Scotiabank Giller Prize

The Scotiabank Giller Prize is Canada's most lucrative literary prize.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize is Canada's most lucrative literary prize. The monetary prize is awarded every November to an English Canadian novel or short-story collection. In 2014, it was announced that prizing would increase to $140,000, with $100,000 going to the winner and $10,000 to each shortlist finalist.

The annual award was established in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch, in honour of his late wife, journalist Doris Giller. Scotiabank became a co-sponsor of the award in 2005. Eligible books are nominated by publishers and then short-listed and ranked by a celebrity panel of prestigious judges. Past juries have been composed of such well-known Canadian writers as Margaret Atwood, Alistair MacLeod, David Adams Richards, and M. G. Vassanji, who himself won the first Giller Prize in 1994. Other past winners include Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, and Rohinton Mistry. Public interest in the award has been heightened by the "Guess the Scotiabank Giller Prize" contest, promoted through public libraries across the country. The glamour associated with the award is further enhanced by its presentation at a lavish dinner and star-studded gala, broadcast on television.