Esi Edugyan Wins Giller for Half-Blood Blues

The story of jazz musicians living under Nazi rule lands Esi Edugyan her first major literary award.

Esi Edugyan won the Scotiabank Giller Prize last night for her book Half-Blood Blues, the story of a black trumpeter who goes missing in while living under the Nazis. Edugyan, who's also been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, took home $50,000 and surely some sense of vindication after thinking just a year ago that her book would never be published. Edugyan beat out such other luminaries as Michael Ondaatje, who was nominated for his new novel, The Cat's Table, Patrick deWitt and his widely acclaimed western, The Sisters Brothers, and Lynn Coady, who received a nod for The Antagonist. For some reason Nelly Furtado and Canadian Idol reject Jacob Hoggard were on hand to present the nominees. Apparently CBC thought they would make the Giller ceremony hipper and have a broader appeal. Sometimes, CBC... sometimes. Anyhow, Edugyan and deWitt will find out on Nov. 15 whether they've won the Booker, one of the most prestigious prizes in the English literary world.