91ÑÇÉ« film grad Ìý(BFA Spec. Hons. '90) has been named the 2012 winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize forhis novelÌý419, published by Viking Canada/Penguin Canada.
The announcement was made Oct. 30 at a black-tie dinner and award ceremony hosted by Jian Ghomeshi (BA '95). More than 500 members of theÌýpublishing, media and arts communities attended the gala.
Will Ferguson
The largest annual literary prize in the country, theÌýScotiabank Giller PrizeÌýawards $50,000 to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and $5,000 to each of the finalists.ÌýThis is the 19th year of the prize.
A shortlist of five authors and their books was announced on Oct. 1.
Those finalists were:
- Will FergusonÌýfor his novelÌý, published by Viking Canada/Penguin Canada
- Alix OhlinÌýfor her novelÌý, published by House of Anansi Press
- Nancy RichlerÌýfor her novelÌý, published by HarperCollins Publishers
- Kim ThúyÌýfor her novelÌý, translated by Sheila Fischman, published by Random House Canada
- Russell WangerskyÌýfor his short story collectionÌý,Ìýpublished by Thomas Allen Publishers
The shortlist and ultimate winner were selected by a three-member jury made up of Irish author and screenwriterÌýRoddy Doyle; Canadian publisher, writer and essayistÌýAnna Porter; and American author and satiristÌýGary Shteyngart.
Of Ferguson's book, the jury wrote:
"Will Ferguson'sÌý419Ìýpoints in the direction of something entirely new: the Global Novel. It is a novel emotionally and physically at home in the poverty of Lagos and in the day-to-day of North America. It tells us the ways in which we are now bound together and reminds us of the things that will always keep us apart. It brings us the news of the world far beyond the sad, hungry faces we see on CNN and CBC and far beyond the spreadsheets of our pension plans. Ferguson is a true travel writer, his eye attuned to the last horrible detail. He is also a master at dialogue and suspense. It is tempting to putÌý419Ìýin some easy genre category, but that would only serve to deny its accomplishment and its genius."
A travel writer and novelist,ÌýFerguson is the author of several award-winning memoirs, includingÌýBeyond Belfast,ÌýHitching Rides with Buddha, and most recently the humour collectionÌýCanadian Pie. His novels includeÌýHappiness,ÌýSpanish FlyÌýandÌý419.
Nominated for both an IMPAC Dublin Award and a Commonwealth Writers Prize, and a three-time winner of the Leacock Medal, Ferguson’s work has been published in more than 20 languages around the world.
The Scotiabank Giller Prize awards $50,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and $5,000 to each of the finalists.
The Scotiabank Giller Prize is named in honour of the late literary journalist Doris Giller and was founded in 1994 by her husband Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch.