The Giller Prize has been rewarding Canadian authors at home and abroad since 1994 when it was started by Jack Rabinovitch. Like most awards, the Giller Prize was set up in honor of someone, in this case it was Mr. Rabinovitch's deceased wife Doris Giller. In 2005, the Giller prize formed an alliance with the Scotiabank and became the Scotiabank Giller Prize. But for simplicities sake everyone I know still calls it the Giller Prize.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize is one of the richest literary awards for Canadians. It's also probably the most publicized. The literary prize winner receives a monetary prize of $40,000 Canadian. When compared to many popular American/European awards this is an excellent appreciation for literary works created by the "starving" profession. The other four writer finalists do not leave empty handed. As well as great exposure for their book, publisher and their name, they are awarded a $2,500 purse.

Every year a judging panel starts the process with about 90 books and whittle it down to a longlist of about fifteen candidates which is now announced to the public so they can read up on them. The longlist is whittled further to a shortlist of five authors and the final winner is chosen and announced at a dinner in November in Toronto.

Previous winners include the likes of Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, David Bergen, Mordecai Richler and Austin Clarke. There is a reading list in the related links below.

Learn more about The Scotiabank Giller Prize from the official website.

---

M. E. Wood lives in Eastern Ontario, Canada. If you are going to find this eclectic reader and writer anywhere it is probably at her computer. For more information visit her official website.