Edugyan wins Canada’s Giller Prize for ‘Washington Black’
Canadian author Esi Edugyan has won Canada’s Scotiabank Giller Prize—the country’s richest literary award—for her novel Washington Black (Serpent’s Tail).
Set in 19th century Canada, Washington Black tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who works as a field slave for two English brothers who take over a Barbados sugar plantation. The jury described the novel as ‘remarkable’, praising Edugyan for writing ‘a supremely engrossing novel about friendship and love and the way identity is sometimes a far more vital act of imagination than the age in which one lives’.
Edugyan will receive a cash prize of C$100,000 (A$104,200) and a two-week residency at Canada’s Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. The other four shortlisted finalists will each receive C$10,000 (A$10,400).
Edugyan previously won the prize in 2011 for her novel Half-Blood Blues (Serpent’s Tail).
Launched in 1994, the Scotiabank Giller Prize recognises the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English. For more information, click here.
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Category: Awards International news
