Giller Prize = guaranteed bestseller

NEWS RELEASE

BOOKNET CANADA

*************************
Giller is an instant bestseller for the winner

BookNet Canada analysis shows the Scotiabank Giller Prize can mean a leap in sales of 1,000 percent

TORONTO, November 6 - The winner to be announced Tuesday evening will go home $40,000 richer, and will know that he or she will very soon achieve that elusive status - that of a best-selling author.

BookNet Canada data shows a Giller-winning book could see a sales leap of 1,000 percent, but translated titles may test the Giller effect.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize, created in 1994 as a tribute to the late book reviewer and journalist Doris Giller by her husband Jack Rabinovitch, is by far the most important literary prize in Canada in terms of sales BookNet Canada data shows.

"The surge of media attention around the winner on November 7 just drives readers into bookstores," said Michael Tamblyn, BookNet Canada's chief executive officer.

"A sales jump of 1,000 percent compared to the week before the award is entirely possible," Tamblyn said.

"And it's just the beginning," he said. "If the publisher can meet the demand, weekly sales can double or triple again through the Christmas season."

BookNet data indicates that a Giller Prize win can books sales more than any other prize in Canada - twice as much as winning the Governor General's Award for fiction.

The data shows the Giller effect seems to work equally well for both a "big name" author (such as Alice Munro who won for Runaway in 2004) and authors previously unfamiliar to most Canadian readers, (such as David Bergen
who won for The Time In Between in 2005.)

But the inclusion of translated titles this year will be a significant test of the Giller's power to drive demand.

"All nominees have shown significant gains since the October 3 shortlist announcement," said Tamblyn.

"But the translated titles are trailing," he said.

"Hopefully Canadian readers can get past the 'Translated by:' on the cover."

"These are excellent books."

Based on sales for the week ending October 29, the nominees were ranked as follows:

1. DeNiro's Game, Rawi Hage (hardcover, House of Anansi Press)

2. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, Vincent Lam (trade paper, Doubleday Canada)

3. Home Schooling, Carol Windley (trade paper, Cormorant Books)

4. Immaculate Conception, Gaétan Soucy (trade paper, House of Anansi Press)

5. The Perfect Circle, Pascale Quiviger (trade paper, Cormorant Books)


DeNiro's Game was the number 8 Canadian fiction hardcover last week, surpassed only by Canadian fiction heavyweights like Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, and Wayne Johnston.

Bloodletting was the number 8 Canadian fiction paperback, in the company of Yann Martel, Miriam Toews, Camilla Gibb and last year's Scotiabank Giller winner, David Bergen.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize awards $40,000 annually to the author of the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English and $2,500 to each of the finalists.

This year's winner will be announced at a gala November 7.

About BookNet Canada

Created and supported by the Canadian book industry, BookNet Canada is the not-for-profit agency dedicated to technology innovation in the Canadian book industry.

It is responsible for tracking national book sales, managing industry-wide business-to-business electronic commerce, bibliographic data, and other critical components of technology infrastructure.

*************************