Giller Prize Betting (How to - Odds - History)

Sick and tired of betting on the same old sports? It’s all good and fun to bet on who’s going to score the most points, but have you ever considered betting on the Giller Prize winner? You may not be aware of what the Giller Prize is, but no need to worry, we’re going to explain everything you need to know and how to bet on the event with bookmakers.

Many of you reading this will get your kicks out of traditional sports betting, and this betting market is something that you might find a bit odd. Books have become one of the most sought-after forms of affirmation these days – if you’re a best-selling author, you can write as many as you’d like without a care in the world. If you’re a Canadian author, winning a Giller Prize is one of the top achievements you could reach.

What is Betting on Giller Prize

This event was founded in 1994 by a Torontonian named Jack Rabinovitch. He was a local businessman who dedicated the prize to his late wife, Doris Giller (who happened to be a former literary editor at Toronto Star, a local newspaper). You might be thinking about what the prize is, and many would assume it’s something lackluster. Is it a book trophy? Maybe it’s a special book tour?

CHRIS YOUNG/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

Nope, when you win the Giller Prize, you get to take home a whopping $100,000 in cash! If that doesn’t get you at least a little interested in Giller Prize Betting, we don’t know what will. 

Betting on the Giller Prize is essentially guessing who’s going to take home all of that money. You can join in on the action and feel the highs and lows alongside your picks! 

The Giller Prize is well known in academic and literary circles in Canada. It’s a prestigious honor and the process receives a good deal of media coverage. This helps feed into the betting frenzy that happens with those interested. 

How to Bet on the Giller Prize

This can be the trickiest part, as plenty of users aren’t sure where they can find Giller Prize betting lines. The internet is your best friend for a reason, and you would think that Canadian sportsbooks like Bet365 or DraftKings are doing whatever they can to get in on this action.

If you can manage to find a local bookie that offers Giller Prize betting lines, good on you. Odds are that they are few and far between, which is why most people prefer to make this type of bet online. 

You can always check out PlayNow as they tend to house quite a few novelty lines, and seeing as the Giller Prize isn’t exactly sports, it may fall under that category to some bookmakers.

Giller Prize Betting Markets

There isn’t a lot of variety when it comes to Giller Prize betting, but that just makes things more straightforward. No need to worry about parlays or anything around here, as all you’ve got to do is pick a Champion or Finalist. 

Giller Prize Champion

As you would guess, this is where you’ll bet on who wins the entire thing. Being crowned as the Giller Prize Champion comes with plenty of perks, and if you happen to pick properly, you can be celebrating alongside them. It’s quite straightforward and the only way you’ll be considered a winner is if your bet claims the title of Champion. 

Giller Prize Finalists

You can also choose to make a more relaxed bet and try to figure out who’s going to be one of the finalists. This way, you don’t need to pick the absolute winner when all is said and done, and you still have a chance at earning a decent profit. Some of you will prefer to go “all in” with a Giller Prize Champion bet, while others prefer a more relaxed option in the Finalists.

Giller Prize Candidates to Know

Learn more about the candidates and what makes them tick. If you want to pick a winner or even a finalist, you can check out the longlist and see who’s going to be a top name. You can’t just pick a random Canadian author and assume you’ll do well, you need to pick a person who is professional and has publication! 

Giller Prize winners tend to have an “extra Canadian” background, with many of them being from a diverse set of backgrounds and representing their unique history in one way or another. Whether they’re a part of a special community or simply respect the culture, the Giller Prize does a great job of highlighting some of the most important authors from all backgrounds in Canada these days. 

Let’s go through some of the more popular candidates in the section below and get a feel for what they have to offer. If you feel like one of them is the perfect fit, just find the right betting odds and let your money do the talking. 

Longlist Candidate #1 - Antoine Wilson (Mouth to Mouth, published by Simon & Schuster Canada)

Antoine Wilson is an American-Canadian novelist that was born in Montreal, Quebec. Although he was born in Canada, he moved around quite a bit throughout his life and eventually ended up in Southern California. He attended UCLA and honed his writing skills throughout school, and is now one of the most prized authors in Canada. His recent release titled “Mouth to Mouth” is what landed him in the sights of Giller Prize judges, and if you’ve read the book yourself, you’d understand why. 

Wilson actually went through a real-life murder and that was one of the largest inspirations for this book. He said that his life is a lot like a “crime thriller”, and although he has tried to move along from his past, he can’t help but think about it while writing. Mouth to Mouth is a novel that follows Jeff, a person who went out of his way to save a man that was drowning on Santa Monica beach – he resuscitated him using mouth-to-mouth CPR. The problem is that Jeff isn’t thanked by the man for saving his life, and he wants to understand why. 

Sounds interesting enough, but will it land him the win this year for the Giller Prize?

Longlist Candidate #2 - Brian Thomas Isaac (All the Quiet Places, published by Brindle & Glass)

Yet another culturally rich writer, Brian Thomas Isaac is one of the oldest contenders on this list. If you like supporting your elders and showing them the love they deserve, placing a bet on Brian Thomas Isaac is a good way to do it. All jokes aside, this man is a great writer who has been producing high-quality novels for years. He grew up on the Okanagan reserve near Vernon, so he has first-hand experience with living amongst Indigenous people. He’s also Syilx, so we suppose the fact that he’s Indigenous himself has also helped him share his story with other Canadians. 

