MONTREAL, QC - September 09, 2015 /CNW/ - The Scotiabank Giller Prize today announced its longlist for this year's award at founder Jack Rabinovitch's alma mater, McGill University, in Moyse Hall Theatre.

Scotiabank Giller Prize 2014 winner, Sean Michaels, presented the longlist of authors and read an excerpt from each nominated work. The twelve titles were chosen from a field of 168 books -- a record number of books in the prize's twenty two year history -- submitted by 63 publishers, from every region of the country.

The longlist for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize is:

• André Alexis for his novel Fifteen Dogs, published by Coach House Books
• Samuel Archibald for his story collection Arvida, published by Biblioasis, translated from the French by Donald Winkler
• Michael Christie for his novel If I Fall, If I Die, published by McClelland & Stewart
• Rachel Cusk for her novel Outline, published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Patrick DeWitt for his novel Undermajordomo Minor, published by House of Anansi Press
• Marina Endicott for her novel Close to Hugh, published by Doubleday Canada
• Connie Gault for her novel A Beauty, published by McClelland & Stewart
• Alix Hawley for her novel All True Not A Lie In It, published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada
• Clifford Jackman for his novel The Winter Family, published by Random House Canada
• Heather O'Neill for her story collection Daydreams of Angels, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Anakana Schofield for her novel Martin John, published by A John Metcalf Book, an imprint of Biblioasis
• Russell Smith for his story collection Confidence, published by A John Metcalf Book, an imprint of Biblioasis

The longlist was selected by an esteemed five-member jury panel: Irish author John Boyne (Jury Chair), Canadian writers Cecil Foster, Alexander MacLeod and Alison Pick, and British author Helen Oyeyemi.

Of the longlist, the jury wrote:

"It's been a joy to immerse ourselves in a world of fiction that speaks of the past and present, of women and men, of rural and urban identities, of humans and animals, of lives lived well and lives lived badly. While the writing we've encountered has been marked by audacity and wit, eccentricity and elegance, it has also reminded us of the extraordinary treasures to be found in contemporary Canadian literature."

This year's shortlist will be announced at a press event to be held at the Art Gallery of Ontario on October 5, 2015.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize is delighted to present a series of special readings featuring this year's shortlisted authors, taking place in Vancouver on October 21, Halifax on November 2 and Torontoon 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 2015 shortlist. For venue and ticket information, please visit: www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/news-events/events-and-important-dates/

The 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize, hosted by Rick Mercer, will air on CBC Television on Tuesday, November 10 at 9 p.m. (10 AT/10:30 NT).

About the Prize
The Scotiabank Giller Prize strives to highlight 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 and was founded in 1994 by her husband, Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch. Visit us at www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca

About Scotiabank
Through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank and its employees support causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has contributed on average $50 million annually over the last five years to community causes around the world.

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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.

A space for us all is CBC/Radio-Canada's new strategy to modernize the public broadcaster and ensure that it continues to fulfill its mandate for Canadians and for future generations. Through to 2020, it will increase its investment in prime time television programming, and continue to create radio programs of the highest quality, while promoting the development of digital and mobile platforms and content.