~ Prize celebrates its 15th anniversary ~

    TORONTO, Oct. 7 /CNW/ - Today, in a morning press conference that drew
over 100 media and members of the publishing industry, the Scotiabank Giller
Prize announced its 2008 shortlist. The five finalists were selected by an
esteemed jury panel comprised of award-winning author and previous Giller
Prize winner Margaret Atwood; Liberal MP, Foreign Affairs critic and author
Bob Rae, and; renowned international journalist, professor and author Colm
Toibin. The shortlist was chosen from 95 books submitted for consideration by
38 publishing houses from every region of the country.The 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists are:

    -   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 FennSeamus O'Regan, co-anchor of CTV's Canada A.M. hosted the press
conference. Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller Prize, spoke at the event
as did Rick White, Vice-President, Brand and Marketing Programs, Scotiabank,
and Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV. Two of the
three-member jury panel of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Margaret Atwood and
Bob Rae, announced the finalists.CTV Broadcast
    -------------The Scotiabank Giller Prize is delighted to announce that CTV will
broadcast the Prize gala for the fourth consecutive year. The 2007 Scotiabank
Giller Prize broadcast on CTV and Bravo! was watched in part by nearly two
million viewers, making it the most-watched Giller ever. Canada AM's Seamus
O'Regan will reprise his role for this year's broadcast. The gala will air
live on Bravo! with subsequent repeat broadcasts on CTV, Star! and
BookTelevision. For the third year in a row, the broadcast will be available
live to the world on the CTV Video Player, and then later on demand at CTV.ca.
CTV will once again support the broadcast with a dedicated website,
giller.ctv.ca. Additional details about CTV's support of this year's broadcast
will be announced soon.Scotiabank Partnership
    ----------------------In September of 2005, Jack Rabinovitch announced that Scotiabank would
become the first ever co-sponsor of Canada's richest literary award for
fiction. Under the agreement, the prize became known as the Scotiabank Giller
Prize. This year, through Scotiabank's involvement, the prize purse was
increased to $70,000, awarding $50,000 to the author of the best Canadian
novel or short story collection published in English and $5,000 to each of the
four finalists. This year's Scotiabank Giller Prize will be announced on
November 11th at Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel at a gala black tie dinner and
awards ceremony.'Guess the Giller' Contest
    --------------------------Between October 7 - November 10 our annual "Guess the Giller" contest
gets underway, giving participants the chance to win a trip for two to a
Canadian literary festival of their choice and an autographed set of the
shortlisted books. "Guess The Giller" was launched in 2003 together with the
Toronto Public Library. This year, more than 30 public library systems, 175
bookstores, post secondary schools, literary festivals and one thousand
Scotiabank branches are promoting the contest to Canadian readers. For more
information visit www.guessthegiller.ca or scotiabankgillerprize.ca.Harbourfront International Festival of Authors
    ----------------------------------------------For the fifth year in a row, the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists will
have the honour of reading at the IFOA's Closing Night on Saturday, November
1st. For more information, please visit www.readings.org.The Giller Light
    ----------------For the sixth year in a row, Frontier College will host the Scotiabank
Giller Light Bash - the alternative Giller party of the year. This year's
event will be held in a new venue, the historic Berkeley Church. To date The
Giller Light has raised over $100,000 for Frontier College, Canada's original
literacy organization. For information and tickets, go to
http://www.frontiercollegefoundation.ca/site/gillerThe Scotiabank Giller Prize Anthology
    -------------------------------------In celebration and recognition of the 15th Anniversary of the Scotiabank
Giller Prize, we have worked with Penguin Group (Canada) to put together an
anthology of selections by past winners since 1994 as well as the 2008
shortlist. The hardbound book, to be called The Scotiabank Giller Prize: An
Anthology of Prize-Winning Canadian Fiction, will be published in November.
Special thanks to all the publishers who made this possible - Doubleday
Canada, Freehand Books, HarperCollins Canada, HB Fenn, House of Anansi Press,
Knopf Canada, McClelland & Stewart, Penguin Group (Canada)/Viking Canada and
Thomas Allen Publishers.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.CTV
    ---CTV, Canada's largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality
news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the
number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is
the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTVglobemedia Inc. is Canada's
premier multi-media company which owns CTV Inc. and The Globe and Mail. CTV
Inc. also owns radio stations across the country, and leading national
specialty channels. Other CTVglobemedia investments include an interest in
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and in Dome Productions, a North American
leader in the provision of mobile high definition production facilities. More
information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

    The Scotiabank Giller Prize awards $50,000 annually to the author of the
best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and $5,000
to each of the finalists. The Scotiabank Giller Prize is named in honour of
the late literary journalist Doris Giller and was founded in 1994 by her
husband Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch.
    Please visit us at www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca