Journalist Linden MacIntyre won the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his book, ‘The Bishop’s Man,’ taking home a prize of $50,000 (in Canadian currency).
Fans of the Canadian literary prize entered the “Guess the Giller” contest, predicting the winner for a chance to win a trip to Toronto with $1,000 in spending money. The pool of potential winners may be a small one, however. Out of all the finalists, MacIntyre’s book was ranked fourth by popular prediction.
The jury had this statement about the book: “‘The Bishop’s Man’ centres on a sensitive topic – the sexual abuses perpetrated by Catholic priests on the innocent children in their care. Father Duncan, the first person narrator, has been his bishop’s dutiful enforcer, employed to check the excesses of priests and, crucially, to suppress the evidence. But as events veer out of control, he is forced into painful self-knowledge as family, community and friendship are torn apart under the strain of suspicion, obsession and guilt. A brave novel, conceived and written with impressive delicacy and understanding.”