Lederman: The Giller Prize was a rare CanLit success story. Now it might become a casualty of a foreign war

Sad (hope the authors who won previous Gillers and protested Scotiabank involvement with Israel have some second thoughts):

…Deep-pocketed institutions don’t sponsor culture to get embroiled in controversy. Who wants to pay all that money only to get booed and a PR black eye?

Who would want to sponsor the prize now? As the Giller people are finding out, what organization with that kind of money wants to risk being drawn into this drama? Which financial institution wants people scouring its records for any connection to Israel, followed by angry taunts and tweets? 

So now, the Giller wants the government to rescue it. Ha. In this economy? Ottawa is currently looking to cut spending. The federally funded Canada Council for the Arts already supports the Governor-General’s Literary Awards. And no doubt the Canada Council will also be looking for funding cuts. If Ottawa has more for CanLit, there are some struggling Canadian writers, publishers and independent bookstores that might like a word (and some cash). The arts are struggling right now, period – including the CanLit ecosystem. With fewer book reviews, and festivals under financial pressure, the Giller was a rare success story. 

Maybe the Giller reinvents itself, ditches the splashy gala, the pricey author tours. Maybe the prize money is reduced. Maybe the Giller folds, altogether.

That would be a big loss. And a very sad ending, indeed.

Source: The Giller Prize was a rare CanLit success story. Now it might become a casualty of a foreign war