- Canada’s Premier Prize for Fiction Names a Winner -

Toronto, ON (November 10, 2009) – Linden MacIntyre has been named the 2009 winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel The Bishop’s Man, published by Random House Canada. The announcement was made live on Bravo! and BookTelevision at a black-tie dinner and award ceremony that drew nearly 500 members of the publishing, media and arts communities. Hosted by CTV’s Seamus O’Regan, THE SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE gala premieres on CTV tomorrow – Wednesday, November 11 at 10 a.m. ET and is available on demand on CTV.ca (on-demand broadcast and complete telecast listings are available at giller.CTV.ca)

The largest annual prize for fiction in the country, the Scotiabank Giller Prize awards $50,000 to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and $5,000 to each of the finalists. A shortlist of five authors and their books was announced on October 6, 2009. Those finalists were:

Kim Echlin for her novel THE DISAPPEARED, published by Hamish Hamilton Canada

Annabel Lyon for her novel THE GOLDEN MEAN, published by Random House Canada

Linden MacIntyre for his novel THE BISHOP’S MAN, published by Random House Canada

Colin McAdam for his novel FALL, published by Hamish Hamilton Canada

Anne Michaels for her novel THE WINTER VAULT, published by McClelland & Stewart

The shortlist and ultimate winner was selected by an esteemed jury panel made up of celebrated American novelist and short story writer Russell Banks, acclaimed UK author and journalist Victoria Glendinning, and distinguished professor and award-winning author Alistair MacLeod. The shortlist was chosen from 96 books submitted for consideration by 39 publishing houses from every region of the country.

Of the winning book, the jury remarked:

“The Bishop’s Man centres on a sensitive topic – the sexual abuses perpetrated by Catholic priests on the innocent children in their care. Father Duncan, the first person narrator, has been his bishop’s dutiful enforcer, employed to check the excesses of priests and, crucially, to suppress the evidence. But as events veer out of control, he is forced into painful self-knowledge as family, community and friendship are torn apart under the strain of suspicion, obsession and guilt. A brave novel, conceived and written with impressive delicacy and understanding.”

Linden MacIntyre is the co-host of The Fifth Estate, CBC Television’s flagship investigative affairs program. He is the winner of nine Gemini Awards for broadcast journalism. MacIntyre’s most recent book, a boyhood memoir called Causeway: A Passage from Innocence won both the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction and the Evelyn Richardson Prize for Non-Fiction.

During tonight’s award ceremony, a roster of celebrity presenters – 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden, FLASHPOINT star Hugh Dillon, multi award-winning author Camilla Gibb, Twilight and Barney’s Version co-star Rachelle Lefevre, and CTV investigative and legal journalist Paula Todd – introduced video profiles of the shortlisted authors, and presented each of them with a leather bound copy of their book.

About the Scotiabank Giller Prize

Two thousand and nine marks the fifth year of the partnership between the Giller Prize and Scotiabank. On September 22, 2005, Jack Rabinovitch and Rick Waugh, President and CEO of Scotiabank announced that the bank would become the first ever co-sponsor of Canada’s richest literary award for fiction. Under the new agreement, the prize became known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize.  In 2008, the purse increased to $70,000 with $50,000 going to the winner and $5,000 to each of the finalists. In 2006, CTV became the exclusive broadcast partner for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Guess the Giller

Our annual ‘Guess the Giller’ contest ran this year between October 6 and November 10. The contest gives participants the chance to win a VIP trip for two to Toronto to attend the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala. This Grand Prize package includes airfare to and from Toronto, invitations to the Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala to see the 2010 Prize Winner, accommodations at the Four Seasons Hotel, $1,000 in spending money and an autographed set of the 2009 shortlisted books. “Guess The Giller” was launched in 2003 together with the Toronto Public Library. This year, nearly 30 public library systems, 150 bookstores, 33 post secondary schools and 1,010 Scotiabank branches from across Canada are promoting the contest to Canadian readers. For more information visit www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2007 the Bank provided more than $43 million in sponsorships and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas of healthcare, education, social services and arts and culture.  Scotiabank is on the World Wide Web at www.scotiabank.com.

About CTV

CTV, Canada’s Olympic Network, is also Canada’s largest private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV is Canada’s most-watched television network. CTV Inc. also owns radio stations across the country and owns or has interests in leading national specialty channels, featuring news, sports, factual, arts, entertainment, music, youth and fashion programming. CTV Inc. is owned by CTVglobemedia Inc., Canada’s premier multi-media company, which also owns Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. CTV is the official broadcaster of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and London 2012 Games of the Olympiad. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

For information on the prize, including past winners, jury members and short-listed authors, please visit www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca. For Scotiabank Giller Prize news, please visit: www.twitter.com/gillerprize and www.facebook.com/gillerprize

Joseph Boyden for his novel Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada

Anthony De Sa for his collection of short stories Barnacle Love, published by Doubleday Canada

Marina Endicott for her novel Good to A Fault, published by Freehand Books/Broadview Press

Rawi Hage for his novel Cockroach, published by House of Anansi Press

Mary Swan for her novel The Boys in the Trees, published by Henry Holt/HB Fenn