Shock! Disbelief! No way! The coverage around the Giller announcement (besides the usual regional papers saying, HEY! One of us!) seems to be revolving around the “newness” of the names on the list. The Post even hints that the judges are more famous than the nominees. The Giller’s been criticized in the past for being an old boys and girls club, so I guess this is some antidote. I’m sure we’ll get around to asking why all the spots went to large presses. I like seeing short stories there, though. And the Freehand book, Good to a Fault. Endicott is not only a first-time author relatively new novelist, Freehand is a first-time press. They advertised here on Bookninja last month and I daresay it was that massive, explosive, mind-melting publicity that put this book on the judges’ radar. The ad was so brain-invading that there was no standing against it. I think Peggy is probably still seeing it when she closes her eyes. (Well, it might also be an awesome book, but that’s secondary, I think.)

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CBC

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