012-09-18T16:26:29Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here is Russell Wangersky, author of Whirl Away.

Q: What inspired you to write Whirl Away?

A: Critical mass. I had a nucleus of stories that looked at the question of what happens when a person's major skill -- their pride, their need to be the centre of attention, their skill at their job -- became their biggest weakness or greatest blind spot.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: The ability people have to simply fly apart -- lose some critical underpinning that makes their universe spin properly on its axis. And as part of that, what happens to people after that central core leans away from their own true north.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: I don't know. I am a very rare movie-watcher, but there are some that would definitely fit the somewhat distracted, somewhat lost souls so aptly performed by William Hurt or Kevin Spacey.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: I haven't read enough of them yet to truly make a pick -- since this is a fiction prize, can I just pretend to be someone else and pick my own?

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: That's hard to say: I can write most places, from hotel rooms to basements. I work now at a computer in the kitchen, but sometimes a dramatic change of scene turns out to be the push I need to finish a story or a chapter. I slip pretty easily into the piece I'm working on, and once it's playing in my head, I'm not easily distracted. I put that down to years working on deadline in newsrooms. If you can't tune out a noisy room when you're writing news, you're never going to get home.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that you'd love to write about in the future?

A: Yes, except I'm already writing it, so I'll be a little coy about details. I'm really interested in the current cult of the need for electronic privacy, while at the same time we're busily spilling out details about ourselves all over the place, filling electronic archives that will survive long after we do.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: A strange little collection of short stories from Germany simply called Guilt and written by Ferdinand Von Schirach. He's a former prosecutor, and the stories have a brutal ability to ring true, even though some of them are astoundingly short for the power they carry.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: That you can't be anyone except yourself. It doesn't matter if there is a type of writing, different from your own, that seems to be doing particularly well. Unless you're an absolutely superb stylist -- a mimic, in fact -- your writing voice is your writing voice, and your best option is to refine what you have to the sharpest point possible.

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Q&A: Robert Hough

2012-09-17T19:36:43Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their work and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here we have Robert Hough, author of Dr. Brinkley's Tower.

Q: What inspired you to write Dr. Brinkley's Tower?

A: In 1931, Dr. John Romulus Brinkley built a million-watt radio tower in Northern Mexico to promote a medical procedure in which he transplanted slivers of goat testicles into men suffering from impotence.

If that isn't inspirational, then I don't know what is.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: I noticed you said "what" and not "who" so I'll answer accordingly.

I suppose it's a cautionary message, up there with "don't run with scissors" or "wait a half hour after eating to go swimming." Except in the case of Dr. Brinkley's Tower, it's more like: "if you monkey with a foreign country, you should be really, really, really careful."

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, who would be your dream director?

A: It has to be a director who can tell a fast-moving story, who can do both funny and poignant, and who is comfortable with an underlying dread. David Fincher?

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: I'd say Inside by Alix Ohlin, if only because it's published by House of Anansi, which put out Dr. Brinkley's Tower. They've all been so nice to me over there I'd like to see them make some real coin. I suppose if Dr. Brinkley's Tower and Inside tied that'd be the best ...

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: I often hear about writers who go off to someplace remote and exotic to write. In my case, I'd be too curious about my new surroundings to get any work done. Likewise with going to coffee shops. Honestly, I see people in there, laptops open, screens of text staring them in my face, and my reaction is always: "If you were a real writer you'd be too busy eavesdropping on other people's conversations." Oh no -- I need the most boring, familiar place possible to get any writing done, and that place is my office in work-a-day Toronto.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event, or location close to your heart that'd you love to write about in the future?

A: Caffeine and Ativan. In fact, I'd love to write a novel called, simply, Caffeine and Ativan. Think how current that would be! Without those two substances -- which, ironically enough, work at cross-purposes -- I swear our whole society would crumble.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Any Human Heart by William Boyd. At the end of it, I felt like those two characters in Spinal Tap, chatting at Elvis Presley's grave.

"Kind of puts things in perspective, don't it?"

"A little too much fucking perspective if you ask me."

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: In real life, we like people who are pleasant to be around. In books and films, we like characters who are fighters, no matter what their faults.

Read more longlisted author Q&As

Q&A: Will Ferguson

2012-09-13T16:28:47Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their novel and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here's what Will Ferguson, author of 419, had to say.

Q: What inspired you to write 419?

A: It grew out of the research I did for my previous novel, Spanish Fly, a story about con men and call girls set in the dustbowl of the Great Depression. In researching the classic swindles of that era, I came upon a reference to the "Spanish Prisoner" con game, which dates back to the days of the Spanish Armada. A footnote added: "Today's Nigerian 419 con is a modern variation on this." That the root of these email spam-scams could be traced back 500 years fascinated me. And although 419 is very much set in today's internet-saturated world, the con itself taps into something much older in human nature. That's what hooked me.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: A sense of longing. The characters in 419 are all searching for each other -- they just don't know it.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you envision taking on the main characters?

A: I wrote the character of Winston with the Nigerian-born British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor in mind. And Sarah Polley would be perfect for Laura. Other than that, the image I had of the characters was primarily in my own mind, and not based on any specific people, actors or otherwise.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: C.S. Richardson's The Emperor of Paris, though I confess I haven't read it yet. I read his previous novel, however, The End of the Alphabet, and thought it was brilliant.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: Many years ago, I used to write in the Local History room at Calgary's main library -- I was sort of the unofficial "writer in residence." Now I work at home, in the same office for the last nine years. When I'm proofing pages, though (I never edit on a screen; I need to see it on the page), I often find a quiet corner of Mount Royal University, which is nearby -- just to get me out of the house.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event or location close to your heart that'd you love to write about in the future?

A: Rwanda. The story of the genocide and the astonishing recovery of that country represents both the very worst and best that human nature is capable of. I'm drawn to tragic places, I'm not sure why. It's probably the reason I spent so much time in Northern Ireland.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: Your time estimates are wrong. Period. It doesn't matter how carefully you budget your time, or how reasonable and detailed the timeline is -- it will always take much longer to finish your manuscript than you ever expected. So there's no point stressing about it. Just keep working toward the end and the deadlines will take care of themselves.

Related links

More 2012 longlisted author Q&As

Q&A: Marjorie Celona

2012-09-11T13:27:02Z

To celebrate this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, we asked each longlisted author a series of questions to help us gain insight into their novel and their thoughts on the craft of writing. Here's what Marjorie Celona, author of Y, had to say.

Check back throughout the coming weeks for more Q&As. You can read last week's post featuring this year's Readers' Choice winner Peggy Blair.

Q: What inspired you to write Y?

A: A fascination with the letter itself -- its shape, its sound -- and then a first line: "My life begins at the Y." I didn't know what it meant at first. I wrote the story to find out.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: The most important thing at the core of Y is Shannon. All else just spins around her.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, which actors could you
envision taking on the main characters?

A: This is the most fun question I've ever been asked. Okay. The closest I've seen to Shannon on film was Karen Fergusson playing the young Janet Frame in An Angel at My Table. Pam Grier as Miranda. Chris Cooper as Vaughn.

Q: Which Scotiabank Giller Prize-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you most like to see take home the prize?

A: Hold on, let me just read the 12 other books. In the meantime, based on nothing but excerpts I found on the web, Russell Wangersky's Whirl Away.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: In bed.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event, or location close to your heart that you would love to write about in the future?

A: At great risk of pathetic fallacy, I love writing about storms. I gave in to this desire recently and wrote a story about a geomagnetic storm for Harvard Review. I'm eager to do it again. Nothing is as wonderful to me as a big, crazy storm.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro, which I reread this summer. It is a perfect novel, with a perfect ending.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing or the writing life that you wish you'd known much earlier?

A: None. The pleasure of writing -- when I first started, that is -- was knowing nothing about it at all.

Select Your Shortlist: Week 1 winner

2012-09-10T17:40:37Z

Congratulations to julesp for winning a set of this year's longlisted books! These are julesp's shortlist picks:

"It's so hard to choose because each of these authors can grab my attention and hold me prisoner to their story. However, if I have to pick only 5, my choices are:

1. Ru (Have read good reviews about this one.)

2. The Imposter Bride (Sounds intriguing.)

3. One Good Hustle (The title grabs me.)

4. The Sweet Girl

5. The Emperor of Paris"

Remember, you have until Sunday, Sept. 30, to submit your Select Your Shortlist picks!

Select your shortlist for a chance to win!

2012-09-07T14:36:51Z

Win a set of this year's longlisted books!

Which of the 13 books from this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist should move onto the shortlist? Tell us which five books you'd like to see make the cut, and why, in the comments section below. You could win a set of the longlisted books, courtesy of the publishers. We'll be holding a weekly draw, and you have until Sunday, September 30, at 11:59 p.m. ET to enter!

Here are the rules and regulations.

The 2012 longlist

by Marjorie Celona

Our Daily Bread

by Lauren Davis

My Life Among The Apes

by Cary Fagan

by Alix Ohlin

Everybody Has Everything

by Kim Thuy

Q&A: Peggy Blair

2012-09-06T15:20:18Z

In the run-up to this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize gala on October 30, we'll be posting Q&As with the longlisted authors to gain insight into their work and find out what books they admire. We kick off our series with a bonus: an interview with this year's Readers' Choice winner, Peggy Blair.

Q: What inspired you to write The Beggar's Opera?

A: I had just left a 30-year legal career in aboriginal law and human rights and was trying to decide what to do next. My daughter came home from McGill that Easter and said, "Well, you can't just sit around, Mom. You have to do something."

I think I was as surprised as she was when the words -- "I'll write a novel" -- came out of my mouth. Once I decided to set the story in Cuba, the book pretty much wrote itself.

Q: What would you say is at the core of your book?

A: I was struck by the extreme poverty and devastating shortages when I was in Havana. It's easy for tourists to forget that there's been a trade embargo in place for more than 50 years. As a former criminal lawyer and prosecutor, I wondered how the police could investigate crimes when they lacked basic supplies like film, toner, fuel, even pencils. At its heart, I think the book is a story about survival: how people somehow adapt to the challenges life throws at them.

Q: If your book was being made into a movie, who would be your dream director?

A: David Fincher, the brilliant director who directed the thriller Seven, would be incredible, but because of the embargo, it would be impossible to have an American director film on location.

Cuban director Alejandro Brugués released the very first Cuban horror film, Juan of the Dead, this year. Like the British satire, Shaun of the Dead, it's fresh, funny and subversive. (For example, the zombies roaming around Havana are at first described by the government as American dissidents.) Having a Cuban director, Cuban actors and the support of the Castro government (which Brugués somehow achieved) would be amazing.

Q: Which book on the Giller longlist would you like to see take home the prize?

A: I would be very happy to see Will Ferguson's 419 win for two reasons. First, he's another Penguin Canada author. Second, his book has been marketed as a mystery/thriller. I'd love to see the Giller Prize jury finally break through the genre ceiling. I think great writing is great writing, period.

Q: Which other Readers' Choice finalists are you most interested in reading or have read?

A: They're all on my reading list now! I know Missy Marston -- we sat on a panel together at a local bookstore this summer. The Love Monster is as charming and quirky as she is. I really enjoyed Tanis Rideout's Above All Things, and I can't wait to read Daughters Who Walk This Path: Yejide Kilanko is another Penguin author. But honestly, all the books look fantastic.

Q: Where is the absolute best place for you to write?

A: I have a cottage north of Kingston [Ont.]. It's a spectacular place to write without any interruptions: no phone, no Internet, no TV. I can be astonishingly productive there, and if I need a break, I can go for a swim or just sit on the deck with a glass of wine and watch the loons. It's one of the most beautiful places on the planet. It keeps me grounded.

Q: Is there a specific subject matter, event, or location close to your heart that you'd love to write a story about in the future?

A: I think that one of the more interesting characters in The Beggar's Opera is the pathologist, Hector Apiro. Apiro suffers from -- or more accurately, lives with -- achondroplasia, or dwarfism.

I want to send him to Kunming in Southern China. There are over a hundred dwarfs who have built a village there to escape bullying and discrimination. They call it "The Kingdom of Short People" and it's become a major tourist attraction. They dress in crazy costumes like butterflies and live in little houses shaped like mushrooms. They've created their own world, with their own police force and fire brigade. I can't wait to see what Apiro thinks of it.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

A: Probably Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. I've been reading him for decades -- the man is 76 but keeps getting better. There's a one-line reference in that story to a vacant landscape as reminiscent of a painting by Adolph Hitler. (Hitler was apparently never able to paint people, only buildings.)

The body of knowledge a writer has to have to toss away a little nugget like that is incredible. It made me realize that I couldn't have started writing any earlier in my life; I simply wasn't ready.

Q: What is one insight into the craft of writing you have now that you wish you knew when you were younger?

A: It has to be persistence. It's hard enough to write a book: most manuscripts never get finished. But it's even harder to get published. I went through countless rejections before The Beggar's Opera was shortlisted for the 2010 U.K. Debut Dagger. You have to keep plugging away. The only way to guarantee failure is to quit.

Our latest book set winner!

2012-08-31T14:25:42Z

Margaret Cook is the latest winner in our weekly giveaway of a set of the Giller longlisted books. She nominated The Love Monster by Missy Marston. Here's what she had to say about the book:

"This is one of the funniest and heart-wrenching books I have read in a long time. Missy has a wonderful imagination and it delights me to read something so creative."

