WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR THE AUTHORS
So who’s going to win? Books editor Deborah Dundas asked Paddy Power, that most venerable of Irish bookmakers, to put the odds on which author might walk away with the $100,000 Giller prize for 2015 when it’s announced on Tuesday. According to the firm’s Rory Scott, when they initially set the odds, they look at a number of factors: the trader’s opinion, past successes, whether the writer is critically acclaimed, media reports, reviews of the book and of the author’s work. “All those factors come together and then generally the market would take over. In this case, because the market is quite niche, we probably wouldn’t be taking many bets — but depending where the money is going (the odds could change).”
Heather O’Neill, Daydreams of Angels
5/4 What would you do with the $100,000 if you won? I imagine I would just use it to live. But also my daughter has always wanted to go to Paris, since she was little. I had her when I was 20 and we’ve always had these big dreams that one day we would get to the Eiffel Tower. There are so many children’s books about Paris and . . . I was always like, “We’re going to go to Paris, the most beautiful city in the world.” So she’s 21. I’ve still not gotten to Paris. So this year if I win the Giller Prize? Paris for Christmas.
Rachel Cusk, Outline
7/4 How important was it to be nominated for the Giller prize? It’s always a great boon for a writer to be noticed by a prize, not just for how it helps the book but for the feeling of being acknowledged by the literary community.
André Alexis, Fifteen Dogs
7/2 How has your life changed since being nominated? I was first nominated for the fifth iteration of (the Giller prize) which was before (the awards were televised). We did a small reading . . . and then the night of (the awards) the most stressful things was a bunch of people with flash cameras walking backward taking pictures of us, which seems like innocent days now. Now, we were in Vancouver (to read) we’re going out to Halifax, we’re reading in Toronto. There’s much more of a sense of occasion. But there’s also much more a sense of business and publicity.
Samuel Archibald, Arvida (Donald Winkler, translator)
7/2 How important is the prize for Canadian writers? There are so many of us writers fighting for such little space in today’s rich and crowded cultural landscape. No other prize has bigger pull than the Giller. No other prize has the same capacity to turn a relatively obscure author into a household name overnight.
Anakana Schofield, Martin John
5/1 How important was it to be nominated for the Giller prize? I didn’t know when the nominations were being announced. I think it was a lovely surprise, it was a big surprise. The critical thing was that the book was very difficult to write and it was arduous and I was worried about how it might be received and whether it would be understood.
The other thing is the list of authors and books that were nominated was so pleasing and ambitious, so of course there’s a great sense of celebration of literature. So to sit beside those writers and those works is hugely gratifying.