Giller Prize releases list of authors in the running

Giller Prize officials have released a list of 15 Canadian authors and their books under consideration for one of the country's top literary prizes.

"The selection of this year's books is a revelation," the jury said in a statement Monday.

"Our country and its writers, who not only populate every region but also demonstrate their differing sensibilities, help us to understand ourselves and give us clarity and hope."

This year the jury includes former governor general Adrienne Clarkson and authors Alice Munro and Michael Winter.

A shortlist will be unveiled Oct. 3 and the winner will be announced at a black tie event Nov. 7.

This marks the first time the Giller Prize has released a long list:

• David Adams Richards, The Friends of Meager Fortune
• Caroline Adderson, Pleased to Meet You
• Todd Babiak, The Garneau Block
• Randy Boyagoda, Governor of the Northern Province
• Douglas Coupland, jPod
• Alan Cumyn, The Famished Lover
• Rawi Hage, De Niro's Game
• Kenneth J. Harvey, Inside
• Wayne Johnston, The Custodian of Paradise
• Vincent Lam, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
• Annette Lapointe, Stolen
• Pascale Quiviger, The Perfect Circle
• Gatan Soucy, The Immaculate Conception
• Russell Wangersky, The Hour of Bad Decisions
• Carol Windley, Home Schooling

Businessman Jack Rabinovitch created the Giller Prize in 1994to honourhis wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, who died in 1993.

The recent sponsorshipby Scotiabank has boosted the prize money from $25,000 to $50,000, with $40,000 going to the winner and the rest split between the second and third-place authors.

Winnipeg author David Bergen won the top prize last year for his novel The Time In Between.