Thanks, Margaret! You've won a complete set of the books on this year's longlist, courtesy of the publishers.

Long list and Readers' Choice announcements

Stay tuned: on Tuesday, Sept. 4, the Scotiabank Giller Prize will announce the longlist for the award. And CBC Books will confirm the book that came out on top in our Readers' Choice poll!

Another Kobo eReader/Chapters-Indigo gift card winner!

2012-08-27T14:16:26Z

Congratulations to Aaron Hawryluk, who has won a Kobo eReader and Chapters-Indigo gift card courtesy of Scotiabank! Aaron nominated the book Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer. Here's his entry:

"Triggers is a breathtaking novel in and of itself, with high literary value. Characters are believable and well-written, plot is extremely well-executed, and the theme is thought-provoking and universal."

Triggers is still in the race for this year's Readers' Choice crown. The public vote will continue until noon ET on Friday, Aug. 31!

Another weekly prize winner!

2012-08-24T14:43:28Z

We have another winner of the longlisted set of books! Thanks to Shari Lukens for submitting her nomination for Gethsemane Hall by David Annandale. Here's what she wrote about the book:

"It has been a very long time since a literary master such as Annandale has been able to create such an effective horror story. Great new talent and a shining star on the horizon."

Gethsemane Hall didn't make the Readers' Choice Top 10, but you have until noon ET on Friday, August 31, to vote for your favourite on the list.

Which book should be named the Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers' Choice?

Readers' Choice Top 10: Vote now!

2012-08-21T16:00:31Z

Thanks to everyone who nominated a book and then voted in the Top 10 public vote. The official announcement will be made Tuesday, September 4 to coincide with the reveal of this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize long list!

]]> Which book should be named the Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers' Choice?

Carolyn I. for Gethsemane Hall by David Annandale

2012-08-20T20:31:24Z

It's one of the few intelligently written horror novels that exist--it's both literary AND accessible, a rare combination.

Vince F. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-20T20:28:31Z

It exposes the hardships that immigrants experienced in Hamilton during the outbreak of the Nazi regime in Germany.And that prejudice and bigotry was employed by police and officials in their attitude toward said immigrants. The exposure was through the eyes and feelings of youngsters who were born Canadians, which added humor and drama alike.

Nanci L. for The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

2012-08-20T20:21:46Z

Ami makes you care about her characters and her excellent research makes Victorian-era New York come alive on the page. Her women are full multidimensional personalities. This is a powerful story about women's lives and their complexities as they negotiate their survival in a man's world.

David R. for Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer

2012-08-20T20:19:22Z

Sawyer's works have been widely recognized within the genre of science-fiction. He writes about realistic characters in an empathetic way and their struggles with how plausible discoveries can trigger sudden and dramatic changes to society. His work, including Triggers, reminds us that we must educate ourselves concerning both the technologies we take for granted and those technologies that are on the cusp of transforming our world and ourselves. Sawyer challenges us to responsibly consider the implications of its widespread use.

Last chance to nominate! Public vote starts Tuesday

2012-08-20T14:55:22Z

Remember, CanLit fans, Monday is the last day to nominate a book for this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize. On Tuesday, we'll reveal the 10 books with the most nominations and open it up to a public vote. If your chosen book didn't make the Top 10, you can lend your support to another title on the list that you feel deserves to be recognized.

Kobo eReader/Chapters-Indigo gift card giveaway

Congratulations to Mary Lynne Rimer! She receives these great prizes courtesy of Scotiabank. Mary Lynne nominated the novel Ru by Kim Thuy. She was especially touched by this story and explained why in her entry below:

"Ru is an amazing documentation of a Vietnamese woman's experience of escaping her home country during the Communist rule in Vietnam. Many Canadians remember these families arriving in our communities in Canada and Thuy helps us to understand their experiences as refugees, their culture and the struggles of becoming Canadian. Thuy's poetic style moved me. I laughed and cried through her stories of family and their relationships with friends, supporters and the not so supportive in Canada. We are linked to one of these families through our daughter's marriage and my heart was especially softened and warmed by Thuy's portrayal of her relationship with her mother."

You still have a chance to win! We'll continue to hold weekly draws until the public vote ends and this year's Readers' Choice 2012 winner is revealed.

J.R. M for People Park

2012-08-18T20:24:19Z

Pasha Malla's People Park stands out among recent Canadian fiction for its ambition, originality and darkly skewed vision of our contemporary world. While the words "polish" and "control" are regularly cited as virtues of a great novelist, too often the words are disguised synonyms for a conventional stylistic approach that pushes no boundaries, and looks away from the universe of possibilities that face the novelist when deciding how to use language to achieve their aims. With crackling energy, startling sentences and an imagination that veers from playful to near-deranged, Malla paints a huge, vivid canvas that introduces us to dozens of characters whose lives come together in a setting that somehow feels both exceptionally weird and very true. The result is a novel that reads like no other and feels genuinely trailblazing -- to paraphrase, a fuggin punt to the grapes of Canlit, for sure.

Maciek H. for Giant by Aga Maksimowska

2012-08-17T19:41:36Z

It connects with me personally; I empathize with the main character's struggle to find her cultural identity after her emigration from Poland to Canada.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

2012-08-17T14:39:14Z

We have another winner!

Congratulations to Carolyn Smart, who was selected in this week's random draw for a set of this year's longlisted books. Carolyn nominated Above All Things by Tanis Rideout. Here's what she had to say about the book:

"What a superb read this book is! It has all the elements required for a truly engaging novel: rich characterization, great visual detail, and a plot that is all-absorbing."

Thank you, Carolyn, and thanks to everyone who has submitted a nomination so far. There's only one more weekend of nominations to go before we reveal which books are on our Top 10. Then it will be up to a public vote to decide the definitive Readers' Choice.

Mona L. for The Loss of the Marion by Linda Abbott

2012-08-16T20:16:45Z

Because of the spellbinding nature of the story, and the exquisite narrative style which carries the tale along, this book is hard to put down.

Denise B. for Giant by Aga Maksimowska

2012-08-16T20:13:56Z

This is mordantly funny writing about the traumas of adolescent life first under communism in Poland, and then under democracy in Canada. I've never seen writing about life during this era in Poland, nor about the Polish immigrant experience. It's the humour of the underdog who has no control over the life adults and hormones hand her, a girl who can help herself only by cracking wise. Humour deserves to be better respected in the Canadian literary canon. Let's start with this book.

Readers' Choice nominations: Update

2012-08-16T15:00:42Z

We're almost into the home stretch of the nomination portion of the Readers' Choice Contest! We have one more full weekend of nominations before we come up with the Top 10 and put them out for a public vote. We saw some interesting shifts in nominations from last week as word of the contest has spread.

The 10 most nominated titles as of this week are:

1) The Good Doctor by Vince Agro - 7.3 per cent of total nominations
2) The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair - 5.5 per cent
3) Giant by Aga Maksimowska - 4.5 per cent
4) Above All Things by Tanis Rideout - 3.7 per cent
5) A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan - 3 per cent
6) *The Girl in the Box by Sheila Dalton - 2.6 per cent
6) *Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko - 2.6 per cent
7) 419 by Will Ferguson - 1.3 per cent
8) The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay - 1.2 per cent
9) A Matter of Life or Death or Something by Ben Stephenson - 1.1 per cent
10) The Love Monster by Missy Marston - 1% per cent

* Tied for 6th place

The remaining books account for 66.2 per cent of total nominations.

You can see last week's results here.

Remember, the deadline to submit your recommendation has been extended to Monday, August 20, at 11:59 p.m. ET. If you haven't already done so, enter yours here:

Barbara P. for Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

2012-08-15T18:15:24Z

This is a tender, unflinching and beautifully written novel about love, injustice, magic and the power of spirit. No writer but Richard Wagamese could weave together the story of Canada's residential schools and our passion for hockey in quite this way, and his evocations of the northern landscape are breathtaking. Wagamese's work deserves to be much more widely celebrated, and this novel is a stunning achievement.

James A. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-15T17:19:10Z

Well told story of the struggle that a highly educated Italian immigrant and family experiences prior to and during WW2. Backdrop of the city of Hamilton is an added bonus.

Shamima K. for The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

2012-08-15T17:10:31Z

Ami McKay already proved that she was an amazing storyteller with The Birth House. This new book seems to be just as stunning...it hooked me in from the opening line. Rich, historical fiction lets us understand who we are and where we come from.

Huy Le for Our Daily Bread by Lauren Davis

2012-08-15T17:08:06Z

This is an excellent family drama/psychological novel. It also demonstrates Lauren B Davis' highly illustrative attention to detail, used especially to good effect in conveying local color. Albert Erksine grew up in the poor and isolated area of North Mountain where he received his share of brutality: incest, sodomy, burns, and lashings. He lives in the small cabin he eventually built on the family compound only so the younger children of the clan now suffering the same fates would have a refuge and perhaps a protector. Meanwhile, he puts the rest of his efforts into not perpetuating tradition by becoming one of "The Others."

Linda H. for The Tinsmith by Tim Bowling

2012-08-15T17:07:32Z

A fabulous novel about a man named Anson Baird who is a doctor in the American Civil War and his experiences, which touches on slavery and moves ahead to a period twenty years later, and weaves these stories together beautifully.

Carolyn P. for The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

2012-08-15T17:04:46Z

This book has been written from the heart and deals with universal emotional issues while weaving an absorbing story.

Anthony C. for The Apple House by Gillian Campbell

2012-08-14T14:32:44Z

A "real" story about someone who is at a tumultuous time in their life, yet it still manages to be humourous and engaging without making you work through the difficult parts.

Dian A. for Running The Rift by

2012-08-14T14:28:29Z

A story of Rwanda is a must read. It is difficult to find any stories of an individuals life growing up, surviving and going on to have a chance to realize their dreams

Inna G. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-14T14:23:40Z

Interesting approach to story telling, great characters, historic details are fascinating.

Michael A. for Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

2012-08-14T14:16:59Z

An epic novel, wonderfully written. The writer has taken time to describe the life of a girl who lived through life and still fulfill destiny.

Andrea C. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-14T14:14:14Z

This book was an amazing read for a first time novelist, set in Havana, the city had just as much character as the people in the book. Loved the politics and intrigue of Havana and the hoops the Inspector has to go through just to do his job, I am looking forward to reading the next book by the author.

Kem L. for Passing Through by David Penhale

2012-08-14T14:08:53Z

An exceptional first novel from a U of T/Sheridan Institute writing teacher. Passing Through is about Foster, a man who finds Canada by leaving it.

Fran S. for The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

2012-08-14T13:56:16Z

It's a captivating read that introduces the reader to an old custom wherein sex with virgins was thought to cure some ailments. It's a book that teases all emotions from sadness to joy.

Nolan K. for The City's Gates by Peter Dube

2012-08-13T15:47:48Z

Although I haven't read the book, at first glance it looks like part of it is related to economic issues, which is something we should all be concerned about.

Candice F. for Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

2012-08-13T15:14:37Z

This novel provides a new understanding of the world from a different cultural perspective and also reveals the common effects of sexual abuse.

Barbara D. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-13T15:11:14Z

A book that well develops its character without going overboard and allows you to laugh and feel you with deep emotion. You can't help but feel what it must have been like to be under those times.

Joan A. for Ravenscraig by Sandi Krawchenko Altner

2012-08-13T14:59:54Z

Ravenscraig is wonderful story about hard times and the grit determination of immigrants who came to Canada in the height of the immigration boom. It is based on true events in Winnipeg in the early 1900s. I loved learning about the city and could easily identify with the problems faced by the Jewish community. It's a fantastic read. I couldn't put it down and have recommended it to all of my friends.

Manon S. for The Love Monster by Missy Marston

2012-08-13T14:55:43Z

This is a wonderfully entertaining book that is light in comedy and heavy in heart. Missy captures all the awkward moments life has to offer and makes them seem all ok. Great read from a great new writer. Hope to see more books from Missy.

Heather F. for Above All Things by Tanis Rideout

2012-08-13T14:51:17Z

Beautifully and poignantly written adventure with romance. She really captures the atmosphere of Everest and what it might be like to be left behind.

Week 2: Kobo eReader/gift card winner

2012-08-13T14:42:15Z

We have another winner!

Congratulations to Karen Sommer, who nominated Kaleidoscope by Gail Bowen. Karen wins a Kobo eReader and a Chapters-Indigo gift card courtesy of Scotiabank. Here's what she wrote about the book:

"Mystery novels rarely get the respect they deserve. Gail Bowen elevates the genre to new heights, with complex characters and richly developed plotlines, with a healthy dose of Canadiana thrown in."

Thanks to Karen for sending in her nomination.

Remember, the deadline to submit your recommendation has been extended to Monday, August 20, at 11:59 p.m. ET. If you haven't already done so, enter yours here:

Emily E. for The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

2012-08-10T14:26:31Z

It's a beautiful tale weaving through generations and cultures. It's a thought provoking reflection on family, culture and relationships. I would recommend to to anyone to read.

Linda W. for Kaleidoscope by Gail Bowen

2012-08-10T14:24:28Z

Suspenseful and fast paced. Joanne Kilbourn's personal life threatens to fall apart and she is having trouble coping with it. Great character development.

Catherine A. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-10T14:20:40Z

This book is a gritty, thought-provoking novel that guides the reader through several social justice issues, while at the same time introducing a couple of fascinating characters and describing an unnerving, breathtaking setting. Its descriptive prose, hard-hitting topic, and depth all warrant its placement of the longlist.

Brian G. for 13 by Kelley Armstrong

2012-08-10T14:18:04Z

Kelley Armstrong is an awesome storyteller in her genre of romantic paranormal horror. She is able to weave a captivating storyline with the most interesting characters who do not lose their appeal after a half dozen books. This book continues her tradition of great entertaining stories.

Readers' Choice draw: Longlisted books

2012-08-10T14:17:36Z

Congratulations to Amanda Ali, who won our first draw for a set of this year's longlisted books! Amanda nominated The Jane Austen Marriage Manual by Kim Izzo. Here's what she had to say about the book:

"The majority of people can identify with this wonderful character's first love: Jane Austen! This book has it all: a lovable main character, hysterical moments that will make you laugh aloud and an unforgettable quest to find that elusive perfect man. This book makes you examine what you really want in life."

Thanks to Amanda for sending us her nomination. Remember, the deadline to submit your recommendation has been extended to Monday, August 20, at 11:59 p.m. ET. If you haven't already done so, enter yours here:

Check back next week for an update on which book is leading the pack and to find out which contest entrant has won a set of this year's longlisted books!

Matthew L. for Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer

2012-08-10T14:14:27Z

The books examines the issue of memories and the impact of other people having access to them. National security, racism, criminal acts, PTSD, blackmail, and the loss of privacy. Triggers catches your attention right from the start and it really makes you think about would happen if you could access another person's deepest memories.

Joanne M. for Until the Night by Giles Blunt

2012-08-10T14:11:16Z

Lead character Detective John Cardinal is someone you can empathize wife, particularly when his wife passed away. The author presents a page turning suspenseful novel set in a small town in Northern Ontario that you can just imagine finding in your travels.

Marlene V. for Titanic Ashes by Paul Butler

2012-08-10T14:08:21Z

It was a good read. I also had lots of interest in any reading that involved the titanic because of all the renewed interest in it because of the recent anniversary of it sinking.

Joanne D. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-10T14:06:03Z

A compelling tale of the Italian community in Hamilton after World War II. I found the characters just leaped from the pages.

Asma K. for 13 by Kelley Armstrong

2012-08-09T15:34:40Z

I'm a long-time fan of Kelley Armstrong and her Women of the Underworld Series and this book definitely doesn't disappoint.

Shannon for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-09T15:31:33Z

This novel has everything a reader could ask for. He takes you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. One moment your laughing and the next you are tearing up. It's a book you just don't want to put down.

Gertrude P. for The Taste of Ashes by Sheila Peters

2012-08-09T15:26:15Z

Any book that mentions a hard, gut retching look of what many people in B.C. have had to endure, deserves to be on the list. It may be a hard book to read since many people choose the "head in the sand" approach, but it needs to be read.

Marc-Andre T. for Against God by Patrick Senecal

2012-08-09T15:22:10Z

It is a good story book written by an extraordinary author. It has a lot of action and has great character. It should win the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Simon for Above All Things by Tanis Rideout

2012-08-09T15:17:13Z

Simply put, it's a beautiful novel told exceptionally well. Emotional depth, resonance, and pure craftsmanship make this novel a rare find deserving of national recognition.

Daniel B. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-09T15:15:29Z

It's such a gripping allegory about man's struggle against the inevitability of fate.

Kim M. for The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

2012-08-09T15:12:12Z

I am a slow reader, reading a couple of chapters at a time. I just couldn't put down this book. I felt close to the characters. They were well developed and true to the time period in which the book was written. I also enjoyed reading the historical notes in the margin. All in all, just a great book.

Emily C. for Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

2012-08-09T15:09:10Z

This book is beautifully written. The story follows a courageous woman who is victim of sexual abuse as a child; and how this abuse impacts her life over three decades. Most people are uncomfortable with the topic of childhood sexual abuse. Kilanko depicted the horrific event without using heart-wrenching prose, and in essence, created a masterpiece in bringing this topic to readers. This novel sends an inspirational message to every woman to find their voice, and be heard.

Heather S. for The Love Monster by Missy Marston

2012-08-09T15:06:06Z

This book is fresh and funny and sad and beautifully written and oh-so-Canadian (the protagonist is named Margaret H. Atwood!). I haven't enjoyed a Canadian book this much all year. I have bought many copies for my friends, and that's saying something for a woman who mainly sticks to the library.

Allysun W. for Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad

2012-08-09T15:02:00Z

Lovely book about a late thirties couple dealing with infertility and the reality of being an aging hipster in this economy in Toronto.

Readers' Choice 2012: Nomination deadline extended!

2012-08-09T14:00:00Z

Myrna Dey's novel Extensions (author pictured above) was voted the Readers' Choice last year. Which author will take it this year?

Attention CanLit fans! We have an announcement about this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers' Choice 2012.

To give you a little more time to explore all the wonderful, diverse Canadian literature of the past year, we're extending the deadline for nominations until Monday, August 20 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Thanks to everyone who has submitted a nomination so far! If you haven't yet, there's more time to enter for a chance to win great prizes including Chapters-Indigo gift cards, Kobo eReaders, sets of the longlist books and a Samsung Galaxy tablet.

Remember to check back later in August when we reveal the Readers' Choice Top 10, based on your nominations. You'll then be able to vote on which book will win this year's Readers' Choice Award! Note: The Readers' Choice will not be added to the official longlist unless the jury has included it.

]]> In the meantime, you can see below the leading 12 books based on the nominations we've received so far. We'll check back soon to see if these positions change!

The Leaderboard

1. The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair (11 per cent of total nominations)

2. Giant by Aga Maksimowska (7 per cent)

3. The Good Doctor by Vince Agro (6.3 per cent)

4. A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan (6.1 per cent)

5. The Girl In The Box by Sheila Dalton (4.8 per cent)

6. Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko (4.2 per cent)

7. Above All Things by Tanis Rideout (3 per cent)

8. The Love Monster by Missy Marston (2 per cent)

9. A Matter of Life And Death Or Something by Ben Stephenson (1.8 per cent) *

9. Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie (1.8 per cent) *

11. Gethsemane Hall by David Annandale (1.6 per cent)

12. The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (1.4 per cent) **

12. Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer (1.4 per cent) **

* tied for 9th

** tied for 12th

Christine E. for Giant by Aga Maksimowska

2012-08-09T13:38:53Z

This is the author's first novel, written in the voice of a teenage girl, living in Poland with aging grandparents while her separated parents seek to move on with their lives. It is both a funny and poignant view of life in Poland and in Canada from the point of view of a teenage immigrant girl who must make sense and adjust to a a foreign country and to a new domestic arrangement. I just loved the main character and I believe most readers will also. The book will resonate with may Canadians who immigrated here as children and still had memories of their birthplace.

Ira K. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-09T13:19:26Z

I like to read books about World War II. The characters are full of life. I didn't know of that type of persecution in Canada, and learned a lot about how war affected people in Canada who had immigrated and considered it home.

Graham M. for Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay

2012-08-08T13:55:01Z

Linwood Barclay turns out excellent thrillers, easily standing on his own on the global stage. Time to give him his due.

Jennifer B. for Up and Down by Terry Fallis

2012-08-08T13:51:55Z

This book is a great representation of a wonderful Canadian writer. This book is witty and at the same time though provoking, a great read all around!

Kelly Ann B. for The Love Monster by Missy Marston

2012-08-08T13:45:26Z

It is rare that a book makes me laugh, smile, wince and cry in one read but The Love Monster does all that and more. Margaret Atwood became my friend and I approached the end of the book with a certain reluctance as I was going to say good bye. Marston's work is a unique voice in the Canadian lit scene. She has a wonderful quirky sense of humour that quietly picks at the fragility of human spirit with dignity and kindness. She is a new generation of Canadian writers whose stories remind us of the power of a good story. It is for these reasons why I think The Love Monster deserves to be on the longlist.

Jan N. for Shag Carpet Action by Matthew Firth

2012-08-08T13:42:22Z

For my employment I help those with serious mental health problems. When I have the time to read I want an escape from the serious social issues, from tiring empathy, from proper and snobby. I want to laugh and break free.

Carolyn P. for The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

2012-08-08T13:39:37Z

This Headmaster's Wager has strong characterizations and universal appeal. It is written from the heart.

Joyce B. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-08T13:36:26Z

This book has great character development, a plot with lots of twists and a unique setting. I kept on thinking that it was over and then there was another twist and turn, most of which I certainly was not exciting. The book is a good read that pulls you in and in and in.

Shell B. for Ravenscraig by Sandi Krawchenko-Altner

2012-08-08T13:33:25Z

An insightful period piece about the integration of many different and varied ethnic cultures into the amalgamation that is Canada. It is a well written and researched fiction that ties in real live characters from the era with the sub plot of the integration of a Jewish community into the fabric of mainstream society. It is a realistic look at what was faced by immigrants and how many of them did succeed.

Shail for Above All Things by Tanis Rideout

2012-08-08T13:31:24Z

A spectacular work of historical fiction. Immensely readable, yet profound and poetic.

Coral P. for The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

2012-08-08T13:25:57Z

Everyone seems to think that the Vietnam War ended when the Americans left. This book tells of the aftermath and the terrible hardship that every war brings; not only when it is being conducted. So many Vietnamese refugees made their way to Canada that the subject is really relevant to us today.

Meghan A. for The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler

2012-08-07T15:16:25Z

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished it. It's a perfect blend of precise writing, taut pacing, and emotional devastation. This book needs to be experienced by more people and needs to be rewarded for having something new to say about the Jewish Holocaust of World War Two.

Brian H. for The Apple House by Gillian Campbell

2012-08-07T15:04:28Z

I believe the Apple House should be on the list because it is depicts one's battle with tough changes. It is a glimpse into the life of someone who has nearly lost it all and their attempt to make it right again.

Janice N. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-07T14:54:47Z

Havana, Cuba is an intriguing back-drop and the characters are interesting to follow as they make difficult decisions and choices in a morally complex and fascinating society. And the mystery itself is compelling right to the end.

Charlene F. for Gethsemane Hall by David Annandale

2012-08-07T14:44:50Z

Lots of suspense, thrilling action. It's a book I don't want to put down until my eyes are too sore!

Jerry F. for The Good Doctor by Vince Agro

2012-08-07T14:35:12Z

It is a good read and great look at the city of Hamilton.

Chris M. for Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay

2012-08-07T14:15:55Z

This is another winning mystery/murder novel by Linwood Barclay that has you on the edge of your seat until the very end! No one writes as skillfully when it comes to a mystery novel.

Readers' Choice Week 1: Kobo/Chapters-Indigo gift card winner

2012-08-07T14:11:31Z

Congratulations to Neil Spaulding, our first winner of a Kobo eReader and Chapters-Indigo gift card! He nominated A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan. Here's what he wrote about the book:

"This is a wonderful and compelling set of short stories. The characters are complex, sensitively drawn and very real. There are no clichés here. The stories themselves are shaped naturally and flow very well. Brennan is quickly proving herself to be a master of the short form."

Thanks to Neil for sending us his nomination. If you haven't already done so, enter yours here:

Check back later this week for an update on which book is leading the pack and to find out which contest entrant has won a set of this year's longlisted books!

Ella P. for The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler

2012-08-07T14:07:43Z

A great book about a post-war life in Canada written so well that you can't stop reading it until it's finished.

Gerry T. for Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron

2012-08-07T14:04:39Z

It appears to be a historical fiction. We need more perspective on countries like Rwanda. Also, its timely, we are in the throes of the Olympics, the fastest man has broken the world record, the subject book is about a runner. And who better to know the mindset and can relate than an author who is an athlete herself.

Maureen A. for The Girl In the Box by Sheila Dalton

2012-08-07T14:00:03Z

Interesting plot.. lots of small subplots. Her characters were well thought out. A real twist to the ending to say the least!! Gets my vote!!

Margaret M. for A Matter of Life and Death or Something by Ben Stephenson

2012-08-07T13:33:56Z

A Matter of Life and Death or Something, Ben Stephenson's first novel (and I believe there will be many more to come) drew me in from the beginning with voices of the trees. I quickly fell in love with Uncle Max, Francis and of course, the incredibly delightful Arthur. Arthur's voice though wise beyond his years is authentically childlike and oh so endearing. This is one of those books that you almost hate to finish because you don't want to say goodbye to the characters. Arthur will stay in my heart for a long while I think.

Vikki V. for The Magnified World by Grace O'Connell

2012-08-03T15:58:53Z

I haven't been so emotionally touched by a book in along time. O'Connell was incredibly adept at giving the reader the same dreamlike, confused experience that her protagonist Maggie had. I felt the things she felt, and desired release just as she did. In a sea of plot-driven, high-concept novels this debut was illuminating and resonated with me in a deeper way.

