Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller Prize, dead at 87

JackRabinovitch, the beloved businessman who createdthe ScotiabankGiller Prize, an awardthat boosted the profiles and sales of countless Canadian fictionauthors, has died.

RabinovitchdiedSundayafternoon in Toronto, his daughter Elanaconfirmed. He was 87.

An obituary posted on the website of Benjamin's Park MemorialChapel, which was handling the funeral arrangements, saidRabinovitchdied as a result of a "catastrophic fall" at his homelast week.

The Montreal-born, Toronto-basedRabinovitchtackled severalcareers throughout his life, including journalism, food retail andreal estate. But it was theGiller Prize that made him arecognizable face across Canada and around the world.

The idea for theaward was hatched over bar drinks with author Mordecai Richler.

"It started at a pub in Montreal called Woody's and ended up ata famous restaurant in Montreal called Moishes, and over choppedliver we decided what to do,"Rabinovitchtold the Canadian Pressin October 2012.

The prize was established in 1994, a year after the death ofRabinovitch's wife, literary journalist Doris Giller.Rabinovitchwanted to create anaward to honour Gillerwhile also recognizing excellence in Canadian fiction.

"The only real major (literary) prize (back then) was theGovernor General's and most people just felt that it wasn't right tojust let the government handle the situation," saidRabinovitch,who was named Maclean's magazine "Man of the Year" in 1999.

"So private people like myself and various other people havestarted new prizes to highlight and admire new writers."

The Giller Prize initially endowed a cash prize of $25,000, whichwas the largest purse for literature in the country.

In 2005, the award teamed up withScotiabankand the prize grewto what is now $40,000 for the winner and $5,000 for each of thefinalists. In 2014, theprize increased to $100,000 for the winner and $10,000 for the remaining finalists.

Winners of the Giller Prize include Rohinton Mistry for A Fine Balance, Margaret Atwood for Alias Grace, MordecaiRichler for Barney's Version, Alice Munro for Runaway,Andr Alexis for Fifteen Dogs and Madeleine Thien for Do Not Say We Have Nothing.

"We learned a long time ago that authors are really interestedin selling their books, that's how they make a living, so that'swhat we're trying to do is help them make a living," saidRabinovitch, whose signature line at every Giller gala was:"Forthe price of a dinner in this town you can buy all the nominatedbooks. So, eat at home and buy the books."

With files from CBC Books