CanCult.ca

John Degen reflects on the Giller awards held in October and says CanLit has finally arrived.

Smiling-Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller, tells some delightfully rambly stories about international perceptions of the Canadian book trade—how the Americans, for instance, are fabulously jealous that we have such a thing as BookTelevision while their own networks have yet to create such a broadcast entity. Susanne Boyce, president of creative, content and channels for CTV, talks about the private network’s plans to once again televise the awards ceremony, and then rerun it endlessly on, yes, BookTelevision. Finally, a marketing fellow from Scotiabank uses his moment at the microphone to expertly and charmingly insert his company’s catchphrase—“You’re richer than you think”—into his congratulatory major-sponsor remarks. And it is at this exact moment that I realize, Okay, we’ve made it. Instead of writers or publishers begging bankers for support, the bankers have decided we’re worth mooching from. And when that happens, you know you’ve hit a vein.

Canadian literature has shed the last of its rags and beggary, and literary globalization has been very patient while we get over ourselves. Maybe it’s just the suddenly powerful Canadian dollar going to my head, but I think CanLit can finally drop the Can and just get out there and sell some outstanding books to the planet.