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Giller Prize: Finalist Heather O'Neill reads from her nominated novel

Giller-nominated author, Heather O'Neill, reads from her book The Girl Who Was Saturday night and recalls the moment she learned she'd made the shortlist.

The Girl Who Was Saturday Night is in the running for the $100,000 literary prize

Heather O'Neill, Giller finalist, reads from The Girl Who Was Saturday Night

10 years ago
Duration 1:48
The Girl Who Was Saturday Night author, Heather O'Neill, reads from the Giller-nominated book and describes what it’s like to be a finalist for the prestigious literary prize.

Heather O'Neill may be in the running for the $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize, but the Montreal-based writer is no stranger to the literary limelight.

Her career kicked off with a bang in 2006 with her debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals. It was shortlisted for numerous book awards, and won CBC's Canada Reads competition. So O'Neill's many fans weren't surprised when the author's long-awaited sophomore novel The Girl Who Was Saturday Night made this year's Giller shortlist.

The Quebec-set novel "describes what it is like to be young and to have a lifetime of experience and grief already behind you," said the Giller jury.

O'Neill reads from her novel and recalls hearing the news from her daughter that she'd made the Giller cut, in the video above. 

The 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner will be revealed at a gala hosted by Rick Mercer in Toronto on Monday.

The gala will be broadcast on at 9 p.m. (10 p.m. AT /10:30 NT) on CBC Television and livestreamed on CBC Books