Giller Prize finalists reveal writer’s block cures, big-screen visions

TORONTO – Dennis Bock thinks Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater “would do an amazing job” on a film adaptation of his novel. Lisa Moore would look in her own home for the star of a big-screen version of her book. And both Craig Davidson and Dan Vyleta both turn to a loved one for feedback on their writing.

Those are among the revelations four of the five finalists for this year’s $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize made in email interviews with The Canadian Press ahead of Tuesday’s black-tie bash in Toronto.

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Oakville, Ont.-raised Dennis Bock, 49, who now lives in Toronto, is a finalist for “Going Home Again” (HarperCollins Canada):

Nominated book in one sentence:

“Going Home Again” follows the life of a man who returns to Toronto after living in Madrid for close to 20 years only to find an ex-girlfriend who’s changed beyond recognition and a difficult brother who hasn’t changed a bit.

Best book you’ve read in the past year?

“The Book of Illusions” by Paul Auster.

Overcoming writer’s block:

I read. Nothing cures the writing blues faster than an old favourite novel.

If your story was made into a film, who would you want to play the lead characters and which director would you pick?

I loved Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. I think Linklater and Hawke would do an amazing job with the themes of international and emotional displacement that you find in “Going Home Again.”

Besides your editor, is there one person you always run your novels by?

I have a friend who’s been reading my stuff since our university days. We lived together. We’d leave poems and stories on each other’s desk. Check this out! Read this! He’s a great writer and editor. Asks a lot of tough questions.

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Toronto native Craig Davidson, 38, is on the short list with “Cataract City” (Doubleday Canada):

Nominated book in one sentence:

Two boys grow into men and struggle to cope with the ways they’ve changed, and what that means to their friendship.

Best book you’ve read in the past year?

“Enter Night,” by Michael Rowe

Overcoming writer’s block:

I’ve found that the prospect of complete financial destitution has always kept the writing gears spinning pretty regular-like.

If your story was made into a film, who would you want to play the lead characters and which director would you pick?

Hmmm … oh, let’s keep it Canadian. David Cronenberg or Paul Haggis to direct, with Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling as the mains.

Besides your editor, is there one person you always run your novels by?

My father, a retired banker, is always my first reader. He’s got a knack for separating the wheat from the chaff in regards to my work.

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Portugal Cove, N.L.-bred Lisa Moore is nominated for “Caught” (House of Anansi Press):

Nominated book in one sentence:

It’s about freedom, adventure, surveillance, the wide open water, the invincibility of youth and pure folly, also staggering quantities of pot.

Best book you’ve read in the past year?

Michael Winter’s “Minister Without Portfolio.” Also, Lynn Coady’s “Hellgoing” (damn).

Overcoming writer’s block:

I read a few paragraphs of the writers I love and then I’m excited and feel like I want to join the conversation, tell my story, whatever it happens to be.

If your story was made into a film, who would you want to play the lead characters and which director would you pick?

I would want my husband (his 25 year old self) to play the part. He’s perfect for it. Director: Jane Campion.

Besides your editor, is there one person you always run your novels by?

My husband, my daughter, my friends. Anybody I can force to read it and tell me the truth.

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German-born Dan Vyleta, who came to Canada in the mid-2000s, is a finalist for “The Crooked Maid” (HarperCollins Canada):

Nominated book in one sentence:

Vienna 1948: the Second World War has just ended, and everybody is eyeing one another with suspicion, anger, fear, regret.

Best book you’ve read in the past year?

The most memorable may have been Lu Hsun’s “Selected Stories,” because of their strangeness and their familiarity. Like finding a Chinese Alice Munro, from the 1920s. And then finding out that Chairman Mao was a fan: these were some of the only pieces of fiction widely available throughout China during the Cultural Revolution. I still cannot get my head around this fact.

Overcoming writer’s block:

Go for a walk. Stop at a coffee shop. Tell yourself, this isn’t writing, really, I am just playing around, and start putting down words on a napkin or something. Ask the coffee shop people for more napkins. Shut out the inner censor. And see what happens.

If your story was made into a film, who would you want to play the lead characters and which director would you pick?

I have pondered long and hard over this question. Here is my problem. The characters in my book are so real to me, so tied up with emotions, that it feels like a betrayal to force on them another face. I mean, they have faces already. But my wife tells me, George Clooney has to be in the film somewhere. And Colin Firth in a frilly shirt.

Besides your editor, is there one person you always run your novels by?

My wife, Chantal. Her judgment is what counts before anyone else’s. If she tells me this doesn’t work, it goes in the bin. Curiously, she says she does not enjoy this role very much…

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Lynn Coady, who is a finalist for “Hellgoing” (House of Anansi), was unable to participate in the Q&A. Answers have been edited and condensed.