André Alexis Wins the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize

November 11, 2015

André Alexis has been named the winner of the $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize for Fifteen Dogs, published by Coach House Books. The announcement was made at a black-tie dinner and award ceremony hosted by Rick Mercer, attended by nearly 500 members of the publishing, media and arts communities. CBC Television is the broadcaster for the gala.

This year the prize celebrates its 22nd anniversary.

A shortlist of five authors and their books was announced on October 5, 2015. Those finalists are:

  • 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
  • Rachel Cusk for her novel Outline, published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
  • 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

The shortlist and ultimate winner were selected by the esteemed five-member jury panel made up of Irish author John Boyne (Jury Chair), Canadian writers Cecil Foster, Alexander MacLeod and Alison Pick, and British author Helen Oyeyemi.

Of the winning book, the jury wrote:

"What does it mean to be alive? To think, to feel, to love and to envy? André Alexis explores all of this and more in the extraordinary Fifteen Dogs, an insightful and philosophical meditation on the nature of consciousness. It’s a novel filled with balancing acts: humour juxtaposed with savagery, solitude with the desperate need to be part of a pack, perceptive prose interspersed with playful poetry. A wonderful and original piece of writing that challenges the reader to examine their own existence and recall the age old question, what’s the meaning of life?"

André Alexis was born in Trinidad and grew up in Canada. His debut novel, Childhood, won the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Trillium Book Award, and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize and the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. His other previous books include Asylum, Beauty and Sadness, Ingrid & the Wolf and, most recently, Pastoral, which was also nominated for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was named a Globe and Mail Top 100 book of 2014. In addition to the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Fifteen Dogs has also been awarded the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Alexis lives in Toronto.

As part of the award, The Banff Centre will provide the winner with a two-week residency in its exclusive Leighton Artists’ Colony in Banff, Alberta. The Banff Centre is a leading Canadian arts and cultural organization providing multidisciplinary programming and advancing the practice of artists and leaders.

During tonight's award ceremony, a roster of celebrity presenters – including The National Ballet's Guillaume Côté, Polaris Prize-winning Buffy Sainte-Marie, actor Torri Higginson and the Toronto International Film Festival's very own Cameron Bailey - introduced the shortlisted authors and presented video profiles highlighting their nominated books.

Listen to CBC Radio One's As It Happens tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. (7 NT) for an interview with André Alexis and relive the gala on www.cbc.ca/books.

Ask André Alexis your questions on Twitter about his win during a live twitter chat hosted by @GillerPrize on November 12 at 2 p.m. ET using the hashtag #GillerWinner.

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.

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.

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and parts of Asia. We are dedicated to helping our 21 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 87,000 employees and assets of $863 billion (as at July 31, 2015), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using Marketwired. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankNews.

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.

About The Banff Centre

The Banff Centre’s mission is inspiring creativity. The Banff Centre is Canada's arts and cultural organization providing multidisciplinary programming and advancing the practice of artists and leaders. It is also a centre of excellence in convening conferences and meetings.

About Cineplex Entertainment

Cineplex Inc. ("Cineplex") is one of Canada's leading entertainment companies and operates one of the most modern and fully digitized motion picture theatre circuits in the world. A top-tier Canadian brand, Cineplex operates numerous businesses including theatrical exhibition, food services, gaming, alternative programming (Front Row Centre Events), Cineplex Media, Cineplex Digital Solutions, Cineplex Digital Networks, and the online sale of home entertainment content through CineplexStore.com and on apps embedded in various electronic devices.  Cineplex is also a joint venture partner in SCENE – Canada’s largest entertainment loyalty program.

Cineplex is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and operates 162 theatres with 1,652 screens from coast to coast, serving approximately 74 million guests annually through the following theatre brands: Cineplex Odeon, SilverCity, Galaxy Cinemas, Colossus, Coliseum, Scotiabank Theatres, Cineplex Cinemas, Cineplex VIP Cinemas, Famous Players and Cinema City.  Cineplex also owns and operates the UltraAVX, Poptopia, and Outtakes brands. Cineplex trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CGX.

Media Inquiries

Elana Rabinovitch
Executive Director
Scotiabank Giller Prize
elana@scotiabankgillerprize.ca
416-275-5418

Kristin McCleister
Public, Corporate and Government Affairs
Scotiabank
Kristin.mccleister@scotiabank.com
416-933-0646

Nicola Makoway
CBC Publicity
Nicola.Makoway@cbc.ca
416-205-7673

Jenny Spurr
Media and Communications Officer
The Banff Centre
Jenny_Spurr@banffcentre.ca
403-763-6719

Sarah Van Lange
Director of Communications
Cineplex Entertainment
Sarah.VanLange@Cineplex.com
647-287-9582

Download the press release in PDF format here.

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Note: As of press time, all book links were functional. In the event that they are not working properly, please contact the publisher.