Giller glory for Sean Michaels

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

“I feel like a whale,” said an emotional Sean Michaels, pausing briefly to gather himself while accepting the 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize, “who found a whole city in his mouth.”

“Just being nominated has changed my life,” he said.

The Montreal author called it a disorienting experience to win this year’s $100,000 prize with his debut novel, Us Conductors (Random House Canada), in front of a gala black-tie crowd at the Ritz-Carleton Hotel in Toronto.  

“It’s an incredible gift,” he added. “I feel so lucky – stupidly lucky.”

Michael’s debut novel, Us Conductors, is a fictionalized account of the life of Lev Sergeyevich Termen, inventor of the theremin, an errily whirring instrument notoriously difficult to play and most commonly associated with its use in the soundtracks in several movies in the 1940s and 50s.

Michaels is the third rookie writer to win the Prize with a debut book after Vincent Lam in 2006 and Johanna Skibsrub in 2010.

The Giller Prize ceremony celebrated every shortlisted author including: David Bezmozgis, Frances Itani, Heather O’Neill and Access Copyright affiliates Miriam Toews and Padma Viswanathan. All were awarded $10,000 in recognition of their achievement. 

Each nominated work was championed by a celebrity presenter during the CBC broadcast. Read up a bit more on this year’s Giller Prize with Mark Medley’s recap in the Globe and Mail, watch a short interview with Sean Michaels just after receiving the Giller and listen to him the morning after on the CBC’s Q.