Comments on: 2009 Giller Prize Shadow Jury

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:40:32 +0000

Colette: As noted, the Shadow Giller jury does not promise to read all of the longlist -- given the nature of Canadian publishing (a lot of late releases) there is just no way. So we allocate the longlist books and only offer suggestions on a shortlist. Neither Alison nor I have a taste for Atwood's "speculative" fiction so we won't be reading her, but Trevor will. If he thinks it a winner, I guess I'll have to read it. As for Shadow Giller winners differing from the real jury, the first was Ann Marie Macdonald (Fall on Your Knees) when Atwood won for Alias Grace; next was Wayne Johnson (The Colony of Unrequited Dreams) when Alice Munro won for The Love of A Good Woman. Last year, we picked Anthony de Sa (Barnacle Love) but did say it was virtually a tie with the winner (Through Black Spruce). There were a couple of years in which there was no Shadow Giller, but for the most part the real jury has agreed with our choices -- since we make ours first, they agree with us, not the other way around.

By: Colette Jones

Colette Jones — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:30:18 +0000

Oh, dear. Are you, a member of they jury, allowed to skip one of the books? I thought not. Hmm.

By: Colette Jones

Colette Jones — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:57:43 +0000

Would also like to know what the shadow jury thought of the real winners over the years if you have that information. Are you allowed to talk?

By: Colette Jones

Colette Jones — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:56:42 +0000

Big day!

Just read through this again, and see that Rick P was asking for a list of shadow winners – that would be initeresting.

Looking forward to the announcement. I see some things are out of date on the official Giller web site but I expect the longlist will appear there sometime today…

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:32:12 +0000

Hi Cherine. I did review February (click here) a few months ago. I was intrigued by the premise of the book but not very impressed with the execution. Moore has a writing trait (a penchant for detailed description) which some readers love and I find annoying. She does tend to do very well with juries.

By: Cherine Badwi-Hlady

Cherine Badwi-Hlady — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:58:30 +0000

Hey Kevin – I’m a fan of the Shadow Giller. I’d say February by Lisa Moore has got to be on the shortlist this year. She’s due. I really enjoyed her short story collection, Open.

By: Isabel

Isabel — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:07:33 +0000

The Shadow Giller – fun name. It would be a great title for a novel.

Who should play you in the movie version?

will follow closely.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:40:38 +0000

Rick P: Welcome — I moved my response down here so it was more convenient for others. A full list of past Giller winners and shortlisted books can be found a their website — http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/ — thanks for the reminder because I should have included it in the original post. In fact, I’ll do an edit right now and do that as well.

By: Rick P

Rick P — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:36:02 +0000

Kevin,

I just found your blog and enjoy it very much. Is there somewhere where the previous winners of the Shadow Jury are listed?

By: Colette Jones

Colette Jones — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:50:15 +0000

Saw Joseph Boyden at EdBookFest last week, and off to see Patrick Lane this morning. Joseph Boyden was also in the audience of the David Sedaris event yesterday.