{"id":3535,"date":"2026-10-22T00:17:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T16:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/?p=3535"},"modified":"2026-10-22T00:17:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T16:17:26","slug":"how-are-giller-medal-winners-selected-4c4f-6d9349","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/22\/how-are-giller-medal-winners-selected-4c4f-6d9349\/","title":{"rendered":"How are Giller medal winners selected?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever flipped through a Canadian literary magazine or stood in a bookstore, you\u2019ve probably seen the Giller Medal on a book cover. It\u2019s that little shiny thing that screams \u201cthis is a great read\u201d to readers\u2014and if you\u2019ve ever wondered how it ends up on a winning novel, I\u2019ve got you. I\u2019m a medal supplier, so I don\u2019t just sell the hardware to that prize; I\u2019ve talked to everyone on the other side of the process too, and trust me, it\u2019s not just a popularity contest. It\u2019s way more specific (and way more interesting) than that. Medal<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s get the basics out. The Giller Prize is for Canadian fiction, right? Founded back in 1994 by businesswoman Jack Rabinovitch in honor of his late wife, Doris Giller, it\u2019s one of the biggest literary awards here. But here\u2019s the part most people don\u2019t know: the process of picking the winner isn\u2019t just judges thumbing through books and going \u201ceh, this is nice.\u201d It\u2019s step-by-step, with way more people involved than you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n

It starts with the longlist. Every year, the Giller team sends out a call to Canadian publishers\u2014any publisher, big or small\u2014to submit every English-language fiction book they published that year. No pre-selections, no bias against small presses. Last year, I remember our team got a note from a small indie in Halifax saying they submitted a debut novel from a local writer, and it ended up making the longlist. That\u2019s the point of the longlist: to cast a wide net. I actually supply medals for the longlist, too\u2014they\u2019re smaller, silver-plated, way less fancy than the winner\u2019s medal, but they\u2019re a big deal for writers who\u2019ve worked their butts off and never gotten this kind of recognition. I make sure those longlist medals get to publishers fast, because once the longlist is announced, writers want to hold that thing and feel proud, even if they don\u2019t take home the big one.<\/p>\n

After the longlist drops, there\u2019s a panel of judges. Now, these judges are serious about this\u2014they\u2019re writers, professors, book critics, people who live and breathe fiction. Every year, it\u2019s a new group, too. One year, I talked to a judge who was a poet, and she said she approached the Giller process like a poem: every word matters, every book needs to be judged on its own. They don\u2019t just read once, either. They spend months reading every single book on the longlist, and then they whittle that down to the shortlist\u2014usually 5 books, sometimes 6 if there\u2019s a tie. The shortlist is the next big milestone, and the medals for that are a bit nicer\u2014gold-plated, a touch bigger than the longlist ones. I always make sure those get delivered to the shortlist a couple days before the announcement, because those writers are on edge, and getting that medal early lets them show it off to their families before the cameras start rolling.<\/p>\n

Then comes the part that everyone waits for: the winner. That\u2019s when the judges get together for a final round, usually over a weekend, locked in a room (or on a Zoom call, these days) to argue, debate, and basically fight it out for their favorite book. I\u2019ve heard stories from past judges\u2014some say they cried while reading the finalists, others say they stayed up till 3 a.m. debating if a book\u2019s ending was \u201cbold genius\u201d or \u201ccheap cop-out.\u201d At the end of that, they pick one winner, and that\u2019s when the big medal comes into play. The Giller\u2019s winner medal is solid silver, engraved with the Giller name, and it\u2019s the one writers hold up at the press conference, the one that ends up on all the book covers for the next year. I make those with extra care\u2014for the winner, it\u2019s not just a medal, it\u2019s a career-making thing. I once had a writer who won call me right after, just to say how much it meant that the medal felt heavy, felt special, because when you\u2019ve worked on a book for 10 years, you want a prize that matches that effort.<\/p>\n

Wait, but here\u2019s the thing that a lot of people don\u2019t talk about: the Giller\u2019s process is actually designed to be fair. No judges are allowed to have ties to any of the books or writers\u2014they can\u2019t be friends with an author, can\u2019t have written a review of one of the books before the prize. No publishers can lobby the judges, either. I\u2019ve seen the Giller team shut down a publisher once that tried to send a bunch of books with notes, and they told them straight: just the books, nothing else. That keeps it from being about who has the biggest marketing budget, which is huge because so many of the best Canadian writers are from small presses with way less money.<\/p>\n

