What a difference a year makes: last summer, the Giller Foundation had reportedly drafted a letter to the federal government looking for $5 million in funding over three years to help it continue operations.

The prize continued to operate through the fall of 2025 and held its annual gala where Souvankham Thammavongsa was named the winner of the Giller Prize for the second time.

This summer, the Giller Foundation announced it has received a $4 million, multi-year gift from the Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation in honour of the late Hilary Weston.

The donation builds on a previous $1 million contribution to the Giller from the Weston family, the Giller Foundation said August 10 in announcing the news. “The investment will help broaden the prize’s reach and impact by increasing support for Canadian authors, expanding a national book tour featuring shortlisted authors, and enhancing digital engagement and book club programming,” the Giller Foundation said.

The $100,000 Giller Prize has been awarded annually since 1994. Last summer, the prize’s financial future looked uncertain after it ended its 20-year partnership with lead sponsor Scotiabank in early 2025.

The prize’s partnership with the bank had been dogged by controversy since the 2023 gala, when protesters took to the stage to protest the bank’s investment in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

Elana Rabinovitch, executive director of the Giller Foundation, said that the foundation is “deeply grateful” for the donation, which “will help ensure that Canadian writers and their stories continue to shape and strengthen our national identity.”

“As both an author and a champion of the literary arts, our mother understood the power of storytelling to expand our thinking and help us make sense of the world around us,” Alannah Weston said in a press release. “This gift reflects her enduring commitment to literature and Canadian voices, and to ensuring they are supported, celebrated and widely shared for years to come.”

The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation already supports literary prizes through the Writers’ Trust of Canada, which administers two annual awards for nonfiction named for the Westons: the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction and the Hilary Weston International Award.

In late July the Giller Foundation announced a new advisory panel of writers to enhance the prize’s ties with the literary community, as well as a partnership with Book Clubs for Inmates to provide books to libraries in penitentiaries across Canada.