Elizabeth Hay wins Giller Prize
The Giller Awards were presented in a star-studded ceremony tonight in Toronto. Many famous Canadian authors were in attendance including Margaret Atwood and Alice Monroe.
Elizabeth Hay won the 2007 prize for her novel Late Nights on Air which is about a broadcaster who failed in his television career in Toronto and returns home to work in radio in Yellowknife. Parts of the novel are autobiographical as Ms. Hay began her radio career in Yellowknife.
This may be the most important literary prize in Canada but the awards presentation still couldn't escape inane jokes by the host. I guess that is the nature of award shows whether they be entertainment awards or literary awards. Like all award shows this was long. Presenters (mainly actors) described the book, showed a short interview with the author, and talked to the judges about the book, however, it still could have been presented within 30 minutes rather than an hour. Having the authors get up to autograph a poster of their book cover really was unnecessary and kind of silly. I wonder what goes through the minds of those who design award shows at times.
The Giller Prize is definitely the most important literary award in Canada. The award presentation is good publicity for Canadian literature which is so often overlooked in favour of American and British literature. Actually, there is a phenomenon in Canada known as the Giller Effect. The sales of all the nominated books undergo a very large increase. Last years winner Vincent Lam's book sales went up over 400% after he won.
Elizabeth Hay won the 2007 prize for her novel Late Nights on Air which is about a broadcaster who failed in his television career in Toronto and returns home to work in radio in Yellowknife. Parts of the novel are autobiographical as Ms. Hay began her radio career in Yellowknife.
This may be the most important literary prize in Canada but the awards presentation still couldn't escape inane jokes by the host. I guess that is the nature of award shows whether they be entertainment awards or literary awards. Like all award shows this was long. Presenters (mainly actors) described the book, showed a short interview with the author, and talked to the judges about the book, however, it still could have been presented within 30 minutes rather than an hour. Having the authors get up to autograph a poster of their book cover really was unnecessary and kind of silly. I wonder what goes through the minds of those who design award shows at times.
The Giller Prize is definitely the most important literary award in Canada. The award presentation is good publicity for Canadian literature which is so often overlooked in favour of American and British literature. Actually, there is a phenomenon in Canada known as the Giller Effect. The sales of all the nominated books undergo a very large increase. Last years winner Vincent Lam's book sales went up over 400% after he won.