Brian F. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-03T15:12:27Z

It makes the connection between Cuba and Canada in a unique way while providing an intriguing mystery with fulsome characters. It's easy to read and leaves one wanting a follow up

Andrea W. for Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

2012-08-03T14:54:11Z

This book addresses difficult subject matter while captivating the reader to root for triumph over hardships. A talented writer with a knack for transporting the reader into the setting through her storytelling. A fantastic novel and great read!

Zarin H. for Giant by Aga Maksimowska

2012-08-03T14:52:48Z

It is a wonderful coming of age book with the twist of being told from the perspective of a lovable yet sad young girl living in Poland. I think its a wonderful first book by this author.

Winn L.M. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-03T14:51:00Z

Great suspense novel .. Held my interest from front to back cover!

Louise J. for Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

2012-08-03T14:45:58Z

This is the best book I've read this year and deserves to win this prestigious prize! I sincerely hope the committee deciding will seriously take this marvelously written novel into serious consideration. Thank you.

Patience E. for A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan

2012-08-03T14:38:32Z

Binnie captures every person's emotions in all walks of life - a journey well worth travelling.

Laura B. for Giant by Aga Maksimowska

2012-08-03T14:35:03Z

GIANT is the kind of book that you can't put down. I lost myself in the main character's life and when I had to put the book down I found myself thinking of her as a friend that I needed to call to find out what happened next. The story is one that so many Canadians can relate to, involving both immigration and divorce. I have never read a book that has better captured the feeling of trying to balance two cultures as well as this one has.

Ian M. for The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

2012-08-03T14:28:41Z

Gripping, compelling and beautifully written. This tells a tale of the past that is as much about today as it is about victorian NYC.

Thelma F. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-03T14:26:43Z

Captivating, exciting, thoroughly enjoyable - this mystery deftly weaves Cuban and Canadian themes and characters into a story you can't put down. Inspector Ramirez is an instant classic protagonist.

Ron S. for Life is About Losing Everything by Lynn Crosbie

2012-08-03T14:21:14Z

Imaginative, darkly comic , poignant, insightful, brilliant and maddening in turn, original, vexing and inspiring, flawed yet beautiful, Life is About Losing Everything deserves to be on the longlist no matter how much controversy and vitriol putting it there might provoke.

Neil S. for A Certain Grace a Binnie Brennan

2012-08-03T14:19:30Z

This is a wonderful and compelling set of short stories. The characters are complex, sensitively drawn and very real. There are no cliches here. The stories themselves are shaped naturally and flow very well. Brennan is quickly proving herself to be a master of the short form. Please consider this book for the Giller prize long list.

John A. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-03T14:10:52Z

Excellent first effort book. Captured the true spirit of Havana while being a mystery I simply could not put down.

Trish O. for Carnival by Rawi Hage

2012-08-03T14:06:32Z

Inventive, smart, satirical, funny, subversive: Carnival is Rawi Hage's best book yet. Hage's writing is incredibly strong and he commands his subject matter deftly and with great emotional strength. I loved this book!

Daphne S.V. for Kaleidoscope by Gail Bowen

2012-08-03T14:01:53Z

Written beautifully and still great even after so many books from that mystery series!

Jacob M. for Giant by Aga Maksimowska

2012-08-03T13:57:16Z

Giant is incredibly honest, heartbreaking, and filled with such sincere moments of humor that come only from an author being very self reflective. The author obviously drew from her own life, and shows a high level of bravery. The book is a fine blend of auto-biographical story and universal themes of growing up and the awkwardness of feeling like a stranger and overcoming it.

Sandra B. for A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan

2012-08-03T13:51:58Z

I found that Ms. Brennan's book had to be digested in small doses. A few of the stories in particular, were so full of emotion that I had a visceral reaction. It is not often that a story, especially a short story, evokes such an emotional response - it stayed with me for days.

Adrienne K. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Plair

2012-08-03T12:00:00Z

The Beggar's Opera is a gripping, fast-paced literary mystery. It is brilliantly plotted and deeply imagined. It evokes the crumbling beauty of Old Havana, as well as its bureaucracy, and its political corruption. The Beggar's Opera is a novel with a very strong political and social conscience. In its finest moments, the novel is much more than a thrilling detective story; it is an eloquent call to arms to eliminate human trafficking in impoverished nations, it is an indictment of the devastating American embargo, and it is a pointed criticism of Canadian vacationers who flock to Cuban resorts with little interest or knowledge of the local culture. It is this topical political and social awareness that raises The Beggar's Opera above the average police procedural. Similar undercurrent runs through the novels of Larsson and Le Carré. Peggy Blair reveals startling ambitions with this novel.

Ramona L. for A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan

2012-08-03T11:45:03Z

Binnie Brennan strikes grace notes throughout these stories. They are tender, compassionate, filled with insights into our flawed and valiant humanity. "Duncan's Lament" holds you breathless as you witness the harsh maritime life of Beatrice and the shipwrecked fiddler she and her brothers drag from the edge of the sea. The story's ending, when Duncan has at last made for himself a new fiddle and the embattled Beatrice stands quietly listening to "the slow, keening melody of a lament," is note perfect. The long-haul truck driver who transports an injured butterfly to Florida; the self-involved music professor who learns too late to give his house-keeper Tilly's sorrows the same credence as his own; the middle-aged dressmaker on a park bench dreaming of love. Brennan welcomes the reader into each of these disparate lives with an astonishing subtlety of image and language. She made me care deeply about her characters in the way that only the best story-tellers can do. Brava, Binnie Brennan.

Hayden for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-03T10:45:35Z

A powerful debut mystery with strong and diverse characters that explores the idea of justice where justice is seldom found.

Tina F. for Magnified World by Grace O'Connell

2012-08-02T15:42:38Z

Magnified World by Grace O'Connell was beautifully written. It encapsulated the grief of loss so poignantly by creating a world bizarrely off kilter, strange, and sadly whimsical for a character trying to come to terms with the loss of a parent. It is also a love letter to Toronto.

Wayne A. for Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

2012-08-02T15:06:01Z

One of the best books about the native experience in Canada. Also, the best book ever written about hockey, although it's not about hockey. If this book isn't shortlisted (let alone long listed) then something is very wrong in Canadian literature.

Susan H. for Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad

2012-08-02T14:53:52Z

Heartbreaking, poignant, and written in delicate but fierce prose, this novel has compelling characters and a story that unfolds in an unpredictable but ultimately realistic and satisfying way. I loved this book and I am now hunting down Onstad's previous novel -- and holding my breath until her next one (hopefully there will be a next one!) is ready for me to devour.

Danny M. for Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer

2012-08-02T14:53:36Z

A thrilling, trippy, futuristic adventure about memory swapping interwoven into a story about a dangerous terrorist plot. If this ever gets made into a movie, Christopher Nolan ought to direct it!

Jessica K. for Above All Things by Tanis Rideout

2012-08-02T14:46:12Z

With interwoven male and female narrators, (George Mallory and his wife Ruth), Rideout makes you think about embracing physical and mental suffering in order to attain the highest of human experience vs. whether the journey to the 'top' is illusory, that it is always an inner journey. She invites the reader to think that perhaps what we're journeying towards is the fulfillment that is found in love and union with nature. Ask a woman and she might say, you don't need to risk your life to find it - God, complete fulfillment, love - is found in the details, that is, "in all things." For revealing the sublime and transcendental values of life, Rideout should be on the Giller longlist.

Allegra Y. for Magnified World by Grace O'Connell

2012-08-02T14:35:55Z

Grace O'Connell is a fabulous, young, up-and-coming author that deserves to be recognized for her stellar debut novel. It's a wonderful read.

Peter S. for The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair

2012-08-02T14:32:52Z

This is the first book I have read that I have enjoyed on so many levels. 1. At first blush it is a compelling mystery story with many twists and turns that leaves the reader wanting the story to never end because it is so entertaining. 2. The character development is superb. 2. It reveals much about the Cuban culture which is extremely interesting and different from elsewhere. 4. It also paints a believable picture of the intrigue of the Canadian government and it law enforcement in its dealings with Cuba and presumably with other countries as well. The fact that it is this writer's first novel makes it all the more special and amazing because of the sophistication of the writing.

Suzie M. for The Juliet Stories by Carrie Snyder

2012-08-01T13:36:07Z

Is it a short story collection? Is it a novel? Who cares! All that matters is that Carrie Snyder has created an unforgettable character in Juliet. She's imaginative, stubborn, inquisitiveness and does her best to keep her family and herself together. A wonderful and Giller-worthy read!

Jen F. for Inside by Alix Ohlin

2012-08-01T13:33:15Z

A great book about overcoming loss and finding yourself again. Alix Ohlin is going to be one of CanLit's next great writers, I just know it. If you don't believe me, read Inside and I know you'll agree.

Marie for Chai Tea Sunday by Heather Clark

2012-08-01T13:31:21Z

A beautiful, powerful book about overcoming tragedy. Loved it!!

Jack W. for Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

2012-08-01T13:31:19Z

Not only is this the best book published in Canada in the past year, it's the most important. Makes Canadians look at our history of residential schools and what this program did to generations of first nations square in the eye. But it's also funny, moving and has hockey in it. How much more Canadian can a book get?

Dennis R. for The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

2012-08-01T13:30:31Z

I thoroughly enjoyed Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures and was not disappointed with this take on historical fiction. Set in Vietnam during the height of the war with the U.S., it's a family mystery that explores themes of duty, honour, and self-sacrifice.

Jenny Q. for Maidenhead by Tamara Faith Berger

2012-08-01T13:30:00Z

This is such a raw, intense story about young female sexuality and the dark side of desire and sexual subjugation. Tamara Faith Berger is a bold, fearless writer!

The Readers' Choice Contest 2012

2012-08-01T13:00:08Z

Readers' Choice 2012

Sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers' Choice contest. We hope it helped you discover some new books. This year, we held a two-stage contest: the first part was an open call for nominations for eligible books, and the second put the 10 most nominated titles to a public vote. All in all, we received more than 10,000 nominations and votes.

And we now have a winner! This year's Readers' Choice is The Beggar's Opera by Ottawa-based writer Peggy Blair. The suspenseful murder-mystery set in Old Havana, Cuba, received many nominations and then the largest number of votes. Congratulations to Peggy and to all the authors whose fans showed incredible support. You can read more about her novel and read an excerpt at the Penguin Canada website.

Scroll down for a percentage breakdown of the top five books.

Check back later this week for details about a new contest involving the longlisted books. You could win some great literary prizes!

Readers' Choice Top 5

The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair (21.2 per cent)

Above All Things by Tanis Rideout (19.27 per cent)

A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan (18.49 per cent)

The Good Doctor by Vince Agro (14.01 per cent)

Giant by Aga Maksimowska (13.02 per cent)

New contest coming soon

2012-07-31T18:35:22Z

Once again, CBC Books is celebrating the past year of Canadian fiction with the Scotiabank Giller Prize! We're going to be hosting some fun contests where you'll get to share your recent literary discoveries as we head towards the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala on October 30, 2012.

Check back Wednesday, August 1, as we launch this year's Readers' Choice 2012 Contest, in which you nominate a book that you feel deserves to be on the longlist. You could win some great prizes!

(Photo: Last year's winner Esi Edugyan with prize founder Jack Rabinovitch)

Readers' Choice 2012

2012-07-25T19:11:08Z

Stay tuned for details about this year's contest!

Guess The Giller: And the winner of our grand prize is...

2011-11-14T16:02:40Z

Thanks to everyone who submitted their prediction of which author would win this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize. We received nearly 4,000 entries -- you can see a breakdown of the predictions at the bottom of this post.

As we all know, Esi Edugyan took the award for her novel Half-Blood Blues. You can replay the gala broadcast here. And now it's time to reveal the winner of the grand prize in our Guess The Giller contest:

Gail Grant from Surrey, B.C.

Gail, who correctly predicted Half-Blood Blues would win, will enjoy a unique book club experience, courtesy of Scotiabank. She'll be inviting up to four guests to join her and Esi for dinner and an evening of literary conversation. Gail will also receive a Kobo eReader, courtesy of Kobo, along with a $50 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo, courtesy of Scotiabank, and a set of this year's shortlisted books.

Here's a breakdown of the predictions:

The Cat's Table (26.9 per cent of entries)
Half-Blood Blues (21.4 per cent)
The Sisters Brothers (18.9 per cent)
The Antagonist (14.8 per cent)
The Free World (11.2 per cent)
Better Living Through Plastic Explosives (6.8 per cent)

Esi Edugyan in Studio Q

2011-11-09T18:38:22Z

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After winning this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize Tuesday night with her novel Half-Blood Blues, Esi Edugyan sat down with Q host Jian Ghomeshi to talk about her victory and what it means to her. Edugyan told Ghomeshi that when her name was announced as this year's recipient, she remembers being "utterly astonished and completely blown away."

The Scotiabank Giller Prize comes with a $50,000 purse for the winning author. Edugyan said the money will buy "time to write, time to sit with a new idea and time to execute it."

Watch the video above to see their complete interview. You can rewatch the gala livestream and replay our literary livechat here.

Esi Edugyan wins The Scotiabank Giller Prize

2011-11-09T03:32:21Z

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Esi Edugyan has won this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel, Half-Blood Blues.

