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Giller Prize reveals long list and celebrates late founder

Zach Goudie | CBC Arts | Posted: September 18, 2017 6:50 PM | Last Updated: September 19, 2017

12 Canadian novels recognized as authors remember Giller founder Jack Rabinovitch

Image | We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night by Joel Thomas Hynes

Caption: We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night by Joel Thomas Hynes is on the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist. (HarperCollins)

"The long list will be read in alphabetical order … I'm shaking! Oh my goodness."
Author Madeline Thien knows how it feels to be nominated for Canada's biggest literary prize. But as she stood in St. John's to unveil the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize long list, Thien had a moment of butterflies.
"It's an emotional day for Canadian writers," Thien said later. "Books they put years into creating, it's a window where they may find readers very quickly. And you want that for these books and for these writers."

Image | Madeleine Thien

Caption: 2016 Giller Prize winner Madeleine Thien unveiled the 2017 Giller long list in St. John's. (Bruce Tilley/CBC)

Thien's novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing was last year's winner of the prestigious literary prize, and as such she was invited to announce this year's Giller long list. The ceremony was held at The Rooms in St. John's, part of an ongoing effort to hold Giller events outside of Toronto.
"It's very important to us … that we represent all of Canada." said Michelle Kadarusman, the Giller Prize's submissions manager, at the museum. "We have the long list here in St. John's; we've had the long list in Montreal as well. And we've got reading events in Calgary, in Vancouver, in Ottawa, in Halifax and of course in Toronto. So it's really important for us to get across the country."

Jack Rabinovitch remembererd

This will be the first Giller Prize since founder Jack Rabinovitch died in August. Rabinovitch famously founded the prize as a tribute to his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller. The $100,000 grand prize is the richest literary award in the country.
At today's ceremony, Dean Brinton — Rabinovitch's friend and CEO of The Rooms — praised Rabinovitch's passion for CanLit, and his droll sense of humour.
"Everyone loved Jack," Brinton said. "Even those who didn't get invited to the gala."
Kadarusman said the Rabinovith family is still mourning his loss, and that this year's Giller Prize ceremony will be a difficult one. "But we also know that what he would want is for us to celebrate the authors, to celebrate Canadian literature. So we will definitely still be doing that."

Image | Crowd at The Rooms in St. John's

Caption: The crowd waits for the ceremony to begin at The Rooms in St. John's. (Bruce Tilley/CBC)

12 books make the cut

The 12 novels and story collections on the long list were chosen from 112 submissions by 73 publishers across Canada.
A cheer went up from the St. John's crowd when Newfoundland author Joel Thomas Hynes's name was announced. His nominated novel, We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night, begins in scrappy downtown St. John's and follows a tough-guy protagonist on a cross-country journey.
The long list was a closely guarded secret. and Hynes himself wasn't at the ceremony. But Lisa Moore, one of Newfoundland and Labrador's most celebrated authors and a past Giller nominee, said it was a thrill to see local talent recognized.
"It's really exciting to see Joel on that list." Moore said. "He's such a hilarious writer and dark at the same time. His writing is vibrant and alive and captures voice here, so that's pretty exciting."

Image | Michelle Kadarusman

Caption: Michelle Kadarusman is the submissions manager for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. (Bruce Tilley/CBC)

The short list will be unveiled Oct. 2 in Toronto, and the big prize will be awarded Nov. 20 in a ceremony to be aired on CBC television, radio and online.
The complete 2017 long list.

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