2009 Globe Books 100

The Golden Mean is on the 2009 Globe Books 100, the "best-reviewed, buzziest books of 2009". To see the full list, please click here.

2009 Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize

"Annabel Lyon's Aristotle is the most fully-realized historical character in contemporary fiction. The Golden Mean engenders in the reader the same helpless sensitivity to the ferocious beauty of the world that is Aristotle’s disease. In this alarmingly confident and transporting debut novel, Lyon offers us that rarest of treats: a book about philosophy, about the power of ideas, that chortles and sings like an earthy romance."

Citation from the 2009 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Jury:
Marina Endicott, Miriam Toews and R.M. Vaughan

The Golden Mean wins the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize! For more details on all the winners and nominees, please click here.

Word of the Day

The sarissa was invented by Philip of Macedon, Alexander's father. It was a pike, considerably longer than its predecessor, used in phalanx formations. The advantages were comparable to a boxer with an extra-long reach; the disadvantages included its considerable weight. A soldier needed both hands for the sarissa, entailing only a small shield hung from the neck.

Sarissa is also a girl's name, supposedly a derivative of Sarah, meaning "princess" or "lady" (see photos.)

Congratulations Kate!

Congratulations to Kate Pullinger! She's the winner of the 2009 Governor General's Award for Fiction for her novel The Mistress of Nothing.

Scenes from a Giller

Margaret Atwood (with a big smile on her face): "Aristotle was a shit, wasn't he?" (Yes, ma'am.)

Michael Ondaatje (in response to my "You're Michael Ondaatje!"): "Yes, I am."

Rex Murphy : "Well, I know what you're doing here."

Clayton Ruby (on being told Victoria Glendinning had the envelope with the winner's name in her pocket): "I know some people who could get that. Want me to make a call?"

My mom: "There's Stuart McLean!"

Giller Pics

Kim Echlin, me, and Linden MacIntyre at the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala. And then me looking somewhat crazed.




From left to right: me, Kim Echlin, Linden MacIntyre, Anne Michaels, and Colin McAdam.

Huffington Post

To read Marissa Bronfman's coverage of the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize for the Huffington Post, including interviews about the future of literature in a digital age, please click here.

Congratulations Linden!

Congratulations to Linden MacIntyre for winning the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize for The Bishop's Man. Linden and I share a wonderful editor in Anne Collins of Random House. Kudos!

Walrus Interview

"Depicting Aristotle’s tutelage of a young Alexander the Great, The Golden Mean is a gripping, thoughtful dramatization of one of the most intriguing relationships in ancient history."

To read my interview with Nav Purewal, please click here.

Indie Booksellers Pick The Golden Mean

"If indie booksellers could pick the winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, it would be Annabel Lyon stepping up to the podium Tuesday night. Of the dozen or so booksellers contacted by Q&Q this week, most said they would prefer to see Lyon’s The Golden Mean take the prize."

To read Scott MacDonald's article in Quill and Quire, please click here.

Monty Python - Argument Clinic

Q: What has this got to do with The Golden Mean?
A: The author of The Golden Mean thinks it's funny, that's what!

Toronto Star Picks The Golden Mean!

"Of all the finalists, Lyon's novel is the most accomplished, sure, compelling and arrestingly its own. If the award considers not only what has been accomplished by an author, but what is promised in that author's future, this would seem to be the most deserving candidate."

The Toronto Star's Geoff Pevere picks The Golden Mean to win the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize! To read more, please click here.

The Globe and Mail does not pick The Golden Mean to win the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize! To read John Barber, Sandra Martin, and Alison Gzowski's takes, please click here.

Michael Enright Interview

To hear my interview with The Sunday Edition's Michael Enright, on CBC Radio One, please tune in on Sunday, November 8 at 9:11AM. For more information, please click here.

To hear a replay of the interview, please click here.

CTV Giller Coverage

For a full round-up of CTV's coverage of all things Giller (including a round table discussion with all nominees and a "what will you wear?" segment on Fashion Television), please click here.

Toronto Star Interview

To read my interview with Vit Wagner for the Toronto Star, please click here.