Anne Michaels wins the Giller amid ongoing pro Palestinian protests

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https://instagram.com/p/DCiYfDvuRwq

• Writer Anne Michaels won the Giller award and 100k, Canada's most lucrative literary prize
• Michaels was awarded for her novel Held
• The Giller foundation has been protested since last year's awards ceremony when pro-Palestian protestors crashed the awards to draw links between sponsor Scotiabank and their ties to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems
• Scotiabank divested but that wasn't enough for two jurors, who quit, as well as numerous Canadian writers who pulled their works from consideration
• Most of the 5 nominees refused to comment on the situation
• Michaels released a statement immediately after winning

tl;dr

Michaels decided to accept the Giller because she thinks she owes it to Canadian readers:

My statement on tonight's #GillerPrize pic.twitter.com/WxR6DM7kqZ
- Anne Michaels (@annemichaels_) November 19, 2024

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This has been a hot topic on the Canadian lit scene for awhile.