TORONTO, Oct. 8, 2013 /CNW/ - Today in a morning press event at the Soho House in downtown Toronto, more than 100 media and members of the publishing industry gathered to hear the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury announce its shortlist.

The five finalists were chosen by the award-winning, three-member jury empanelled for the 2013 prize: Canadian writers Margaret Atwood  and Esi Edugyan; and American author Jonathan Lethem.

This is the 20^th year of the prize.

The shortlist was selected from a longlist of 13 books. One hundred and forty seven titles were submitted by 61 publishing houses from across the country.

The jury members were present to announce the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist. The finalists are:

• Dennis Bock for his novel Going Home Again, a Phyllis Bruce Book published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 
• Lynn Coady for her short story collection Hellgoing, published by House of Anansi Press.
• Craig Davidson for his novel Cataract City, published by Doubleday Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited.
• Lisa Moore for her novel Caught, published by House of Anansi Press.
• Dan Vyleta for his novel The Crooked Maid, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Jian Ghomeshi from CBC Radio One's Q hosted this morning's press conference.  Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller Prize, spoke at the event as did Jacqueline Ryan, Vice-President Sponsorship & Partnership Programs at Scotiabank.

The winner will be announced at a gala ceremony to honour the finalists on Tuesday, November 5^th during a live broadcast on CBC Television at 9:00 p.m. (9:30 NT), hosted by Jian Ghomeshi.

On Monday, November 4, 2013, we are delighted to present a very special event, taking place at Koerner Hall. Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists will take you inside the minds and creative lives of the five writers on the 2013 shortlist.  CBC Radio's Carol Off will gather the finalists for an insightful and lively discussion of their work, characters and themes. Special guests will present readings from the shortlisted books and beautiful music will round out an unforgettable evening of Canadian arts and culture. To purchase tickets, please visit Koerner Hall.

The Between the Pages event will also be available simultaneously via livestream on the Scotiabank Giller Prize website and Facebook page.

About the Prize

The Scotiabank Giller Prize strives to highlight the very best in Canadian fiction year after year. The 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 award is named in honour of the late literary journalist Doris Giller and was founded in 1994 by her husband, Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank Bright Future.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $47 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages, plus seven languages for international audiences. In 2012, CBC/Radio-Canada has been serving Canadians for 76 years, being at the centre of the democratic, social and cultural life of Canada.

About CBC Books

CBC Books features all of CBC's rich literary content across all platforms - audio, video and digital. This one-stop destination for book lovers includes in-depth information on books, exclusive interviews with authors, the latest news stories from the publishing world, bestseller lists, discussions, and blogs. It is an online meeting place where literary enthusiasts can find the books they want to read, connect with other Canadians who love to read as much as they do, and keep up on all of CBC's major literary events and programs such as Canada Reads, the Massey Lectures and Canada Writes.

The Scotiabank Giller Light Bash

For the twelfth year in a row, Frontier College will host the Scotiabank Giller Light Bash on the same evening as the Scotiabank Giller Prize. This year Scotiabank Giller Light events will be held in six cities - Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary & Vancouver. To date the Scotiabank Giller Light has raised over $400,000 for Frontier College, Canada's original literacy organization. For information and tickets, go to www.gillerlightbash.ca and twitter.com/gillerlight.

Please visit us at:
www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca
www.facebook.com/gillerprize
www.twitter.com/gillerprize

SOURCE Scotiabank - Sponsorships & Donations