VIDEO: Giller contender Patrick deWitt

Six Canadian authors are in the running for the 2011 Giller Prize, with one writer set to receive the coveted trophy and $50,000 at a glitzy gala in Toronto on Nov. 8.

Founded by Jack Rabinovitch in 1994 in memory of his late, literary journalist wife Doris Giller, the annual award has become one of the countrys most prominent and lucrative fiction-writing honours.

Patrick deWitt Vancouver-born, but now living in Portland is a Giller finalist for his second novel The Sisters Brothers. A fresh take on the western genre, the book follows two cowboy assassins tracking down a gold prospector.

In the video above, deWitt talks to CBC about Patrick deWittdeveloping the characters for his fast-paced tale andhis concern that a western would never find an audience, nor be taken seriously as literature. He says he's in unfamiliar territory with so many accolades.