TORONTO - The 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize celebrates its 15th year tonight at a ceremony that will shine a light on a new wave of Canadian writers.
Among the finalists is Montreal writer Rawi Hage, whose sophomore novel, "Cockroach," is becoming the toast of the fall awards season.
In addition to the Giller, the book has been shortlisted for a Writers' Trust Award as well as for the Governor General's Literary Award.
Other novelists in the running for this year's Giller are New Orleans resident Joseph Boyden for "Through Black Spruce," Marina Endicott of Cochrane, Alta., for "Good to a Fault" and Guelph, Ont., resident Mary Swan for "The Boys in the Trees." The other shortlisted author is Toronto writer Anthony De Sa, who is nominated for his book of short stories, "Barnacle Love."
The winner gets $50,000, while the runners-up receive $5,000 apiece.
The ceremony, held after a lavish dinner at a posh downtown hotel, will be broadcast live on Bravo and online at giller.ctv.ca. CTV will air the show on Wednesday.
Created by businessman Jack Rabinovitch in memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, the prize has become the biggest Canadian book bash of the year.
The shortlisted books usually receive a boost in sales and the authors get some rare media exposure.
This year's judging panel is made up of authors Margaret Atwood and Colm Toibin and politician Bob Rae.
They read 95 books submitted from 38 publishing houses to eventually settle on a short list of five.
Past winners of the Giller Prize include Atwood, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and the late Mordecai Richler.
