Esi Edugyan Wins $50,000 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Posted on November 11, 2011

Esi Edugyan is the winner of the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel Half-Blood Blues. The winner was named at the annual black-tie dinner and award ceremony hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, which was attended more than 500 members of the publishing, media and arts communities. The ceremony was broadcast live on CBC in Canada. The Giller Prize is Canada's largest annual literary prize. The winner received $50,000. Each finalist received $5,000. Six authors made the shortlist. The five runners up are:

David Bezmozgis for his novel The Free World (HarperCollins)

Lynn Coady for her novel The Antagonist (House of Anansi Press)

Patrick deWitt for his novel The Sisters Brothers (House of Anansi Press)

Zsuzsi Gartner for her short story collection Better Living Through Plastic Explosives (Hamish Hamilton Canada)

Michael Ondaatje for his novel The Cat's Table (McClelland & Stewart)

Here are some highlights from the red carpet lounge at the ceremony in which shortlisted authors, presenters and pianist Lang Lang chatted about the gala and the nominated books: