Eleanor Catton wins top Canadian literary prize

Eleanor Catton has won the prestigious Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction for her novel The Luminaries.

The announcement was made today at a ceremony in Toronto. The Governor General’s Award follows Ms Catton’s Man Booker Prize win last month in London.

Speaking from the award ceremony in Toronto, Ms Catton said she was absolutely delighted with her win.

"I am very moved that The Luminaries has been recognised by the office of the Canadian Governor General and the Canada Council for the Arts,” she says.

Ms Catton’s New Zealand publisher Fergus Barrowman, of Victoria University Press, says the Governor General’s Award is another great accolade for a novel that is proving to be as popular with readers as it is with critics and judges.

Since its release in August, The Luminaries has sat on the top of the New Zealand best-seller charts, and total New Zealand sales will top 50,000 when current back orders are filled from the next reprint.

The Luminaries was one of five finalist fiction titles for the CAD$25,000 award. Former winners include internationally acclaimed authors Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro and Michael Ondaatje. Ms Catton was born in Canada, making her eligible for the prize.

“I am excited that national literatures around the world are becoming more porous and more accepting of difference,” says Ms Catton, “and on a personal level, it's very nice to have more than one home."

Ms Catton will return to New Zealand in January 2014 and will be a guest at a number of Writers and Readers Festivals next year, including Wellington in March and Auckland in May.