The Victoria-based writer was presented the $50,000 fiction award at the annual gala in Toronto on Tuesday evening.

The novel tells the story of an elderly jazz musician who searches for the truth about what happened to his friend, a black trumpeter who was taken by the Nazis in Paris during the Second World War. It appeared on several prestigious shortlists this year, including the Governor General's Literary Awards, the Rogers' Writers Trust Fiction Prize and the Man Booker Prize.

Each of the other finalists receives a $5,000 prize. They are:

•   The Free World by David Bezmozgis of Toronto
•   The Antagonist by Lynn Coady of Edmonton
•   The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt of Portland, Ore.
•   Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner of Vancouver
•   The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje of Toronto

Edugyan will join CBC's Jian Ghomeshi (who also hosted the Giller gala) on Q Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, you can watch a replay of the livechat to see who showed up on the red carpet and to follow the evening's literary discussions.

Replay our Scotiabank Giller Prize gala livechat!

2011-11-08T18:48:19Z

The Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists talk to CBC Books

2011-11-08T14:58:49Z

CBC Books recently had the opportunity to ask the shortlisted authors a few questions about their literary influences and inspirations. You can see their responses in the following video clips!

David Bezmozgis (The Free World)

Lynn Coady (The Antagonist)

Patrick deWitt (The Sisters Brothers)

Esi Edugyan (Half-Blood Blues)

Zsuzsi Gartner (Better Living Through Plastic Explosives)

Michael Ondaatje (The Cat's Table)

To read excerpts from the shortlisted books and more interviews with the authors click here.

Watch the gala live!

The Scotiabank Giller Prize gala will be broadcast live November 8 on CBC's bold TV at 9 p.m. ET and again on CBC-TV at 11:05 p.m. CBC Books will be hosting a pre-show live chat at 6 p.m. and will be livestreaming the event.

Guess The Giller: Our final Kobo winner...but the fun's not over yet!

2011-11-07T21:33:10Z

We have another lucky winner of a Kobo eReader and a $50 Chapters Indigo gift card.

Congratulations to Patricia Robinson, who entered our Guess The Giller contest. She predicts that Esi Edugyan's Half-Blood Blues will win this year's award. You can learn more about the book, and the other shortlisted titles, by visiting this special page full of multimedia clips, interviews and excerpts.

We'll be accepting entries for our remaining draws until 9 p.m. ET on Nov. 8 — the night of the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala. Still up for grabs are a set of the shortlisted titles and the grand prize: an evening of food, friends and conversation with the winning author in your hometown, courtesy of Scotiabank.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize gala will be broadcast live November 8 on CBC's bold TV at 9 p.m. ET and again on CBC-TV at 11:05 p.m. CBC Books will be hosting a pre-show live chat at 6 p.m. and will be livestreaming the event.

Announcing the winners of our Giller Light giveaway!

2011-11-07T15:26:09Z

Many of Canada's literary stars, musicians and celebrities will be on hand in Toronto on Tuesday night (Nov. 8) to find out which author will win this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize.

But in addition to the annual glitzy gala, there will be Giller Light bashes taking place all across the country. Congratulations to the following people, who won tickets to the bash in their area:

Rachel Davey (Halifax)

Natasha Wong (Toronto)

Alex Ferguson (Calgary)

Aleisha Vermeulen (Vancouver)

Remember, you can watch the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala live on CBC's bold TV at 9 p.m. ET. CBC Books will also be livestreaming the event and hosting a pre-show live chat starting at 6 p.m. ET. In the meantime, you can brush up on the shortlisted books through interviews, multimedia clips and excerpts here.

David Bezmozgis talks to CBC Books

2011-11-04T19:53:09Z

CBC Books recently had the opportunity to ask the shortlisted authors a few questions about their literary influences and inspirations. Here we have David Bezmozgis, author of The Free World.

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Which author will win this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize? Find out on November 8. The ceremony will be broadcast live on CBC's bold TV at 9 p.m. ET and again on CBC-TV at 11:05 p.m. CBC Books will be hosting a pre-show live chat at 6 p.m. and will be livestreaming the event.

Zsuzsi Gartner talks to CBC Books

2011-11-04T19:47:43Z

CBC Books recently had the opportunity to ask the shortlisted authors a few questions about their literary influences and inspirations. Here we have Zsuzsi Gartner, author of Better Living Through Plastic Explosives.

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Michael Ondaatje talks to CBC Books

2011-11-04T19:42:39Z

CBC Books recently had the opportunity to ask the shortlisted authors a few questions about their literary influences and inspirations. Here we have Michael Ondaatje, author of The Cat's Table.

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Esi Edugyan talks to CBC Books

2011-11-04T19:38:19Z

CBC Books recently had the opportunity to ask the shortlisted authors a few questions about their literary influences and inspirations. Here we have Esi Edugyan, author of Half-Blood Blues.

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Patrick deWitt talks to CBC Books

2011-11-04T19:34:13Z

CBC Books recently had the opportunity to ask the shortlisted authors a few questions about their literary influences and inspirations. Here we have Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers.

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Lynn Coady talks to CBC Books

2011-11-04T19:20:24Z

CBC Books recently had the opportunity to ask the shortlisted authors a few questions about their literary influences and inspirations. Here we have Lynn Coady, author of The Antagonist.

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A history of the Giller Prize

2011-11-04T13:32:16Z

The annual Scotiabank Giller Prize gala is almost upon us! You can watch the ceremony live on CBC's bold TV at 9 p.m. ET or the re-broadcast on CBC News at 11:05 p.m. on November 8. CBC Books will be livestreaming the event online and hosting a live chat, bringing you updates from the red carpet, starting at 6 p.m. ET.

In the meantime, those wanting to brush up on their Giller Prize history should check out this great timeline put together by CBCNews.ca's multimedia and arts teams. You can learn about the past recipients and interesting tidbits about the books.

To find out more about more about this year's finalists and to read excerpts from the shortlisted books, click here.

Guess The Giller: We have another winner!

2011-11-04T13:30:16Z

We have another lucky winner of a set of the Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlisted books!

Congratulations to Carolyn Time, who entered our Guess The Giller contest. She predicts that Zsuzsi Gartner's Better Living Through Plastic Explosives will win this year's award. You can learn more about the book, and the other shortlisted titles, by visiting this special page full of multimedia clips, interviews and excerpts.

We'll be accepting entries until 9 p.m. ET on Nov. 8 -- the night of the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala!

Get to know the shortlisted books!

2011-11-01T13:07:33Z

This year, six authors were selected to be on the Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist. One of them will win this year's prestigious prize for fiction at the awards gala on Nov. 8.

Until then, you can explore their acclaimed books through these Q&As, articles and multimedia clips.

Guess The Giller: We have another Kobo winner!

2011-10-31T16:01:06Z

Thanks to everyone who has entered our contest to predict which book will win this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize! The lucky winner of this week's Kobo eReader draw is Olive Murphy. She predicts that Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan will take this year's prize. Olive will also receive a Chapters Indigo gift card courtesy of Scotiabank.

Explore the shortlist through interviews, excerpts and multimedia clips here.

You can watch the awards gala live on CBC's bold TV and online at CBC Books starting at 9 p.m. ET on November 8. CBC Books will also be running a live chat, featuring authors and special guests, from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The event will air again on CBC TV at 11:05 p.m. the same night.

Guess The Giller: We have another winner!

2011-10-28T13:27:44Z

Thanks to everyone who has entered our Guess The Giller contest so far. We'll be accepting entries until 9 p.m. ET on Nov. 8 -- the night of the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala!

The winner of today's draw is Amber Hancock. She predicts that Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers will win this year's award. Amber will receive a set of all six shortlisted books.

Explore the shortlist through interviews, excerpts and multimedia clips here.

You can watch the awards gala live on CBC's bold TV and online at CBC Books starting at 9 p.m. ET. CBC Books will also be running a live chat, featuring authors and special guests, from 6 p.m. ET to 10:30 p.m. ET.

The event will air again on CBC-TV at 11:05 p.m. ET.

Win tickets to the Scotiabank Giller Light bashes!

2011-10-25T15:55:33Z

On Nov. 8, Canadian fiction fans will find out which book will win this year's prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize. CBC will be livestreaming the glitzy gala in Toronto, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, as well as live-blogging from the exclusive event.

But that's not all! On the same evening, Canadian literacy organization Frontier College will be hosting its annual Scotiabank Giller Light bashes across the country. Authors, publishers and book lovers will gather to watch a broadcast of the awards ceremony, take part in fun contests and raise money for Frontier's literacy programs. There will also be food, drinks and lots of giveaways!

We want you to join the party! Frontier College is giving away pairs of tickets to its bashes in Toronto, Calgary, Halifax and Vancouver.

If you're in one of these areas and would like to attend, enter our Scotiabank Giller Light Bash draw.

Just send an email with your name, location and contact information with the subject heading "Giller Light Bash draw" to cbcbooks@cbc.ca.

You have until Thursday, Nov. 3, at midnight ET to enter. We'll draw one prize winner (for two tickets) in each location Friday, Nov. 4.

For more information about the parties or to purchase tickets online, visit gillerlightbash.ca!

And check back soon with CBC Books for more details about our Scotiabank Giller Prize gala live coverage. To explore the shortlist, listen to interviews with the finalists or enter the Guess The Giller contest, visit our Scotiabank Giller Prize micro-site.

Guess The Giller: Another Kobo eReader winner!

2011-10-24T20:17:15Z

Thanks to everyone who has entered our contest to predict which book will win this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize! The lucky winner of this week's Kobo eReader draw is Katrina Munoz. She will also receive a Chapters Indigo gift card courtesy of Scotiabank. Her pick is The Free World by David Bezmozgis. You can read an excerpt from David's book here.

Remember, CBC Books is holding two weekly draws, one for a Kobo eReader (courtesy of Kobo) and one for a set of the shortlisted books, every week until the awards gala on Nov. 8. One lucky entrant will also win the grand prize: dinner with this year's winning author and up to four guests!

Guess The Giller: Announcing our latest winner

2011-10-21T20:41:49Z

Hey, Canadian fiction fans, we have another winner in our Guess The Giller contest.

The lucky winner of today's draw is Amy Scott, who predicts that Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table will take this year's award. Amy's prize is a set of all six shortlisted books.

Read an excerpt from The Cat's Table here.

Remember, CBC Books is holding two weekly draws, one for a Kobo eReader (courtesy of Kobo) and one for a set of the shortlisted books, every week until the awards gala on Nov. 8. One lucky entrant will also win the grand prize: dinner with this year's winning author and up to four guests!

Q&A with David Bezmozgis

2011-10-20T20:08:36Z

CBC Books recently asked the shortlisted Scotiabank Giller Prize authors some questions about their literary inspirations. Here we have David Bezmozgis, the author of The Free World. To read an excerpt from his novel, click here.

Q: Pitch Canada your novel in three lines or less.

DB: Rome, 1978. A family of Soviet Jews who have escaped the U.S.S.R., stuck in limbo, wait for some Western country to accept them. Bickering, affairs, schemes, nostalgia, comic hijinks, major life decisions. Then Canada.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

DB: Newfoundland.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

DB: Leonard Cohen. I wrote him a ridiculous fan letter once. I'm still embarrassed. I'd like to make amends.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

DB: Strangely, I don't think in terms of characters, but books.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

DB: If I knew, I might have done it. Can I choose professional baseball player?

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

DB: Nabokov's Pnin.

Check out the responses from some of our other shortlisted authors below.

Q&A with Zsuzsi Gartner

2011-10-18T13:19:08Z

CBC Books recently asked the shortlisted Scotiabank Giller Prize authors some questions about their literary inspirations. Here we have Zsuzsi Gartner, the author of Better Living Through Plastic Explosives. To read an excerpt from her short story collection, click here.

Q: Pitch Canada your story collection in three lines or less.

ZG: Dear Canada, forget everything you've ever heard, read, or personally experienced of Vancouver. Or take all that and amplify it by several hundred decibels and you'll have Better Living Through Plastic Explosives, a journey through the heart of darkness that is the wet coast, accompanied by dire laughter, and a cast of characters that includes an AWOL movie director, an Olympic-mascot-suited kidnapper, a recovering terrorist-turned-master gardener, one of the greatest motivational speakers of New Amerika, and five naughty celestial beings.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

ZG: My favourite bookstore is Vancouver Kid's Books; my favourite "bookish" milieu has to be the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

ZG: Leonard Cohen. Because of any Canadian writer he's come closest to the sacred without losing his wit. (And he's Leonard Cohen!) And Elise Levine, whose remarkable first book, Driving Men Mad, was such an inspiration to me.

]]> Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

ZG: There are a handful of memorable ones, all are larger than life, and who don't suffer fools gladly (or are wonderfully self-deluded). Imagine the following at a dinner party together: Barney Panofsky (Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler), Edward Rochester and Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë), Ignatius J. Reilly (A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole), Barbara Covett (Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller) and Sherlock Holmes (The Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle).

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

ZG: If I lived in another era, I'd say a newspaper dame (but then, that's a writer, too, and I have been a newspaper dame). Impresario and party planner. I throw a mean party. Or a beachcomber. Or a board-game tester. Or one of those people who writes an enraged letter to the editor of the Globe & Mail every day.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

ZG: Again, hard to pick just one. Kalila, by Calgary author Rosemary Nixon, a bold and heart-rending novel about losing a baby. Tough and tender, a miracle of a book that really should be on this longlist. And Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists, a novel about a fictional international newspaper based in Rome -- simultaneously old-fashioned and au courant, and such a varied and believable cast of characters, many of whom made me feel a profound empathy.

Related link: Zsuzsi Gartner speaks to NXNW about satire and short fiction

We'll be posting more Q&As in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out the responses from our other shortlisted authors.

Guess The Giller: Our second Kobo eReader winner

2011-10-17T14:54:41Z

Thanks to everyone who has entered our contest to predict which book will win this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize! The lucky winner of this week's Kobo eReader draw is Laura Cook. She will also receive a Chapters Indigo gift card courtesy of Scotiabank. Her pick is The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt. You can read an excerpt from Patrick's book here.

Remember, CBC Books is holding two weekly draws, one for a Kobo eReader (courtesy of Kobo) and one for a set of the shortlisted books, every week until the awards gala on Nov. 8. One lucky entrant will also win the grand prize: dinner with this year's winning author and up to four guests!

Guess The Giller: Our first winner of the shortlisted books!

2011-10-14T15:25:04Z

Hey, Canadian fiction fans, we have a set of the shortlisted books to give away as part of our Guess The Giller contest.

The lucky winner of today's draw is Blair Phillips, who predicts that Lynn Coady's The Antagonist will take this year's award.

You can read an excerpt from The Antagonist.

Remember, CBC Books is holding two weekly draws, one for a Kobo eReader (courtesy of Kobo) and one for a set of the shortlisted books, every week until the awards gala on Nov. 8. One lucky entrant will also win the grand prize: dinner with this year's winning author and up to four guests!

Q&A with Lynn Coady

2011-10-12T16:01:44Z

CBC Books recently asked the shortlisted Scotiabank Giller Prize authors some questions about their literary inspirations. Here we have Lynn Coady, the author of The Antagonist. To read an excerpt from her novel, click here.

Q: Pitch Canada your novel in three lines or less.

LC: A big, angry man with a tragic past discovers a version of himself, and the past he’s been running away from his entire life, in a novel written by a friend from his university days. He sends the friend a series of stalkerish emails to let him know how he feels about that, claiming he’s writing to “set the record straight.” But to set the record straight, he has to face up to all the guilt, trauma and heartbreak he’s been in denial about for the past 20 years.

Q: What’s your favourite bookish place in Canada?

LC: I like McLeod’s Books in Vancouver. It’s everything a used bookstore should be — crammed, overwhelming and a place you can disappear into forever like C.S. Lewis’s wardrobe.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

LC: Alice Munro. I rediscover her in every decade of my life. In my twenties, she was a very fine writer. In my thirties, she was devastatingly good. Now that I’m in my 40s, I realize that I am completely terrified at how brilliant she is. It’s the kind of “unshowy” brilliance you don’t quite register until you have about 20 years reading experience under your belt.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

LC: One of them is Frankie from Carson McCullers’ A Member of the Wedding. It’s the most ruthless and heartbreaking depiction of female adolescence I’ve ever come across.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

LC: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. It was so compelling that reading it was like being held hostage. Felt like I wouldn’t be able to get on with my life — eat, sleep, get work done — until I came to the final page.

We’ll be posting more Q&As in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out the responses from our other shortlisted authors.

Guess The Giller: Our first Kobo eReader winner!

2011-10-11T15:30:39Z

Thanks to everyone who has entered our contest to predict which book will win this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize! The lucky winner of this week's Kobo eReader draw is Ashley Mariage. She will also receive a Chapters Indigo gift card courtesy of Scotiabank. Her pick is The Free World by David Bezmozgis. You can read an excerpt from David's book here.

Remember, CBC Books is holding two weekly draws, one for a Kobo eReader (courtesy of Kobo) and one for a set of the shortlisted books, every week until the awards gala on Nov. 8. One lucky entrant will also win the grand prize: dinner with this year's winning author and up to four guests!

Select Your Shortlist: Our final winner of the longlisted books

2011-10-07T14:44:25Z

Congratulations to VinojRajendran who will receive a set of the longlisted books as part of our Select Your Shortlist contest. Here are VinojRajendran's picks:

"1. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje - just a great read; creative well written narrative

2. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt - surprising read; unique from other westerns

3. The Meagre Tarmac by Clark Blaise - a look into the clashing of cultures and traditions

4. The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie - great short stories with unforgettable characters

5. Extensions by Myrna Dey - two stories in one, both equally engaging"

Thanks to everyone who took part in the Select Your Shortlist contest. As we head towards the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala ceremony on Nov. 8, there's still one more exciting contest to enter: Guess The Giller! Send us your prediction of which book will win this year's award and you could win great prizes, including dinner with the winning author!

Winner of our Select Your Shortlist grand prize!

2011-10-07T13:49:28Z

Ladies and gentlemen, we have the winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize Select Your Shortlist grand prize! Congratulations to JeannetteNL, who submitted these picks:

"1)The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie-He clearly drew upon his experiences working in a homeless shelter & therefore there is a "realness" to his writing that brings the story to life.

2) Touch by Alexi Zentner- A story of magical realism that could have gone wrong (considering all the fantasy type programming we have had lately with fairies and vampires etc.) But instead it is as enchanting and magical as it was threatening rendering it very entertaining. A great way to escape for a while.

3) Solitaria by Genni Gunn- This at times, was hard to face as it was a journey into some of the dark pitfalls and tragedies of life such as poverty, failure, love, incest and death. Well written considering the subject matter.

4) Myrna Dey's Extensions- I was rooting for this author, as she is a touch older sending out her debut novel that is absorbing and well-written.

5) The Antagonist by Lynn Coady-Considering the tone of this book, it is clear that this author must have at some point listened in on some strictly male conversations or so it would seem. A great attempt to show just how someone could be wrongly judged by outer appearances."

JeannetteNL will receive a $1,000 Chapters Indigo gift card courtesy of Scotiabank to help build her dream library! Thanks to everyone who entered in our contest.

As we head towards the Scotiabank Giller Prize gala ceremony on Nov. 8, there's still one more exciting contest to take part in: Guess The Giller! Send us your prediction of which book will win this year's award and you could win great prizes, including dinner with the winning author!

Q&A with Patrick deWitt

2011-10-05T16:54:53Z

CBC Books recently asked the shortlisted Scotiabank Giller Prize authors some questions about their literary inspirations. Here we have Patrick deWitt, the author of The Sisters Brothers. His book follows two outlaws in the West during the gold rush era as they seek out a man they were hired to kill.

To read an excerpt from the novel, click here.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

PD: The West Vancouver library, where as a boy I read Choose Your Own Adventure books and all the Asterix & Obelix comics. Later, there was the downtown Vancouver library, where I discovered Knut Hamsun and John Fante among many others. I may still have outstanding fines there, actually.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

PD: I'll say Saul Bellow, because I'm currently working on an "older man looking back at his life" type book, and I could use some pointers from the author of Herzog.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

PD: This is an impossible question! But, I'll go ahead and say Jakob von Gunten, the protagonist from the novel of the same name, written by Robert Walser. He's my favourite for his tireless, manic energy, his observational ability, and for the depths of his black humour.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

PD: The most boring man on the face of the earth.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

PD: I just finished a book called Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter that surprised me time and again. It's the story of wayward Oregonian youth in the late '40s through to the '60s, and it's right on the money. Tender without being maudlin, terrifying but also very funny at times. I really admired it.

We'll be posting more Q&As in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out the responses from our other shortlisted authors.

Esi Edugyan

]]>

Guess The Giller contest

2011-10-04T18:05:00Z

From top left to bottom right: Lynn Coady, Michael Ondaatje, Esi Edugyan, Zsuzsi Gartner, Patrick deWitt, and David Bezmozgis

Calling all Canadian fiction fans!

The Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist is out and the jury is now busy deciding which book will win the $50,000 award. But we want to know which book you think will come out on top.

Will it be:

The Antagonist by Lynn Coady
Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner
The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
The Free World by David Bezmozgis
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

Send us your prediction of this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize winner by 9 p.m. ET on Nov. 8 (the evening of the awards gala). If you guess correctly, you'll be entered into a random draw to win a truly unique experience: an evening of food, friends and conversation with the winning author in your hometown, courtesy of Scotiabank!

If you win the Guess The Giller contest, you and four guests will be invited to join this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author at a local restaurant. We think it'll make for a special book club excursion.

In the meantime, every week until the Giller gala we'll be holding two draws: one for a set of the shortlisted books and the other for a Kobo eReader (courtesy of Kobo) and Chapters Indigo gift card (courtesy of Scotiabank).

To see the complete rules and regulations, visit this page.

To Guess The Giller, click here! Which will you choose?

The Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist

2011-10-04T15:09:24Z

Congratulations to the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlisted authors!

From top left to bottom right: Lynn Coady, Michael Ondaatje, Esi Edugyan, Zsuzsi Gartner, Patrick deWitt and David Bezmozgis.

The Antagonist by Lynn Coady
Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner
The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
The Free World by David Bezmozgis
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

CBC Books will be online streaming the awards gala live on Nov. 8 along with a live chat. In the meantime, stay tuned for details about an exciting new contest!

Related: Which Scotiabank Giller Prize nominees and winners have you read? Take the online survey.

Select Your Shortlist: We have another Kobo eReader winner!

2011-10-03T19:20:56Z

We have another Kobo eReader winner!

Congratulations to Dusty Rose, who crafted this poem about their personal picks for the Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist.

"Into the Heart of the Country by Pauline Holdstock, needs to be on the shortlist, that's not a shock.

The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott, shooting like a bright star right to the top.

Solitaria by Genni Gunn, not a book that I will soon shun.

Extensions by Myrna Dey, a novel that's here to stay.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, destined to be an overwhelming hit."

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist picks. The contest is now closed, but a new, exciting contest will be launched alongside tomorrow's announcement of this year's shortlist. Check back soon for more details!

Q&A with Wayne Johnston

2011-10-03T17:41:38Z

This year, 17 Canadian authors made it to the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the country's richest literary award for fiction. To get some further insight into their work and their inspirations, CBC Books asked the longlisted authors a series of questions. As the prize jury debates which books will be named to the shortlist, we'll be posting our Q&As for you to enjoy.

Here we have Wayne Johnston, author of A World Elsewhere.

Q: Pitch Canada your novel in three lines or less.

Wayne Johnston: Two young men, one rich and from an American Vanderbilt-like family, one the son of a Newfoundland sealing captain, meet and form a close friendship at Princeton in the late 1800's. The former, known as Van, betrays the latter, known as Landish Druken. Landish returns to Newfoundland and eventually becomes the guardian of a boy named Deacon who is parentless because of an act of recklessness committed by Landish's father at the seal hunt. Landish , who wants to write and not become a sealing captain, is disinherited. He has no way to care for Deacon and so must ask help from Van who now lives in a Biltmore-like mansion in North Carolina. Landish and Deacon travel to Biltmore where their fates, and Van's, are played out in the great, enigmatic mansion.

Q: Which Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you like to see take home the prize?

WJ: I can't say as I haven't had the chance to read any of the other nominated books yet.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

WJ: The part of my favourite local bar known as the "library" by its owners and patrons.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet. Why?

WJ: I'd like to meet D. W. Prowse who wrote what still holds up as the greatest history of Newfoundland. It was published in 1895.

]]> Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

WJ: My favourite fictional character is Anna Karenina. As my father used to say, I might be in love with her. I wish Tolstoy hadn't thrown her beneath a train. Did I just give away the ending for some people?

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

WJ: Destitute. I have a knack for no other profession.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

WJ: I reread Anna Karenina. It never fails to break my heart.

Q&A with Genni Gunn

Q&A with David Homel

Q&A with Marina Endicott

Q&A with Pauline Holdstock

Q&A with Michael Christie

Q&A with Suzette Mayr

Q&A with Esi Edugyan

Q&A with Alexi Zentner

Q&A with Genni Gunn

2011-10-03T13:37:18Z

This year, 17 Canadian authors made it to the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the country's richest literary award for fiction. To get some further insight into their work and their inspirations, CBC Books asked the longlisted authors a series of questions. We've been posting the Q&As for your enjoyment, while the prize jury deliberates over the shortlist. That list will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

In the meantime, here's our Q&A with Genni Gunn, author of Solitaria.

Q: Pitch Canada your novel in three lines or less.

Genni Gunn: When Vito Santoro's body is accidentally unearthed by a demolition crew in Fregene, Italy, his siblings are thrown into turmoil, having been told by their sister Piera that Vito had fled to Argentina 50 years earlier after abandoning his wife and son. Now scattered over three continents, Vito's siblings regroup in Italy to try to discover the truth. As the stories emerge, weaving past and present, so do versions and perspectives, memories and secrets.

Q: Which Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you like to see take home the prize?

GG: I have not had a chance to read all the other longlisted titles, so I do not want to venture a guess. All the authors are masters at their craft, so I have no doubt any one of the books would be deserving of the prize.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

GG: When we had a lot of small independent bookstores in Canada, those were marvellous, bookish places to be in. One in my neighbourhood, Booktique, had an owner who would rush up and tell me what new authors I would love. She was always right. Unfortunately, Booktique is gone, as are many other bookstores just like it.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet. Why?

