Giller winner to be revealed Monday night

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This article was published 10/11/2023 (753 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of five fiction writers will become $100,000 richer when the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize is awarded at a Toronto ceremony on Monday night.

The 30th awarding of the Giller Prize saw 145 submissions whittled down to a dozen longlisted titles, including Winnipeg’s David Bergen for his novel Away From the Dead. The five finalists, announced on Oct. 11, are Sarah Bernstein’s Study for Obedience, Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood, Kevin Chong’s The Double Life of Benson Yu, Dionne Irving’s The Islands and C.S. Richardson’s All the Colour in the World.

The Giller Prize ceremony will be hosted by Rick Mercer and will be available to watch on CBC and the CBC Gem streaming service at 9 p.m. local time. Each of the shortlisted authors who don’t claim the top prize will receive $10,000.

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The Manitoba Writers’ Guild’s third launch of the fall books season features the second book by retired principal and Grosse Isle resident Bill Massey.

Massey’s Of Poets and Pioneers: A Story About My Grandfather and Me melds poetry and prose written by both Massey and his grandfather, to tell the story of the grandfather’s life — his childhood, time living in England, his move to Manitoba and more. The story then shifts to Massey’s father’s life in the Depression and Second World War before concluding with Massey’s own experiences.

Massey launches the book Sunday at Artspace (100 Arthur St.) at 2 p.m. For more information and to reserve a spot, see wfp.to/63J.

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University of British Columbia law professor Benjamin Perrin visits McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to launch his new book Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial.

In his book, Perrin tackles many of the questions at the heart of what many see as a failing criminal justice system, the directions in which the system could be taken and the potential fixes that could be made.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

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One of the world’s fastest men will hit the brakes on Wednesday night to launch a new memoir at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion sprinter Donovan Bailey stops by the bookstore at 7 p.m. to discuss his new book Undisputed: A Champion’s Life, with 103.1 Virgin Radio host Ace Burpee.

Bailey’s book covers his early years in Jamaica, his coming to Canada with his family at age 12, his first forays into sport, his time at the pinnacle of sprinting and life after the track.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

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A double bill of Canadian entertainment royalty that sold out in less than a day takes place Thursday at 7 p.m. at Knox United Church (400 Edmonton St.).

One half of the powerhouse duo is singer-songwriter and author Jann Arden, who is launching her debut novel (and third book) The Bittlemores, the story of a teenaged girl with a missing mother, a crotchety pair of grandparents, a trio of scheming cows and a big-city constable trying to unravel the whole mystery.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

Joining Arden will be beloved broadcaster and author Rick Mercer, who follows up his most recent book, Talking to Canadians (which won the 2021 Stephen Leacock Memorial medal for Humour), with The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued…

The Road Years picks up where Talking to Canadians left off —with Mercer set to make the jump from previous shows This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Made in Canada to the Rick Mercer Report.

If you missed out on tickets but are looking for that perfect gift, expect McNally Robinson to have some signed copies of both books in the store following the event.

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B.C.-based Saulteaux, Cree and Métis author Brandi Bird launches their debut poetry collection The All + Flesh at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location on Friday at 7 p.m., and will be joined by Winnipeg poet Hannah Green, whose debut Xanax Cowboy (also published by House of Anansi) won this year’s Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry on Nov. 8.

Bird’s collection explores notions of kinship, health, language, place and memory within the English language, pulling them apart “in the hope of moving toward decolonial future(s).”

books@winnipegfreepress.com