Toronto author Anne Michaels wins Giller Prize for novel ‘Held’

TORONTO (AP) — Poet-novelist Anne Michaels has won the Giller Prize for her novel “Held,” a multi-generational examination of war and trauma. The 100,000 Canadian dollar ($71,000) Giller prize honors the best in Canadian fiction. Past winners have included Margaret Atwood, Mordecai Richler and Alice Munro. Michaels appealed for “unity” among “all the arts” during her speech at the Toronto ceremony, held under the shadow of anti-war protests by other members of the literary community. Outside the Park Hyatt hotel, protesters renewed demands for the Giller Foundation to cut ties with several corporate sponsors, including Scotiabank over its stake in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.