TORONTO, Oct. 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, at the Scotiabank Centre in Toronto, more than 100 media and members of the publishing industry gathered for the unveiling of the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist. CBC Radio's Gill Deacon hosted the special event, while jury members, André Alexis (2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner), Anita Rau Badami, Lynn Coady (2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner) and Richard Beard were on hand to announce the 2017 finalists and read citations for each title.

The five titles were chosen from a longlist of 12 books announced in St. John's, NL on September 18, 2017. One hundred and twelve titles were submitted by 73 publisher imprints from across the country. Three authors on the shortlist have previous nominations, while Michelle Winters and Ed O'Loughlin appear for the first time. Also represented for the first time is independent publisher Invisible Publishing based in Picton, Ontario.

The books shortlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize are:

• Rachel Cusk for her novel Transit, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Ed O'Loughlin for his novel Minds of Winter, published by House of Anansi Press
• Michael Redhill for his novel Bellevue Square, published by Doubleday Canada
• Eden Robinson for her novel Son of a Trickster, published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada
• Michelle Winters for her novel I am a Truck , published by Invisible Publishing

Rachel Cusk was previously shortlisted for her novel Outline in 2015, Michael Redhill's debut novel Martin Sloane made the 2001 shortlist, and Eden Robinson was shortlisted for her novel Monkey Beach in 2000.

The 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist books are available in accessible format for print-disabled Canadians through both the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) and the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA). NNELS (nnels.ca) and CELA (celalibrary.ca) provide a digital library of accessible format books for Canadians with perceptual disabilities, made available through Canada's public library network.

SPONSORSHIP AND EVENTS:

Audible is the exclusive audiobook sponsor of the Scotiabank Giller Prize. In September, the world's leader in Audiobooks and audio entertainment launched Audible.ca, a dedicated service for Canadians which celebrates our country's rich literary and theatrical tradition.

The winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize will be given an opportunity to explore, expand, and develop their practice during a two-week, self-directed residency in Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity's exclusive Leighton Artists' Studios.  Banff Centre is Canada's leading destination for arts training and is located in the heart of Banff National Park. (banffcentre.ca)

To celebrate this year's shortlisted authors, a series of special readings will take place in Calgary on October 12, Vancouver on October 16, Halifax on October 26, Ottawa on November 1, Toronto on November 6 and London, U.K. on November 9. 

Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists will take you inside the minds and creative lives of the writers on the 2017 shortlist.

For venue and ticket information, please visit:
www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/news-events/events-and-important-dates/#between

The 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize, hosted by Mary Walsh, will air live on CBC on Monday November 20 at 8 p.m. (12 AT/12:30 NT) and will be livestreamed at CBCBooks.ca. The gala will also air as a broadcast special on CBC Radio One at 8 p.m. (9 AT/9:30 NT), hosted by The Next Chapter's Shelagh Rogers and CBC's q books columnist Jael Richardson.

About the Prize

The Scotiabank Giller Prize, founded in 1994, highlights the very best in Canadian fiction year after year. The prize awards $100,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English, and $10,000 to each of the finalists. The award is named in honour of the late literary journalist Doris Giller by her husband Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch, who passed away in August 2017.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 24 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of over $906 billion (as at July 31, 2017), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada's trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective. In 2017, CBC/Radio-Canada will be at the heart of the celebrations and conversations with special 2017-themed multiplatform programming and events across Canada.

About Audible

Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio content, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 300,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple's iTunes Store.

About Banff Centre

Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach. www.banffcentre.ca

SOURCE Scotiabank