GG: I would love to meet Margaret Laurence, not only because she was a brilliant writer and an astute observer of human nature, but also because of her volatility, which surely contributed to her art, and also to her death. I come from a dramatic family, made up of various artists, and volatility (at least in our family) appears to be a stimulant for creative lives.

]]> Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

GG: This is a very difficult one. Too many to mention, but here are three: I love the spunk and humour of Moll Flanders, the wallowing desperation of Judith Hearne (The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne) and the hilarious despair of Patrick Doyle (A Disaffection by James Kelman).

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

GG: Assuming you mean if I could alter my life beginning from age 5 or so, I'd be a ballet dancer. Body language.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

GG: In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut. I am an avid traveller and great admirer of Galgut's work. This book contains three journeys into physical landscapes and landscapes of the self. Interesting structure. Gorgeous writing.

Q&A with David Homel

Q&A with Marina Endicott

Q&A with Pauline Holdstock

Q&A with Michael Christie

Q&A with Suzette Mayr

Q&A with Esi Edugyan

Q&A with Alexi Zentner

Select Your Shortlist contest is closed!

2011-10-01T10:00:00Z

Thanks to everyone who submitted their shortlist picks. Many people agreed that choosing only five titles was difficult, especially given the great books on this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist. You can read the nominations in the comments section here.

CBC Books will reveal the winner of our grand prize next week, so check back soon to find out who has won the $1,000 Chapters Indigo gift card to build their dream library, courtesy of Scotiabank.

We're also getting ready to launch another exciting contest as we count down the days to the award ceremony on Nov. 8. This contest will feature a truly unique grand prize, as well as more weekly draws for Kobo eReaders, sets of books and Chapters Indigo gift cards!

Michael Christie on The Beggar's Garden

2011-09-30T15:01:17Z

Most Canadians who keep on top of current events are familiar with Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. From the court battles over safe injection sites to the international media that focused on the impoverished neighbourhood's juxtaposition to the glitzy 2010 Olympic Games, the area known as "Canada's poorest postal code" has a reputation as a place people want to avoid.

But not for Michael Christie. He's a former pro-skateboarder who went on to study psychology at Simon Fraser University before working in an emergency shelter in the Downtown Eastside. Christie has drawn from his experiences of assisting those with mental illness, addictions and joblessness, to write a debut short story collection entitled The Beggar's Garden. The book has received critical praise and has been included on the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist and is a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

In this special CBC video, Christie reads excerpts from his book and discusses the challenges that arise from writing about marginalized groups with honesty and authenticity.

"It's very easy to judge from the outside that someone is responsible for where they are," he said. "But to truly understand what it took for them to get there and the choices that they've made and the difficulties that they've had ... it's very arrogant to think that you know why someone is living on the street."

"I think that is partially the power of fiction is that it can at least shed a little bit of light into how people end up the way they do."

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Select Your Shortlist: Our third winner of the longlisted books

2011-09-30T13:58:31Z

We are giving away another set of the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlisted books!

Congratulations to K8lin123, who was selected in our random draw. Here are K8lin123's picks:

"1. Into the Heart of the Country, Pauline Holdstock: Because I love novels with a strong and courageous female lead.

2. The Return, Dany Laferrière: For the lovely contrast between Haiti and Montreal.

3. The Cat's Table, Michael Ondaatje: For complex characters in a captivating setting.

4. The Little Shadows, Marina Endicott: A coming-of-age tale that feels new and fresh, with beautiful imagery.

5. The Beggar's Garden, Michael Christie: Because Canada's discriminatory attitude toward the Downtown Eastside has become quite un-Canadian. We need more of these stories."

Remember, our contest closes at the end of today, so if you haven't already submitted an entry, do so now! You could win the grand prize of a $1,000 Chapters-Indigo gift card to build your dream library, courtesy of Scotiabank. We've also got another Kobo eReader and one more prize pack of Giller longlisted titles to give away, so there are more chances to win!

Q&A with David Homel

2011-09-29T19:51:07Z

This year, 17 Canadian authors made it to the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the country's richest literary award for fiction. To get some further insight into their work and their inspirations, CBC Books asked the longlisted authors a series of questions. As the prize jury debates which books will be named to the shortlist, we'll be posting our Q&As for you to enjoy.

Today, we've got David Homel, who translated Dany Laferrière's The Return.

Q: Pitch Canada the novel in three lines or less.

David Homel: A son who's living in exile returns to Haiti to bury his father who died in exile -- without the body. What the son is really doing in recovering his father's past and his own in that troubled country.

Q: Which Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you like to see take home the prize?

DH: Genni Gunn because I know her. David Bezmozgis because he comes from Eastern Europe as does my family.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

DH: The foot of Mount Royal in Montreal, more specifically Jeanne-Mance Park, also known as Fletcher's Field.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

DH: Leonard Cohen.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

DH: I like the various dogs in Leon Rooke's works.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

DH: Car mechanic.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

DH: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

Come back soon for more Q&As with the longlisted authors. In the meantime, check out our exciting Scotiabank Giller Prize contests. This month, you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo to build your dream library as part of our Select Your Shortlist contest.

Q&A with Marina Endicott

Q&A with Pauline Holdstock

Q&A with Michael Christie

Q&A with Suzette Mayr

Q&A with Esi Edugyan

Q&A with Alexi Zentner

Q&A with Marina Endicott

2011-09-29T13:15:38Z

This year, 17 Canadian authors made it to the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the country's richest literary award for fiction. To get some further insight into their work and their inspirations, CBC Books asked the longlisted authors a series of questions. As the prize jury debates which books will be named to the shortlist, we'll be posting our Q&As for you to enjoy.

Here we have Marina Endicott, author of The Little Shadows.

Q: Pitch Canada your novel in three lines or less.

Marina Endicott: A hundred years before American Idol, a thousand miles from So You Think You Can Dance, when a big band was a piano and a violin, three sisters turn to the vaudeville stage to keep themselves and their mama from the poorhouse. Frivolous but determined, with an enduring belief that things will work out in the end, Flora pushes Aurora, Clover and darling Bella from ragtime to riches.

Q: Which Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you like to see take home the prize?

ME: Impossible! Many of the nominees are friends, and I haven't been able to read all of the books I'm looking forward to yet, so I can't properly vote... But if Lynn Coady's amazing The Antagonist wins — dang, she's good — she'll probably take me out for dinner.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

ME: The Sally Borden at the Banff Centre for the Arts. In my mind's eye it's where Gil Adamson takes on Guy Vanderhaeghe in a game of pool while across the room, Tomson Highway watches the Stanley Cup playoffs with Joan Macleod, and Fred Stenson gets pleasantly argumentative over a beer with Noah Richler. It¹s transmogrified over the years but it's still there, the blue light of the swimming pool bathing the scene in mystical glow.

]]> Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

ME: I'd like to go to Paris and have lunch with Mavis Gallant, please. And if she'd like me to stay in a nice hotel nearby and have lunch with her every day for two or three years, why, that's no problem at all.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

ME: Neatly side-stepping all the appealing characters in this year's longlist, I'll go for E.H. Young's eponymous Miss Mole. I like her complicated sense of honour and flagrant dishonesty, her valiant attempts to make things better, and (no matter how poverty cramps) her very good shoes.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

ME: There's an amusing assumption built into this question that Canadian writers can afford to be writers only! Most of us are teachers or students or bureaucrats or treeplanters. If I weren't a writer, maybe I'd be back on stage by now, directing or auditioning for the precious few roles for women over 22.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

ME: Irma Voth by Miriam Toews. Tender, jagged, difficult, it's the rawest and to me the most beautiful of her books.

Come back soon for more Q&As with the longlisted authors. In the meantime, check out our exciting Scotiabank Giller Prize contests. This month, you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo to build your dream library as part of our Select Your Shortlist contest.

Q&A with Pauline Holdstock

Q&A with Michael Christie

Q&A with Suzette Mayr

Q&A with Esi Edugyan

Q&A with Alexi Zentner

Wayne Johnston on A World Elsewhere

2011-09-28T18:45:59Z

First aired on Shift (21/9/11)

Curiosity may have killed the cat, as the saying goes. But in Wayne Johnston's case, it led to his latest novel, A World Elsewhere.

The acclaimed author was on a stint as a writer-in-residence in Virginia when he decided to pay a weekend visit to Asheville, N.C., the birthplace of Thomas Wolfe, one of his favourite writers. Along the way, he spotted a sign that said "This way to Biltmore." He didn't know what Biltmore was, but he couldn't resist finding out. "I'll follow any sign that tells me to go anywhere," he told Shift host Paul Castle in a recent interview on the CBC New Brunswick program.

Johnston recalled being struck by the incongruity of Biltmore, the palatial home built by millionaire George Vanderbilt II in the late 19th century: "My first thought was, what's this place doing out here in the middle of the North Carolina wilderness?"

Johnston joined a tour of the mansion and learned that Vanderbilt shunned New York and New York society, which he considered a negative influence on his daughter. Vanderbilt hoped that by building what he considered "the greatest house in the world" he could keep out what was bad and allow in only what he judged to be good. "The irony is that something like the opposite happened," Johnston said.

The seed of a story was planted. "I was intrigued right away by the idea of this girl spending time away from New York -- where she wanted to be -- out in the middle of the wilderness of North Carolina," Johnston said. "And of this supposedly disinherited millionaire, who was left $10 million and was kind of miffed because his brothers were left $100 million."

One of the characters in A World Elsewhere is loosely based on Vanderbilt -- George Vanderluyden is the youngest son in one of America's richest families -- but he's not the main focus of the novel. "I knew I wanted to use his house and his life story or part of it, but my main characters in the book are Newfoundlanders: Landish Druken and the boy who comes into his care, Deacon Druken," Johnston explained.

]]> In The World Elsewhere, Landish Druken meets George Vanderluyden while they're both students at Princeton. Years later, when Landish runs into trouble, he turns to his friend, who invites him to "Vanderland," which is modelled closely on Biltmore.

Johnston revisited the estate so often while writing the novel that some of the staff there shared insider info. Johnston describes having one of the guards tell him about a secret room. "He just touched the wall behind him and a door popped open and there was a small room with a single light bulb," Johnston said. "And he said, 'this is where George Vanderbilt would go to try to write.' Vanderbilt wanted to be a writer, he didn't succeed, so he kind of consoled himself with being a collector of art instead of a maker of it."

Building and maintaining Biltmore was so costly that Vanderbilt eventually went bankrupt. As for Johnston, he didn't exactly feel at home amid the mansion's "grandiosity and extravagance." But he did feel inspired, and says that he's looking forward to returning at least once to the place that played a leading role in his latest novel.

Photo of Wayne Johnston by Neil Graham

A World Elsewhere
by Wayne Johnston

Buy this book at:

From Random House Canada:

A World Elsewhere has all the hallmarks of Wayne Johnston's most beloved and acclaimed novels: outsiders yearning for acceptance, dreams that threaten to overpower their makers, and unlikely romance. It is an astounding work of literature that questions the loyalties of friends, family and the heart. At the centre of this story is a mystery: the suspected murder of a child. This sweeping tale immerses us in St. John's, Princeton and North Carolina at the close of the nineteenth century. Landish Druken is a formidable figure: broader than most doorways, quick-witted and sharp-tongued. As a student at Princeton, he is befriended by George Vanderluyden, son of one of the wealthiest men in America. Years later, when Landish and his adopted son turn to Vanderluyden for help, he invites them to his self-constructed castle and pulls them into his web of lies and deceit."

Read more at Random House Canada.

Q&A with Pauline Holdstock

2011-09-27T19:15:23Z

]]> Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

PH: I never did recover from encountering Catherine and Heathcliff when I was 12. You can't have one without the other. Together they represent all that is wild and dangerous in us -- and all that is true.

Q. What would you be if you weren't a writer?

PH: A dancer.

Q. What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

PH: A slim volume of poems called Ghost Country by Steve Noyes, clear-eyed and cleanly written, taking in and giving back an entire world with moving honesty.

Come back soon for more Q&As with the longlisted authors. In the meantime, check out our exciting Scotiabank Giller Prize contests. This month, you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo to build your dream library as part of our Select Your Shortlist contest.

Q&A with Michael Christie

Q&A with Suzette Mayr

Q&A with Esi Edugyan

Q&A with Alexi Zentner

Select Your Shortlist: Our third Kobo eReader winner!

2011-09-26T16:50:23Z

We're happy to announce our third Kobo eReader winner!

Congratulations to drjess, who chose these longlisted books in this entry:

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott
The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie
Into the Heart of the Country by Pauline Holdstock
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

"It was hard to pick only five, but these represent the best books that I have read over the past year."

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist picks so far! We'll be holding two draws every week this month, one for a Kobo eReader and a $50 Chapters Indigo gift certificate and the other for a set of the longlisted books. We'll also be giving away one grand prize of a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo, courtesy of Scotiabank.

Remember, you have until Sept. 30 to enter! If you haven't entered yet, check out this year's longlisted books and post your shortlist picks in the comments section of the Select Your Shortlist contest page!

