Now that the JRLJ is resorting to the "awards" gimmick. In Canada, two well-known literary awards are the Governor-General Awards, and the Giller Prize. The first named is put up by the Council of the Arts, and the second prize by Scotiabank and Giller Prize Foundation.
Giller Prize was set up by Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his wife, Doris Giller who was the literary editor of The Toronto Star. The award is given out each November to a Canadian author for a novel or short story in English (though a translation is welcomed. It carries Cdn $25,000. "
Since its inception, the Giller Prize has been awarded to emerging and established authors from both small independent and large publishing houses in Canada. Since Rabinovitch's death in 2017, the Giller Prize Foundation is now overseen by his daughter Elana Rabinovitch. There are many other noteworthy awards.The JRLJ is set to conquer new worlds by trying to showcase itself as something BIG which it isn't yet. It has to first get stamped by a recognized body, such as the Board constituted for the Pulitzer Prize (fiction and non-fiction) in the USA.
Here is a para from the history of Man Booker Prize: Our judges are not confined to any in-group of literary critics, authors and academics, but over the years have included poets, politicians, journalists, broadcasters and actors. This “common man” approach to the selection of Man Booker juries is, I believe, one of the key reasons why “the intelligent general audience” trusts the prize."
To win such a trust, the JRLJ has a long way to go. However, nothing can stop Selma from going over the hurdles to achieve her desires and aims.
Eugene