Live From the Gillers 2012: And the Winner is Will Ferguson for 419

Will Ferguson has won the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel 419.

After thanking the prize, the jury, his publisher and addressing his wife in Japanese, Ferguson took a flask from the sporran on his kilt and raised “a toast to the written word.”

419 explores the global reach and consequences of an internet scam of the same name. When one man gets swindled and pays with his life, his daughter travels to Nigeria and tries to infiltrate the seedy underworld of Lagos to find her father’s killer.

The jury’s citation commended 419 as, “something entirely new: the Global Novel. It is a novel emotionally and physically at home in the poverty of Lagos and in the day-to-day of North America.”

Before 419, the Calgary-based Ferguson was best know for his humorous writing on Canadian culture and travel, with works such as Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw and How to be Canadian. He has previously won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour three times for both his novels and non-fiction writing. This was his first Giller-shortlisted book.

Click here to read our interview with Ferguson.