Twelve authors have made the longlist for the 2024 Giller Prize, an annual $100,000 award celebrating excellence in Canadian fiction.
This year’s longlist includes nine novels and three short story collections, with themes ranging from South Asian diaspora experiences to queer historical romance and contemporary Métis narratives. Four debut authors are featured: Éric Chacour for What I Know About You, translated by Pablo Strauss; Corinna Chong for Bad Land; Loghan Paylor for The Cure for Drowning; and Deepa Rajagopalan for Peacocks of Instagram.
Several previously recognized writers also make a return. Caroline Adderson, longlisted for A Way to Be Happy, was previously longlisted in 2006. Conor Kerr, longlisted for Prairie Edge, was recognized in 2022 for Avenue of Champions. Claire Messud (This Strange Eventful History) was on the 2013 longlist, while Anne Michaels (Held) and Jane Urquhart (In Winter I Get Up at Night) have both been shortlisted or longlisted multiple times in the past. katherena vermette is longlisted for real ones, having appeared on the 2021 longlist.
Additionally, three authors have connections to the CBC Literary Prizes. Adderson is a three-time winner, Chong won the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize, and Kerr was longlisted for the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize.
The full 2024 longlist includes:
- A Way to Be Happy by Caroline Adderson
- Death by a Thousand Cuts by Shashi Bhat
- What I Know About You by Éric Chacour, translated by Pablo Strauss
- Bad Land by Corinna Chong
- Curiosities by Anne Fleming
- Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr
- This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
- Held by Anne Michaels
- The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor
- Peacocks of Instagram by Deepa Rajagopalan
- In Winter I Get Up at Night by Jane Urquhart
- real ones by katherena vermette
The longlist was selected from over 100 books submitted by Canadian publishers.
In July, over 20 authors withdrew their books from the competition to protest Scotiabank’s investment in Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense contractor. A total of 45 authors have signed a letter urging the Giller Foundation to press Scotiabank to divest. Scotiabank has since reduced its holdings in Elbit Systems by over two-thirds, according to the Canadian Press, but remains the prize’s lead sponsor. Scotiabank’s name has been removed from the prize title, though the bank continues to sponsor the foundation.
The jury for the 2024 Giller Prize is chaired by author and producer Noah Richler, with writer Kevin Chong and singer-songwriter Molly Johnson. International jurors Dinaw Mengestu and Megha Majumdar stepped down earlier this year.
The shortlist will be announced on October 9, with the winner revealed on November 18. The award ceremony will be broadcast live on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, and CBC’s YouTube channel.
Last year’s winner, Sarah Bernstein, signed the protest letter, as did 2021 winner Omar El Akkad. Other notable past winners include Suzette Mayr, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Esi Edugyan, Michael Redhill, and Alice Munro.
The Giller Prize was established in 1994 by businessman Jack Rabinovitch in memory of his wife, literary journalist Doris Giller. Rabinovitch passed away in 2017 at age 87.
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