The Sentimentalists (novel)

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The Sentimentalists
The Sentimentalists (novel).jpg
First edition
Author Johanna Skibsrud
Genre novel
Publisher Gaspereau Press,
Douglas & McIntyre
W.W. Norton & Co.
Publication date
2010,
1st American ed. in 2011
Pages216 pages
Awards2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize
ISBN 9781553658955
OCLC 687886506

The Sentimentalists is a novel by Canadian writer Johanna Skibsrud that was the winner of the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize. [1] [2]

Contents

Synopsis

The novel's protagonist is an unnamed young woman, who seeks to understand her relationship with her father better by investigating his experience in the Vietnam War. [3]

Publishing delays

The book had been rejected by several larger publishing houses before being picked up by Gaspereau Press, a boutique firm based in Nova Scotia which is one of Canada's few book publishing companies that still binds and prints its own books, and was published in an initial print run of just 800 copies. [4] However, the novel's Giller Prize win pushed sales demand for the novel well beyond the 1,000 copies per week that Gaspereau could produce on its own, with the result that the book was virtually unavailable in stores. Chapters-Indigo, Canada's primary bookstore chain, did not have a single copy of the book in stock anywhere in Canada in the entire week of the Giller announcement. [4] However, the paper book's unavailability resulted in a significant increase in ebook sales; the ebook version of the novel quickly became the top-selling title for Kobo devices, outselling even George W. Bush's memoir Decision Points . [5]

Gaspereau subsequently announced that it had sold the novel's trade paperback rights to Douglas & McIntyre, while Gaspereau would continue to print a smaller run of the novel's original edition for book collectors. [6] The Douglas & McIntyre edition retailed for $19.95, while the original Gaspereau edition sold for $27.95. [7] The Douglas & McIntyre edition of the novel arrived in stores on November 25, 2010, fifteen days after the novel's Giller Prize victory was announced. [8]

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References

  1. "Scotiabank Giller Prize". Scotiabank Giller Prize , November 9, 2010.
  2. "The Sentimentalists wins Giller Prize". BBC Online . 10 November 2010. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010.
  3. "Review: Johanna Skibsrud's protagonist in The Sentimentalists finds that some mysteries are unsolvable". The Gazette , November 13, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Author's angst grows over unavailability of Giller winner". The Globe and Mail , November 11, 2010.
  5. "Scarcity of Giller-winning ‘Sentimentalists’ a boon to eBook sales". Toronto Star , November 12, 2010.
  6. "Deal clears way for Skibsrud’s Giller novel to ship this week". Toronto Star , November 15, 2010.
  7. "Owners return to hand publishing 'The Sentimentalists'". CTV News, November 18, 2010.
  8. "Giller winner hits stores today". Toronto Star , November 25, 2010.