Select Your Shortlist: Our second winner of the Giller longlisted books

2011-09-23T13:47:19Z

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist picks so far!

We're holding two draws every week this month, one for a Kobo eReader and a $50 Chapters Indigo gift certificate and the other for a set of the longlisted books. We'll also be giving away one grand prize of a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo, courtesy of Scotiabank.

This week's winner of a complete set of the Scotiabank Giller longlisted books is AngelaHall! Here are her picks, as posted on our Select Your Shortlist contest page:

"I'm so excited about this year's longlist! It's hard to narrow it down but here are my top five:

The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie
(because this is such a compelling read -- I'm from Vancouver and I really felt at home in the downtown East side of Christie's writing)

Extensions by Myrna Dey
(because I love the idea of the readers' choice; even if it doesn't win, it will increase the readership of Myrna Dey and she deserves it)

The Antagonist by Lynn Coady
(because I love this author's work so far and how it evokes the east coast for me. I'm excited to read a work of hers set elsewhere)

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
(because Ondaatje is one of Canada's GREATS. I haven't read this book through yet but I trust his stye and imagination -- he's never let us down yet and I've read all his other works)

The Meagre Tarmac by Clark Blaise
(because his short stories are smart and witty -- very Canadian in style, not sentimental or predictable.)

Thanks!"

Congrats, Angela! Your prize pack of all 17 Giller longlisted books is in the mail.

If you haven't entered yet, check out this year's longlisted books and post your shortlist picks in the comments section of the Select Your Shortlist contest page! The contest closes on September 30, so get your entry in!

Q&A with Alexi Zentner

2011-09-22T19:13:44Z

This year, 17 Canadian authors made it to the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the country's richest literary award for fiction. To get some further insight into their work and their inspirations, CBC Books asked the longlisted authors a series of questions. As the prize jury debates which books will be named to the shortlist, we'll be posting our Q&As for you to enjoy.

Here we have Alexi Zentner, author of Touch.

Q: Pitch Canada your novel in three lines or less.

Alexi Zentner: A pastor returning home to his dying mother has to confront the ghosts of his childhood, the memories of his mythic grandfather, and the magic and mysteries of the north woods. Also, it's a love story. And though it's a novel full of wonder, Touch is also scary and terrifying in places, full of monsters and witches. And the book will break your heart. But that's four sentences.

Q: Which Giller-longlisted book (other than your own!) would you like to see take home the prize?

AZ: The longlist is kind of stunning, but it's difficult to choose since I already admired the work of many of these authors before the list came out. Part of the power of literary prizes like the Scotiabank Giller Prize, however, is to help bring attention to authors who aren't already part of the national consciousness, and so, if I had to chose a book other than my own, I'd probably pick a debut author with a book that deserved more exposure, like Michael Christie's The Beggar's Garden. Though, that being said, I think that all of these books on this list deserve more exposure.

Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

AZ: One of my oldest friends has a cottage on Smoke Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, and it's one of my favorite places in the world. Though I like to swim there despite the coldness of the water and there are some stunning places to hike, I almost enjoy it more when it's raining and chilly and the bugs are fierce enough so that I have every excuse to sit by the fire and just read. There's a quiet isolation that I love. There's no power, no running water, just propane and a hand pump, a wood stove, a fireplace, and the too many books that I always bring.

]]> Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

AZ: Alice Munro. She's given me terrific pleasure as a reader and I'd like to be able to just say thank you, and then to have lunch with her or to spend an afternoon in leisurely pursuit, talking about reading and books in general, without pestering her about her own work.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

AZ: Farley Drexel Hatcher, otherwise known as Fudge, from Judy Bloom's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. I read this book and others from the series to my youngest daughter almost constantly for two years. They were the only chapter books she'd listen to, and I loved how much she loved them. She wouldn't let us name our dog Fudge because that's a people name, not a dog name. We ended up calling the dog Turtle, because that, evidently, is a dog's name. Trust me, it makes sense if you read the book.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

AZ: I'd be a teacher. I've been writing full-time for two years, and though I thought that was the dream, I find that I desperately miss teaching. There's very little that's comparable to seeing the spark in a student's face when she gets something that she's been struggling with. I love teaching creative writing, and I think I'm good at it, but in a different life, I could have been teaching elementary school.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

AZ: I just read Gordan Korman's No Coins, Please to my oldest daughter, and though I'd read the book when it first came out (when I was 11), as my daughter held her hands in front of her mouth and laughed at Artie Geller's antics, I was reminded of the delight with which children can encounter fiction. I had some of the same delight earlier this year when I read Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road for the first time. I'm still not sure how I managed to completely miss Three Day Road, but I'm glad that I rectified that shortcoming.

Come back soon for more Q&As with the longlisted authors. In the meantime, check out our exciting Scotiabank Giller Prize contests. This month, you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo to build your dream library as part of our Select Your Shortlist contest.

Related: Q&A with Michael Christie

Related: Q&A with Suzette Mayr

Related: Q&A with Esi Edugyan

Q&A: Esi Edugyan

2011-09-20T14:00:00Z

]]> Q: What's your favourite bookish place in Canada?

EE: Russell Books in Victoria is a great place to while away an afternoon.

Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet? Why?

EE: Mordecai Richler. Wouldn't be a dull evening.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

EE: Dorothea Brooke from Middlemarch. She is wonderfully good without being sentimental or boring.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

EE: An asbestos-cement pipe machine setter.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

EE: 2666 by Roberto Bolano affected me greatly. It's edgy and breaks a lot of rules, while at the same time reminding me of the resonance and value of serious literature.

Come back soon for more Q&As with the longlisted authors.

Related: Q&A with Michael Christie

Related: Q&A with Suzette Mayr

Select Your Shortlist: Our second Kobo eReader winner

2011-09-19T14:19:20Z

We're happy to announce our latest Kobo eReader winner!

Congratulations to Pinkribbons, who chose these longlisted books in this entry:

" Only 5? :)

1) The Cat's Table - the intricate weaving of the characters' lives captures my focus throughout the journey, and on a ship at that!
2) The Antagonist - Another book about growing up, but we can see that we have all known Rank. A must read for fans of Essex County.
3) Solitaria - Family secrets about the death of Vito Santoro forms the base for this dark but enticing read!
4) A Good Man - a different read for me, lots of history, told through the adventures of some strange and desperate characters.
5) Touch - Based in northern B.C., this tale lures the reader with the opportunity to break open the past. There are no barriers!"

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist picks so far! We'll be holding two draws every week this month, one for a Kobo eReader and a $50 Chapters Indigo gift certificate and the other for a set of the longlisted books. We'll also be giving away one grand prize of a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo, courtesy of Scotiabank.

If you haven't entered yet, check out this year's longlisted books and post your shortlist picks in the comments section of the Select Your Shortlist contest page!

Select Your Shortlist: Our first Giller prize pack winner

2011-09-16T19:42:53Z

This week's winner of a complete set of the Scotiabank Giller longlisted books is antarcticsunset! Here are antarcticsunset's picks, as posted on our Select Your Shortlist contest page:

A Good Man by Guy Vanderhaeghe

Monoceros by Suzette Mayr

Solitaria by Genni Gunn

Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner

The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie

Why did antarticsunset choose these five titles? She explains below:

"I think these books best express an exceptional creativity and originality in terms of the plot and the storytelling, as well as a beautiful expressiveness in the way the stories are told. They best portray the highest level of art and the craft of writing and embody the best in literature that Canada has to offer."

Congrats, antarticsunset! Your prize pack of all 17 Giller longlisted books is in the mail.

Q & A with Suzette Mayr

2011-09-15T17:13:23Z

]]> Q: Which Canadian author (alive or dead) would you most like to meet. Why?

SM: I would love to meet Martha Ostenso, the author of Wild Geese. Why? Because she wore leopard-skin jumpsuits and never got up before noon, of course. Or Marie-Claire Blais because she is simply a legend. But I would be too shy to talk to either of them.

Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

SM: Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Her fiancé jilted her on her wedding day and so she sits in the dark in her house for the rest of her life, still wearing her wedding dress, one shoe on, one shoe off (because she only had one shoe on when she heard the news that her groom had jilted her), and a rotting wedding cake on the table. I can relate to that.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

SM: A receptionist at a used-car dealership because this was the only job I could get when I first graduated. I would own a lot of cardigans I knitted myself.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

SM: The Nightwatch by Sarah Waters. C'est magnifique!

Come back soon for more Q&As with the longlisted authors. In the meantime, check out our exciting Scotiabank Giller Prize contests. This month, you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo to build your dream library as part of our Select Your Shortlist contest.

Related: Q&A with Michael Christie

Q & A with Michael Christie

2011-09-12T17:16:43Z

]]>
Q: Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

MC: The Devil in Milton's Paradise Lost. Why? Because he has all the best lines.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?

MC: I think I'd be working a job somewhere, begrudgingly of course, probably in a healthcare-related field, enjoying myself as best I could, trying not to think about books to the point that my distraction could harm someone.

Q: What book has moved or affected you most in the past year?

MC: I recently read Next by James Hynes and it blew me away. So controlled and keenly observed. It's both an ode to, and condemnation of, our particularly North American pastime: self-obsession. The last 20 pages of this book are genuinely heart-arresting, so make sure you make it through. I normally don't say things like this, but Next is the first great post-9/11 novel.

Come back soon for more Q&As with the longlisted authors. In the meantime, check out our exciting Scotiabank Giller Prize contests. This month, you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo to build your dream library as part of our Select Your Shortlist contest.

Select Your Shortlist: Our first Kobo eReader winner!

2011-09-12T14:33:22Z

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist picks so far! We'll be holding two draws every week this month, one for a Kobo eReader and a $50 Chapters Indigo gift certificate and the other for a set of the longlisted books. We'll also be giving away one grand prize of a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo, courtesy of Scotiabank.

This week's Kobo eReader winner is bookworm1! Here are bookworm1's picks, as posted on our Select Your Shortlist contest page:

Extensions by Myrna Dey
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
Into the Heart of the Country by Pauline Holdstock
The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott
The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

"These are a diverse range of books which would keep me enthralled during the wet, dark winter months."

Congrats, bookworm1! Your Kobo eReader (courtesy of Kobo) and $50 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo (courtesy of Scotiabank) are in the mail.

If you haven't entered yet, check out this year's longlisted books and post your shortlist picks in the comments section of the Select Your Shortlist contest page!

Readers' Choice winner Myrna Dey on The Afternoon Edition

2011-09-08T14:48:36Z

First aired on The Afternoon Edition (06/09/2011)

When writer and essayist Myrna Dey published her first novel Extensions last October, she hoped for the best but didn't expect too much.

"I was just happy it was published," admitted Dey, 69, who lives in Kamsack, Sask.

Never in her wildest dream did she expect her book would end up on the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist alongside distinguished Canadian literary stars like Michael Ondaatje, Wayne Johnston and Marina Endicott.

In August, Dey was browsing the CBC website when she came upon the Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers' Choice contest run by CBC Books. She noticed that her book was eligible for nomination.

"It was a week into the contest and I thought, maybe I do have a chance," she told CBC Saskatchewan's The Afternoon Edition recently.

]]> Dey hopes her book's readability made it popular but she says she had a "huge network" get the word out about the online contest, led by her daughters and local supporters in Kamsack. Sure enough, Extensions inched its way up and, by the final days of the contest, had received more nominations than any other book.

Dey compares her experience with the Readers' Choice contest to that of The Sheepdogs, an unsigned Saskatchewan rock band that won an online contest to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

"It feels...inspirational to be among those top writers," she said.

To learn more about Dey's book Extensions, listen to her complete interview with The Afternoon Edition.

2011-09-07T19:28:37Z

Select Your Shortlist!

2011-09-06T12:56:06Z

This contest is now closed.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist has been released and the jury is debating which five books should advance to the shortlist. But CBC Books wants to know from you which books would be on your shortlist. Let us know your top five picks and you could win some fantastic prizes!

How to participate:

Check out this year's longlist and tell us which five books should be included in the Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist and your reasons why. If you post your complete answer in the comments section below by Sept. 30, you'll have a chance to win great prizes. We're having:

A weekly draw for a Kobo eReader, courtesy of Kobo, along with a $50 gift card to Chapters Indigo, courtesy of Scotiabank
A weekly draw for a set of the longlisted books
A grand prize draw for a $1,000 gift certificate to Chapters Indigo so you can build your dream home library courtesy of Scotiabank!

So Select Your Shortlist for a chance to win!

The 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist

The Antagonist by Lynn Coady
The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie
Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner
The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
Extensions by Myrna Dey*
The Free World by David Bezmozgis
A Good Man by Guy Vanderhaeghe
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
Into the Heart of the Country by Pauline Holdstock
The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott
The Meagre Tarmac by Clark Blaise
Monoceros by Suzette Mayr
The Return by Dany Laferrière
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Solitaria by Genni Gunn
Touch by Alexi Zentner
A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnston

*Throughout the month of August, CBC Books ran a contest for members of the public to nominate an eligible book for the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist. At the conclusion of the contest, Myrna Dey's Extensions received the most nominations. To learn more about the Readers' Choice, click here.

For the Select Your Shortlist rules and regulations, click here.

To enter, just post your comment below.