St. John’s author Lisa Moore named to Giller Prize longlist
St. John’s author Lisa Moore named to Giller Prize longlist for her second collection of short stories
Sixteen years after Lisa Moore first gained international recognition for a collection of short stories, the acclaimed St. John’s author has come full circle.
On Monday, it was announced Moore has been named to the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist for her book of fictional short stories, “Something for Everyone.”
She made the shortlist the three previous times she was nominated — in 2013 for her novel “Caught,” now a major CBC television series starring Allan Hawco; in 2005 for her novel “Alligator,” which was a national bestseller; and in 2002, for “Open,” which was her first collection of short fiction and also a national bestseller.
“It feels like coming home, in a way,” Moore told The Telegram about being nominated for another short fiction collection.
She said writing short fiction, “is a very interesting and demanding form and it allows for a lot of experimentation. … Short stories are undiluted and intense. You have to make a whole world in much fewer pages and it has to be real for the readers.”
In “Something for Everyone,” Moore said, she explored several different aspects of the austerity environment in this province today.
The book includes, for example, a piece about the 2013 job cuts and how they trickle down through the various levels of society.
There’s a novella at the end of the collection, which is about a serial rapist in St. John’s “and the ubiquitous fear” it creates for women.
Some other stories, she said, have “magic realism.”
“The Fjord of Eternity” story, about a missing rock God from a cruise ship, was influenced by a trip Moore took to Greenland.
Her trip to Orlando two weeks after the tragic Pulse Club shooting inspired another piece.
“The grief all over Orlando was palpable,” Moore said. “You could see it and feel it everywhere.”
Not all are dark, though. Some of the stories are also humorous.
“I like them all in different ways,” she said.
Moore said being on the longlist gives an author’s book a huge boost with international attention.
“It means it’s in the public eye all across Canada and even in North America,” she said, noting she received an email of congratulations from her American publisher, Astoria.
“On a personal level, it’s also very exciting to have your book read by your peers and found that they liked it. It’s a great feeling.”
The announcement of the 12 nominees for the award — which recognizes excellence in Canadian fiction, long format or short stories — was made by last year’s winner Michael Redhill Monday morning during a ceremony at The Rooms.
The other nominees are Page Cooper (“Zolitude”), Patrick Dewitt (“French Exit”), Eric Dupont (“Songs for the Cold of Heart”), Esi Edugyan (“Washington Black”), Rawi Hage (“Beirut Hellfire Society”), Sheila Heti (“Motherhood”), Emma Hooper (“Our Homesick Song”), Thea Lim (“An Ocean of Minutes”), Tanya Tagaq (“Split Tooth”), Kim Thuy (“Vi”) and Joshua Whitehead (“Jonny Appleseed”).
The 12 were chosen from a field of 104 books submitted by publishers across Canada.
The shortlist will be unveiled Oct. 1. The winner will be announced Nov. 19 at a ceremony, which will be aired on CBC at 9:30 p.m. NT.
The award endows a cash prize annually of $100,000 and $10,000 to each finalist.
The longlist was selected by a five-member jury panel, which consists of Canadian writer and journalist Kamal Alsolaylee (chair), playwright and vice-president of advancement for the Toronto International Film Festival Maxine Bailey, American writer John Freeman, English novelist Philip Hensher and Canadian author Heather O’neill.
It was announced that finalists will take part in Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists, in which they will travel to various locations for a series of readings from their books. The tour includes stops in Calgary, Oct. 11; Vancouver, Oct. 15; Halifax, Oct. 25; Ottawa, Oct. 30; Toronto, Nov. 5; New York City, Nov. 7; and London, U.K., Nov. 15.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Giller Prize.
It was founded in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, who died from cancer the year before. Rabinovitch died in August 2017.
The cash prizes have increased significantly over the years as a result of Scotiabank’s co-sponsorship, which began in 2005.
The prize has so far provided more than $750,000 to Canadian writers.
Past winners including such acclaimed writers as Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Mordecai Richler, Elizabeth Hay, Rohinton Mistry and M.G. Vassanji, who won the first Giller Prize in 1994.