Souvankham Thammavongsa has won the 2025 Giller Prize for her novel “Pick a Colour,” an intimate story that follows a boxer-turned-manicurist over the course of a single summer day at her nail salon.

The Laotian-Canadian writer claimed the $100,000 prize for literary fiction on Monday night, at a gala ceremony hosted at the Park Hyatt Toronto. This is Thammavongsa’s second Giller and comes after she previously won the prize in 2020 for the novel “How to Pronounce Knife.” She joins a small group of writers who have won the Giller twice, including Alice Munro and Esi Edugyan.

“Pick a Colour” tells the story of Ning, a retired boxer who’s known to the clients at her salon only as Susan. Following her as she polishes, buffs and clips the nails of her customers, the novel is a quiet examinat

See Full Page