When Cape Breton author Linden MacIntyre was named the winner of the prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize for his book "The Bishop's Man," there was a lot of celebrating by at least two Lunenburg County residents.

 Petite Riviere residents Don Sedgwick and Shaun Bradley, who have operated their literary agency out of their home at a place known as "River Bend" for the past six and a half years, were elated by the success of their client.

 The winner of the major literary award, with a $50,000 cash prize, was announced at a gala in Toronto on November 10 by Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the award.

 Mr. Sedgwick, who is president of Transatlantic Literary Agency Inc. (TLA), said in a recent interview that the award was the culmination of a decade of hard work by Mr. MacIntyre and several others, including book editor Anne Collins.

 The award-winning book, published in Canada by Random House, was 10 years in the making, he said.

 Mr. MacIntyre is one of Canada's most distinguished broadcast journalists. The winner of nine Gemini Awards, he is the co-host of CBC's "The Fifth Estate" and has been involved in the production of documentaries and stories from all over the world.

 His first novel, "The Long Stretch" (Harper Collins Canada) was published to tremendous critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the 2000 Dartmouth Book Award and the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award.

 Mr. MacIntyre's boyhood memoir, "Causeway: A Passage from Innocence" (HarperCollins Canada) was the winner of the 2007 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction, the 2007 Evelyn Richardson Prize for Non-Fiction and was a Globe and Mail Top 100 book. 

 Mr. MacIntyre was born in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, and grew up in Port Hastings, Cape Breton. He now lives in Toronto.

 "The Bishop's Man," deals with the sensitive topic of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests.

 Mr. MacIntyre paid tribute to the people of Antigonish, Nova Scotia and the priests struggling to work within the Catholic Church today when trust has been shattered by abuse.

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 "The Bishop's Man" is about "a priest who goes into the business idealistically, who realizes that priests also have feet of clay, and it leads him to a personal crisis."

 The prize jury called "The Bishop's Man" "a brave novel, conceived and written with impressive delicacy and understanding."

 In describing his client's book, Mr. Sedgwick said he sees it as a story of great moral dilemmas.

 "I think it's a story that connects with people all over the world because, through the character, they see their own inner turmoil," he said while praising the author.

 "Linden understands the story and tells it in such a way that the reader understands the world is not behaving the way this character believes the world should behave. It's a story of leadership and failure of leadership and abuse of power. We see that all around us every day and Linden gets that."

 As Mr. MacIntyre's agents, both Mr. Sedgwick and Ms Bradley agree this award is also a major boost for them as it is the first time one of their clients has claimed this particular honour.

 Established by Toronto businessman Rabinovitch to honour the memory of his wife, the literary journalist Doris Giller, the annual prize is one of Canada's most prestigious and lucrative literary awards.

 It celebrates the best Canadian novel or book of short fiction published in the past year and results in a spike of sales for the winner.

 "This is the biggest literary award in Canada," said Ms Bradley, adding that it will translate into international opportunities for the book, opportunities that may not have previously existed.

 The book has already been published in England, but since the award ceremony she said they have been fielding literally hundreds of inquires.

 "The Giller prize is truly regarded internationally and, with this award, the book will gain international attention," she said. And without revealing too many details she pointed out that New York publishers and even Hollywood parties have shown interest in "The Bishop's Man."

 "It's been busy since the awards ceremony," Ms Bradley said, "but we're very excited for Linden. He's taking it all in stride and handling it with a great deal of grace."

 For the agency, Mr. Sedgwick said, the win gives them a higher profile because, despite their reputation as one of the best literary companies in the country, the publishing industry is still a tough business.

 However, despite the competitive nature of the business, both agree it's what they love and there is never a shortage of material to consider.

 As Ms Bradley explained, "There's always new material in the works.  Keeping things region specific, I have a wonderful new novel coming out next spring from Russell Wangersky called 'The Glass Harmonica.' 

 Also coming from Atlantic Canada is a new novel from Carol Bruneau, loosely based on the life of the sculptor, Camille Claudel; a  new novel from Halifax's Stephens Gerard Malone, author of 'Miss Elva' and 'I Still Have a Suitcase in Berlin'; a brilliant debut novel from Newfoundland's Kathleen Winter called 'Annabel,' set for 2010 release; and a big non-fiction project from our most local scribe, Marq de Villiers, which should come out late next year."

 Despite the international nature of their business, both Mr. Sedgwick and Ms Bradley agree that being based on the South Shore is not a disadvantage.

 "It works for us," said Mr. Sedgwick matter of factly. "Being a literary agent you need three things - an airport close by, courier services and high-speed internet. We found all of that right here in Petite Riviere."

posted on 11/24/09