David Bergen wins 2005 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Winnipeg novelist David Bergen is the winner of the 2005 Scotiabank Giller Prize, one of the country's most prestigious literary awards. The 48-year-old receives $40,000 in prize money for his book The Time in Between.

"I'll probably use it to go out for dinner with my family for starters, and then I'll use it to write my next book," Bergen told CTV Newsnet.

The Winnipeg native has written three novels, and won the Canadian Literary Award in 2000.

"I have to say I'm quite humbled by this," Bergen said on accepting the Giller Prize. "The main reason I'm humbled is because there were four other authors on this list that could easily have won the award."

The Time in Between is about a man who leaves B.C. in search of love or forgiveness. He returns to Vietnam where he fought 28 years earlier as a young, reluctant soldier. But, what he finds isn't what he remembers. His children lose touch with him, and set out to solve his disappearance.

Musician Sarah Harmer introduced the book to the audience. "The writing is subtle, and elegant, and questions the relationship between love and duty," she said.

Bergen says he solves writer's block by heading down to his local coffee shop, but when asked about plans for his next book, he wasn't giving any details.

"It's in my head," Bergen said. "I know what it's going to be, but I'm not going to talk about it, because that jinxes it."

"What is fulfilling is for all Canadians to see here in this room and at home that recognition comes after hard work, the solitude, the risk that writers take," said former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson speaking to the crowd.

The other books

Four women and one man were nominated for this year's prize.

Joan Barfoot was nominated for Luck. The Owen Sound, Ontario native is a former newspaper reporter. She has written 10 novels.

Luck tells the story of Nora, a 30-something sculptor artist whose recent works have caused a fundamentalist furor in the town where she lives. When her husband Philip suddenly dies, she is unexpectedly confronted by the prospect of living in a place she despises.

Broadcaster Vicki Gabereau spoke to the crowd about Luck. "Of the seven deadly sins, and I've experienced most of them, it's is Joan Barfoot's Luck that has filled me with envy," Gabereau said.

"Most of my envy comes from her great ability to bring forth emotion, and that can only happen if the reader completely attaches and falls for the characters."

Edeet Ravel was nominated for A Wall of Light. She was born on a Marxist kibbutz near the Israeli-Lebanese border and lived there until she was seven, when her parents returned to their hometown, Montreal. She now splits her time between Canada and Israel where she does peace work.

A Wall of Light is the last book of Ravel's Tel Aviv trilogy, and tells the story of three generations of an Israeli family.

Speaking at the ceremony, actor Sheila McCarthy described the book as a "fascinating, beautifully textured portrait of Israeli society at three stages of history seen through the eyes of three different characters."

Camilla Gibb was nominated for Sweetness in the Belly. Gibb was born in London, England and raised in Toronto. She is one of 21 writers on the "Orange Futures List", a list of young writers to watch.

Sweetness of the Belly is a love story set against the backdrop of the Ethiopian revolution.

Canada's Consul General in New York City Pamela Wallin spoke about Gibb's book at the ceremony. She became a fan of the author after reading Gibb's first novel, Mouthing the Words.

"If this is her debut, I thought, how good will it get?" Wallin said.

Lisa Moore was nominated for Alligator. The Newfoundland based author is a mother of two, and also writes a bi-weekly column for The Globe and Mail.

Alligator tells the stories of a cast of characters who knowingly and willfully place themselves in danger. From a 17-year-old who works as an eco-terrorist with a thing for drunken one-night stands and alligators, to her aunt Madeleine who ignores the signs of serious illness in order to finish one last film, the film that she hopes will propel her to stardom.

Writer Noah Richler introduced Alligator at the awards ceremony. "You maybe sceptical about the sheer amount of life it contains," Richler told the crowd. "But, I'd like to assure you that it's absolutely true to the world Lisa Moore lives in."

The jury consisted of writers Warren Cariou, Elizabeth Hay, and Richard B. Wright. The jurors had to read 94 books from 35 different publishers to come up with the list of finalists.

"That is no mean feat," Giller founder Jack Rabinovitch told the crowd. "They spent a lot of time, and they came up with this short list that exemplifies and characterizes the best in Canadian fiction."

Past Giller winners have included Michael Ondaatje, Alice Munro, and Margaret Atwood.

Rabinovitch founded the Giller Prize in 1994 in honour of his late wife Doris Giller.

Doris Giller was a prominent journalist who served as a reporter and editor at three major Canadian newspapers during her career. She died of cancer in 1993.

The award was set up to recognize excellence in Canadian fiction for both long or short stories. It originally endowed the largest annual cash prize in Canada of $25,000.

This year, Scotiabank teamed up with The Giller Prize to offer The Scotiabank Giller Prize. Under the deal, the total value of annual prizes doubled to $50,000. $40,000 goes to the winner, and $2,500 goes to each of the four finalists.

So far, the Giller Prize has endowed more than $250,000 to Canadian authors.

More than 2.5 million books nominated for the Giller Prize have been sold during the first 10 years of the award. More than $60-million in book sales have been generated because of the prize.