And the winner is…

Egyptian-Canadian journalist and author Omar El Akkad is the winner of this year’s $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel “What Strange Paradise.”

The prize jury said “amid all the anger and confusion surrounding the global refugee crisis, Omar El Akkad’s “What Strange Paradise” paints a portrait of displacement and belonging that is at once unflinching and tender.”

The book is an international bestseller and has been translated into thirteen languages.

The announcement came at last night’s black-tie gala in Toronto.