We love supporting local Canadian novelists and Brian Thomas Isaac is the perfect example of that. All the Quiet Places has become a very popular book in stores all over the country, with places like Chapters and Indigo being unable to keep up with its popularity. They can barely keep it in stock and usually order them in for customers; which is a great sign if you plan on betting on B Tom! 

There’s always $100,000 up for grabs, so we’re certain that the authors are much more nervous than anybody reading this. Of course, if you have a lot of money on Brian to win, we wish you nothing but luck. 

Longlist Candidate #3 - Kim Fu (Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, published by Coach House Books)

Kim Fu is a Canadian author who was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was raised by two immigrant parents that came over from Hong Kong to provide her with a better life. She knows how it feels to be the child of an immigrant first-hand and uses that experience to voice her books in a way she knows best. 

She studied creative writing at the University of British Columbia, so you already know her network runs deep when it comes to the Giller Prize. We’re not saying that she has an upper hand because of that, but we’re also not ruling it out entirely either. Kim Fu is definitely worth a bet if you enjoy any of her works, especially “Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century”, which is why she’s a top contender in the first place. 

Longlist Candidate #4 - Connor Kerr (Avenue of Champions, published by Nightwood Editions)

Connor Kerr wrote a book titled “Avenue of Champions” and it follows Daniel, a young Metis man who is looking for a way to exist in a world filled with violence and trauma. Systemic racism is a huge problem in Canada when it comes to Metis or other native ethnicities, and this book highlights that quite well. It takes place in Edmonton and takes a lot of the indigenous culture into account. You can learn more about Canadian heritage and the people that honed this land well before we got here, but also figure out if the book is worth a bet!

Kerr is clearly reaching for a more cultural approach here and that’s been successful in past Giller Prize competitions. Only time will tell if this novel is ready to stand up to the others though, as the competition is (as usual) quite stiff. Kerr is well-known in the novelist community – he’s a Metis/Ukrainian writer who was born in Saskatoon. He grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and the novel “Avenue of Champions” is a previous winner of the ReLit Award for Fiction (in 2022). 

Things to Consider When Betting on the Giller Prize

The betting market will often be the best guide to who might won the prize, critical reviews offer another angle and general noise in the industry can help

How Was the Book?

If the book was bad, people are going to make sure that the panel knows. Giller Prize winners are well-known for writing some of the greatest novels you’ll ever read as a Canadian, but books can be a matter of personal preference too. If you read their novel and didn’t like it, and that’s why you won’t bet on them, be sure to get the opinions of others beforehand.

While you may think they have no shot, if the bookmakers believe they’re the favourite, you have to take it at face value. Bookmakers tend to know much more insider information than bettors ever will, so you really have to do your research before placing a bet. 

Are They a Popular Author?

It may not feel like it, but these things can be a popularity contest at times. If there are judges present and they feel the pressure from outsiders (who love a certain author), odds are they’ll lean their way for the win. It can be tough to predict, especially in the work of best-selling books, but knowing if they are a popular author or not can determine if the bet is worth taking. 

If you’re looking at the betting lines and like one of them, but aren’t sure who the author is, odds are you’re just taking a shot in the dark. Then again, most of the gambling we do is precisely that, isn’t it? 

Have They Made the Longlist?

A longlist is created by a panel of 5 judges for the Giller Prize, and if the author you’re interested in isn’t on there, odds are you’ll be throwing money away. You need to be on the longlist to have a chance at becoming a finalist and eventually winning. If the bookmaker is still offering betting lines but the longlist has been released, you can already cut out some of the underdogs (if the bookies haven’t removed them already). 

2022 Giller Prize Nominations

Key Dates in The Giller Prize Calendar

In the first 8 months of the year there is little to get excite about, with the Longlist announcement coming usually at the start of September and the shortlist at the end with the winner usually announced in November

GIller Prize Dates 2022

• January 24, 2022 - JURY ANNOUNCEMENT

Submission deadlines

• Deadline 1: February 18, 2022
  Books published between October 1, 2021, and February 28, 2022, must be received on or before February 18, 2022.
• Deadline 2: April 14, 2022
  Books published between March 1, 2022, and April 30, 2022, must be received on or before April 14, 2022.
• Deadline 3: June 17, 2022
  Books published between May 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022, must be received on or before June 17, 2022.
• Deadline 4: August 12, 2022
  Books published between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022, must be received on or before August 12, 2022.

Long and Short Lists

• September 6, 2022 - LONGLIST ANNOUNCEMENT
• September 27, 2022 - SHORTLIST ANNOUNCEMENT

Between the Pages Tour

• Ottawa – October 12, at the National Gallery
• Vancouver – October 17, at The Playhouse
• Calgary – October 19, at Studio Bell
• Winnipeg – October 25, at The WAG
• Halifax – October 27, at Halifax Public Library
• Toronto – November 3, at Koerner Hall

Giller Prize Winner Announcement Date

• Monday, November 7, 2022, | 9.00pm ET

Giller Prize Previous Winners

Here is the full list of all previous winners of the Giller Prize by year from its inception in 1994 - Note there were joint winners in 2020