This week Montreal-based author Sean Michaels won the illustrious Scotiabank Giller Prize for his debut novel, Us Conductors. First awarded back in 1994, the list of recipients of the Giller Prize reads like a who’s who of Canada’s literary arts; past winners include Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje, Vincent Lam, and Joseph Boyden. Us Conductors is inspired by the true story of Lev Termen, the Russian scientist, spy, and inventor who created the theremin. Told through a series of flashbacks, Us Conductors follows Termen throughout the course of his life, from his toiling work in the Soviet Union to the promise of success in New York City. With its emotional resonance and sense of wonder, Us Conductors is an amazing debut and a worthy winner of this prestigious prize. Not only does Windsor Public Library carry Michaels’ award winning title, but we also carry the novels which were short-listed for this year’s Giller Prize. Go to your local branch of WPL to request a copy of David Bezmozgis’s The Betrayers, Frances Itani’s Tell, Heather O’Neill’s The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, and The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan. On behalf of the Windsor Public Library, congratulations to Sean Michaels for winning this incredible award.