Clash of the titans
Patrick deWitt, Esi Edugyan among Scotiabank Giller Prize nominees
TORONTO Esi Edugyan and Patrick deWitt are among the Canadian novelists nominated for this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize.
The two acclaimed writers — who are both previous Giller contenders — joined the short list revealed Monday at an event in Toronto.
Edugyan is a finalist with this year’s Washington Black, while deWitt is being recognized for his book French Exit.
It’s the second time they ’ve been in competition together.
Seven years ago, deWitt was nominated for The Sisters Brothers, while Edugyan emerged as the winner with Half-Blood Blues.
This year’s short list also includes Sheila Heti’s Motherhood, Thea Lim’s An Ocean of Minutes, and Eric Dupont’s novel Songs for the Cold of Heart, translated by Peter McCambridge. The winner will be announced Nov. 19, at a Toronto gala that will be broadcast on CBC and streamed online.
The Giller Prize awards $100,000 to the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English, and $10,000 to each of the finalists.
It was established by Jack Rabinovitch in 1994, the year after the death of his wife, literary journalist Doris Giller. Rabinovitch died last year at age 87.
The five-member jury chose the finalists from a field of 104 books from across Canada.
The jury includes Canadian writers Kamal Al-Solaylee, Maxine Bailey and Heather O’Neill, along with British writer Philip Hensher and American writer John Freeman.
Last year’s Giller Prize winner was the American-born, Canadian poet and playwright Michael Redhill for his book Bellevue Square.