And as a medal supplier, I\u2019m not just making the prizes\u2014I\u2019m part of that \u201creward\u201d piece of the process. When a writer gets a longlist medal, it\u2019s proof their work got noticed. When they get a shortlist one, it\u2019s proof they\u2019re among the best of the year. When they get the winner\u2019s, it\u2019s proof they took that top spot. I\u2019ve watched a lot of writers go from debut unknowns to Giller-winning authors, and their medals? They\u2019re not just metal. They\u2019re a marker of all the late nights, all the rewrites, all the times someone told them their book wouldn\u2019t sell. That\u2019s why I take my job seriously\u2014this isn\u2019t just stamping a name on a piece of metal. It\u2019s giving a writer something to hold, something that says their work matters.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s break it down even more, because the process isn\u2019t just \u201ccall in the books, pick a winner.\u201d There\u2019s little steps that make it work. For example, the judges don\u2019t all read the same books at the same pace. Some judges read one book a day, others take their time, so there\u2019s a lot of group discussions where someone will say, \u201cWait, did you catch the way that character\u2019s mom\u2019s absence ties into the plot?\u201d and another will go, \u201cNo, I totally missed that\u2014let me go back and check.\u201d That\u2019s the part I love hearing about, because it shows it\u2019s not about one person\u2019s taste. It\u2019s about a group of people who love books coming together to find the ones that stick with you long after you turn the last page.<\/p>\n

Another thing: the Giller doesn\u2019t just pick the \u201cmost popular\u201d book. I remember a few years back, a literary critic won the prize, and her book was super dark, super specific, nothing like the big blockbuster that people were talking about. The judges said they picked it because it made them think, made them feel uncomfortable in the best way. That\u2019s the whole point of a literary prize, right? Not just what\u2019s easy to sell, but what\u2019s important. That\u2019s why I love being part of this\u2014because I get to make a piece of metal that celebrates books that matter, not just books that make the most money.<\/p>\n

Now, if you\u2019re a writer who\u2019s ever wondered if your book has a shot, here\u2019s the secret: it\u2019s all about the story. The Giller judges have said a hundred times that they don\u2019t care if you\u2019re a debut author or a seasoned pro, if you\u2019re with a tiny press or a big one. They just care if your book is good\u2014if it has heart, if it makes you see something you didn\u2019t before. I\u2019ve seen debut writers beat out famous ones, I\u2019ve seen small press books beat out big name authors. That\u2019s what makes the Giller special.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As for me, I\u2019ve been supplying Giller medals for 7 years now. I love it because it\u2019s not just a job. Every time I ship a medal, I know it\u2019s going to a writer who\u2019s worked their tail off. I make sure each medal is polished, engraved right, looks like something worth winning. I also make longlist and shortlist medals, because those are the unsung heroes of the Giller process\u2014so many writers don\u2019t make it to the shortlist, but they still deserve that recognition, that little shiny thing that says \u201cyou\u2019re one of the best in Canada this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottle Opener<\/a> If you\u2019re a publisher, a literary event organizer, or someone who needs medals for a literary prize, an event, or even just a special project, I\u2019m your guy. I don\u2019t just make medals\u2014 I work with you to get the right size, the right finish, the right timing. Whether you need 10 longlist medals or one big winner\u2019s medal, I can handle it. No crazy hoops, no hidden fees, just good quality metal and good service. Shoot me a message, and we can chat about what you need.<\/p>\n

\n

References<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Giller Prize Official Website. (n.d.). "How the Giller Prize Works."<\/li>\n
  2. Rabinovitch, J. (2019). A Legacy of Stories: The Early Days of the Giller Prize<\/em>. Canadian Literary Journal.<\/li>\n
  3. Interviews with Past Giller Prize Judges, 2017\u20132023.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Yan Hui Gift Craft Co., Limited<\/a>
    As one of the most professional medal manufacturers and suppliers in China, we’re featured by quality products and good price. Please rest assured to wholesale bulk durable medal for sale here from our factory. We also accept customized orders.
    Address: Dian Hou Zheng Number 8, Kunyang Town, Pingyang County , Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China
    E-mail: yanhuicraft@vip.126.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.yanhuigiftcraft.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you\u2019ve ever flipped through a Canadian literary magazine or stood in a bookstore, you\u2019ve probably … How are Giller medal winners selected?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":963,"featured_media":3535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3498],"class_list":["post-3535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-medal-42cf-6e4621"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bluewhalesng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}