Giller Foundation launches $10K scholarship for BIPOC writing students
The Giller Foundation, which administers the Scotiabank Giller Prize, has launched a new scholarship for Black, Indigenous and racialized high school grads pursuing an education in creative writing and literature.
Each year, three students will receive the $10,000 scholarship, which is co-sponsored by Mantella Corporation.
The scholarship is set to run for three years, and organizers say it could be extended.
Giller Foundation Executive Director Elana Rabinovitch says the organizers wanted to promote diversity and create an opportunity for students who may not have access to traditional financial aid.
"We wanted to create an opportunity for high school students who may not have access to traditional financial aid and scholarships," Rabinovitch said in a press release. "We hope the scholarship will make a meaningful difference in the lives of the recipients who have a passion for writing and help them achieve their academic and career goals."
The scholarship is a new initiative for the Giller Foundation, which has administered the Giller Prize since 2003.
The $100,000 prize, which is currently sponsored by Scotiabank, is the biggest in Canadian literature.
The 2023 jury is comprised of Canadian writers Ian Williams, Sharon Bala and Brian Thomas Isaac and American author Rebecca Makkai and Indian writer Neel Mukherjee.
Books published between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2023 will be eligible for the 2023 prize. The longlist will be announced on Sept. 6, the shortlist will be revealed on Oct. 11 and the winner will be announced on Nov. 13.
The finalists for the 2023 prize will also participate in a national tour, known as Between the Pages. Events will take place in Vancouver, Ottawa, Halifax and Toronto.
2023 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Giller Prize.
Jack Rabinovitch founded the prize in honour of his late wife Doris Giller in 1994. Rabinovitch died in 2017 at the age of 87.
The 2022 winner was Calgary writer Suzette Mayr for her novel The Sleeping Car Porter.
Other past Giller Prize winners include Omar El Akkad for What Strange Paradise, Souvankham Thammavongsa for How to Pronounce Knife, Esi Edugyan for Washington Black and Half-Blood Blues, Margaret Atwood for Alias Grace, Ian Williams for Reproduction and Alice Munro for Runaway.
The Giller Prize is currently hosting a monthly virtual book club featuring the 2022 longlisted writers.
Scholarship Partners Canada, a division of Universities Canada, will administer the new scholarship on behalf of The Giller Foundation.
With files from the Canadian Press
