Elizabeth Hay, who has a history with the Giller Prize, being nominated in 2000 and serving as a juror in 2005, won the C$40,000 award this year for her novel, Late Nights on Air, published in Canadaby McClelland & Steward. It will be published in the U.S. next April by Counterpoint.
Set in the summer of 1975, Late Nights on Air tells the story of Harry Boyd, who retreats from a failed career in Toronto television to Yellowknife, where he falls in love with the on-air voice of radio personality Dido Paris. The pair join the cast of wayward characters who were drawn to work at this obscure, Northern radio station.
In accepting the prize, Hay remarked “I'm thrilled and lucky. So lucky, in fact, that I'll probably be hit by a truck tomorrow.” Hay beat out four other authors short listed for the prize, including previous winners Michael Ondaatje and M.G. Vassanji. Each of the short listed authors take home a check for C$2,500.
