2008 Giller Prize

The fifteen annual dinner and award ceremony of the Giller Prize, Canada's Premier literary prize for fiction was held on November 11, 2008 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, Ontario and drew about 450 members of the publishing, media and arts communities such as Margaret Atwood. Jack Rabinovitch, ( President of Nodel Investments Ltd., a real estate/venture capital firm ) founded the Giller Prize in 1994 in honour of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, who had passed away from cancer the year before. The award which had endowed a annual cash prize of $ 25,000 was raised by Scotiabank in 2008 to $70,000 with $50,000 going to the winner, and $5,000 being given to each of the other four finalists. The Giller Prize recognizes excellence in Canadian fiction and is said to be the largest annual prize for fiction in Canada.

The jury panel was composed of author Margaret Atwood; Liberal MP, Foreign Affairs critic and author Bob Rae; and international journalist, professor and author Colm Toibin. They chose the finalists from eligible books from across Canada.

The five finalists for the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists were:

Joseph Boyden: Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada
Anthony De Sa for his collection of short stories Barnacle Love, published by Doubleday Canada
Marina Endicott: Good to A Fault, published by Freehand Books/Broadview Press
Rawi Hage: Cockroach, published by House of Anansi Press
Mary Swan: The Boys in the Trees, published by Henry Holt/HB Fenn

The winner is:
Joseph Boyden for his novel Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada

The Giller Prize was a fine night celebrating Canadian literature! TorontoArtsandEvents supports any event that supports writers and encourages you to turn off your TV and your computer and pick up a book! Also, check back here for the Giller Prize 2009!

Joseph Boyden for his novel Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada

The Giller Awards was a fine night celebrating Canadian writers and TorontoArtsandEvents celebrates any event that encourages writers. Also, we would like to encourage you to turn off your TV and your computer ( but after you have reviewed this site ) and read a book! It is also very important to encourage literacy in Toronto, Ontario and Canada! Check back here for the Giller Awards 2009!