Still Warm From the Prize

Giller Prize-Winner Johanna Skibsrud Returns to ConU to Read

Fringe ArtsAlex Manley — Published April 5, 2011

If you were living under a rock back in November, or perhaps under a stack of term papers and library books, you might have missed out on Concordia alumna Johanna Skibsrud winning the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel The Sentimentalists.

Though she says she feels “only incredibly grateful for the experience,” the 2006 graduate of the MA creative writing program was, in the week or so following her big win, in the eye of a storm.

At the time, The Sentimentalists, which explores a woman’s relationship with her father and the way his service in the Vietnam War has affected him, was considered a relative long shot. Her win of the Giller—the most prestigious literary prize in Canada, and, with a $50,000 purse, no wonder—catapulted her into the national conversation.

It also caught her publishers flatfooted.

Gaspereau Press, with whom Skibsrud has published three books, is a small operation by anyone’s standards. Operating out of Kentville, N.S., the press focuses on creating elegant, detail-rich, handcrafted books.

It’s a noble pursuit in an age increasingly unconcerned with the physical product of things—Skibsrud calls them “passionate about every aspect of the books they produce”—but it’s also very limiting: they can only produce about 1,000 copies a week. For a while, it looked as though no one would be able to actually buy a copy of the new Giller Prize winner.

However, Skibsrud wasn’t worried and her faith paid off. After initially vowing not to, Gaspereau ended up signing a deal with Douglas & McIntyre, a Vancouver-based press, to quickly produce a large paperback run of the book, which arrived in stores two weeks after the night of the gala.

“I trusted that my book was going to be made available to every reader that wanted a copy, which was what Gaspereau had promised. In retrospect, it’s amazing how quickly everything happened,” she said. “I am also glad that in the interim there was such a lively debate about the future of book publishing—I think that a lot of important conversations took place.”

One of those conversations was about e-books.

While people were initially unable to get their hands on a physical copy of The Sentimentalists, e-book retailer Kobo had signed a deal with Gaspereau prior to the win, and saw sales of the winning title jump as it became their top seller, beating out the recently-released memoirs of George W. Bush.

The move paid off. Kobo has since signed a deal to provide wireless e-readers to the 2011 Giller jurors—as publishers are being asked to submit digital versions of their books in addition to hard copies—and it also forced the Canadian literary community to think about the future of reading. Though unlike many of her peers, Skibsrud doesn’t fear e-readers.

“What’s important to me is that writing be circulated—that it be read, discussed,” she said. “How that happens doesn’t concern me; I’m not interested in the business end of things. I see tremendous possibilities for digital media in terms of promoting and circulating literature and that’s exciting to me.”

As for the future of her literature in particular, Skibsrud admitted to having started work on a second novel, as well as a collection of short stories. It’s a devotion to writing she credits her time at Concordia with having helped her to develop.

“The Concordia program was an incredible experience for me. I received a tremendous amount of support from professors and peers. Most of all, the program allowed me the time—and the legitimacy—to devote myself to my writing. Time, I think, and hard work, is what’s most crucial to any writer’s development.”

Skibsrud will be reading from The Sentimentalists at the J.A. de Sève Cinema, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., LB-125, on April 8 at 7:30 p.m.

As well, Skibsrud will be participating in a dialogic session with Professor Norman Cornett at Galerie Samuel Lallouz, 1434 Sherbrooke St. W., on April 9 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Cost for students with valid student ID is $20.

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 29, published April 5, 2011.