We asked five celebrated Canadian storytellers to explore home, as
inspired by the creativity of their nominated work. They responded with
an audio experience unlike any other, weaving together the lives and
shared experiences of neighbours in an apartment building in Canada.
A single rose bush in a courtyard serves as the centerpiece for a
sequence of stories of vastly different lives with unexpected
connections. A young girl dares to test her limits of safety, a woman is
pained by a tragic loss and the stigma she now carries because of it,
and a neighbour wishes for connection and understanding in a deeply
divided time. An expat yearns to be closer to her treasured family
members, and a café owner grapples with the changes that gradually eat
away at her in small but significant ways.
The five finalists of the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize were tasked with
creating an original story linked through a shared environment: a
building with windows overlooking a rose bush in a communal courtyard.
Each author was asked to write a brief section of the story and then
pass the work along to a fellow finalist, who would then complete their
section and pass the story along again.
In celebration of the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists, Audible is
illuminating the art of storytelling with a unique work, The Audlib
Project. This Audible Original is an ad-lib collaborative short story,
written collectively by all of the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize
finalists: Gil Adamson (Ridgerunner), David Bergen (Here the Dark),
Shani Mootoo (Polar Vortex), Emily St. John Mandel (The Glass
Hotel), and Souvankham Thammavongsa (How to Pronounce Knife).
The Giller Prize, founded by Jack Rabinovitch in 1994, highlights the
very best in Canadian fiction year after year. In 2005, the prize teamed
up with Scotiabank, who increased the winnings four-fold. Audible has
been the exclusive audiobook sponsor since 2017 and is committed to
supporting talented Canadian authors and creators.
