Michael Redhill was awarded the Scotiabank Giller Prize and its attendant C$100,000 purse for his novel Bellevue Square (Doubleday Canada) on November 20. It is the 24th year the prize, which is one of Canada's most prestigious literary honors, was awarded.
"To borrow a line from Michael Redhill's beautiful Bellevue Square, 'I do subtlety in other areas of my life,'" the jurors wrote in their statement. "So let's look past the complex literary wonders of this book, the doppelgangers and bifurcated brains and alternate selves, the explorations of family, community, mental health, and literary life. Let's stay straightforward, and tell you that beyond the mysterious elements, this novel is warm, and funny, and smart. Let's celebrate that it is, simply, a pleasure to read."
Redhill is a novelist, poet, playwright, and former publisher of the Toronto-based literary journal Brick. He is the author of the novels Consolation and Martin Sloane—the latter of which was a finalist for the 2001 Giller Prize—the short story collection Fidelity, and the poetry collection Light-Crossing, among other works.
