Ottawa, October 4, 2016 – The Canada Council for the Arts today announced the 2016 shortlist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards. This year, more than 1450 titles in both English and French were submitted for consideration. One of Canada’s longest-standing literary awards, GGBooks remains among our country’s most diverse awards programs – honouring works in seven categories and two official languages.
Quote:
“Each year, for 80 years, the GGBooks shortlist announcement has invited us to explore who we are today, and to dream of who we might become tomorrow,” said Canada Council Director and CEO Simon Brault. “Canadian literature has a long history of excellence, and it continues to captivate us.”
Important dates
- Tuesday, October 25, 6:00 am: The full list of winners will be unveiled at http://ggbooks.ca/.
- Wednesday, November 30, 6:00 pm, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will present the 2016 GG Literary Awards at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa.
- Thursday, December 1, 11:45 am – 1:00 pm: Readers are invited to meet the English-language GG winners at a public reading and book signing at the Canada Council, 150 Elgin St., Ottawa (event with French-language winners on Wednesday, November 30, 11:45 am – 1:00 pm).
About the Awards:
- Founded in 1936, the Governor General’s Literary Awards are one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious literary awards program with a total value of $450,000. The Canada Council for the Arts has funded, administered and promoted the awards since 1959.
- GGBooks finalists are chosen by peer assessment committees per category, per language (7 in English and 7 in French), who consider eligible books published between September 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016 for English-language books and between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 for French-language books.
- Each winner receives $25,000. The publisher of each winning book receives $3000 to support promotional activities. Non-winning finalists each receive $1000.
- Over their 80 years, the Governor General’s Literary Awards have celebrated more than 700 works by over 500 authors, poets, playwrights, translators and illustrators.
Download images of the shortlisted books
English-language finalists
Fiction
| Author |
Book |
| Gary Barwin (Hamilton, Ont.) |
Yiddish for Pirates, Random House Canada / Penguin Random House Canada |
| Anosh Irani (North Vancouver, B.C.) |
The Parcel, Alfred A. Knopf Canada / Penguin Random House Canada |
| Kerry Lee Powell (Moncton, N.B.) |
Willem de Kooning’s Paintbrush, HarperCollins Publishers |
Madeleine Thien (Montreal)
|
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Alfred A. Knopf Canada / Penguin Random House Canada |
| Katherena Vermette(Winnipeg) |
The Break, House of Anansi Press |
Poetry
| Author |
Book |
| Joe Denham (Halfmoon Bay, B.C.) |
Regeneration Machine, Nightwood Editions |
| Steven Heighton (Kingston, Ont.) |
The Waking Comes Late, House of Anansi Press |
| Susan Holbrook (Leamington, Ont.) |
Throaty Wipes, Coach House Books |
| Garry Thomas Morse (Winnipeg) |
Prairie Harbour, Talonbooks |
| Rachel Rose (Vancouver) |
Marry & Burn, Harbour Publishing |
Drama
| Author |
Book |
| Brad Fraser (Toronto) |
Kill Me Now, Playwrights Canada Press |
| Colleen Murphy (Toronto) |
Pig Girl, Playwrights Canada Press |
| Donna-Michelle St. Bernard (Toronto) |
A Man A Fish, Playwrights Canada Press |
| Jordan Tannahill (Toronto) |
Concord Floral, Playwrights Canada Press |
| Mary Vingoe (Dartmouth, N.S.) |
Refuge, Scirocco Drama / J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing |
Non-fiction
| Author |
Book |
| Kamal Al-Solaylee (Toronto) |
Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means (To Everyone), HarperCollins Publishers |
| Teva Harrison (Toronto)
|
In-Between Days: A Memoir About Living with Cancer, House of Anansi Press |
| Harold R. Johnson (La Ronge, Sask.) |
Firewater: How Alcohol is Killing My People (and Yours), University of Regina Press |
| Marc Raboy (Montreal) |
Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World, Oxford University Press
|
| Bill Waiser (Saskatoon, Sask.) |
A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905, Fifth House Publishers |
Young People’s Literature (Text)
| Author |
Book |
| Mikaela Everett (Lethbridge, Alta.) |
The Unquiet, Greenwillow Books / HarperCollins Publishers |
E.K. Johnston (Kitchener, Ont.)
|
A Thousand Nights, Hyperion / Disney Book Group |
Trilby Kent (Toronto)
|
Once in a Town Called Moth, Tundra Books / Penguin Random House Canada |
Martine Leavitt (High River, Alta.)
|
Calvin, Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press |
| Tim Wynne-Jones (Perth, Ont.) |
The Emperor of Any Place, Candlewick Press |
Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Books)
| Author |
Book |
| Jo Ellen Bogart and Sydney Smith (Guelph, Ont./Toronto) |
The White Cat and the Monk, Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press |
| Lucy Ruth Cummings (New York) |
A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals, Atheneum Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster |
| Jon-Erik Lappano and Kellen Hatanaka (Guelph, Ont./ Stratford, Ont.) |
Tokyo Digs a Garden, Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press |
Mireille Messier and Pierre Pratt (Toronto / Montreal)
|
The Branch, Kids Can Press
|
Esmé Shapiro (New York)
|
Ooko, Tundra Books / Penguin Random House Canada
|
Translation (French to English)
| Author |
Book |
| Lazer Lederhendler (Montreal) |
The Party Wall, Biblioasis; translation of Le mur mitoyen by Catherine Leroux, Éditions Alto |
| Rhonda Mullins (Montreal) |
Guano, Coach House Books, translation of Guano by Louis Carmain, Éditions de l'Hexagone
|
| Neil Smith (Montreal) |
The Goddess of Fireflies,Véhicule Press; translation of La déesse des mouches à feu by Geneviève Pettersen, Le Quartanier
|
French-language finalists
Fiction
| Author |
Book |
| Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette (Montreal) |
La femme qui fuit , Marchand de feuilles |
| Hugues Corriveau (Montreal) |
Les enfants de Liverpool, Éditions Druide |
| Martine Delvaux (Montreal.) |
Blanc dehors, Héliotrope |
| Dominique Fortier (Montreal) |
Au péril de la mer , Éditions Alto |
| Daniel Grenier (Quebec City) |
L'année la plus longue, Le Quartanier |
Poetry
| Author |
Book |
| Louise Bouchard (Montreal) |
Personne et le Soleil, Éditions Les Herbes rouges |
| Normand de Bellefeuille (Montreal) |
Le poème est une maison de bord de mer, Les Éditions du Noroît |
| Antoine Dumas (Montreal) |
Au monde. Inventaire, les Éditions du passage |
| Pierre Nepveu (Montreal) |
La dureté des matières et de l'eau, Les Éditions du Noroît |
| Rodney Saint-Éloi (Montreal) |
Je suis la fille du baobab brûlé, Mémoire d'encrier |
Drama
| Author |
Book |
| Hervé Bouchard (Jonquière, Que.) |
Le faux pas de l'actrice dans sa traîne, Le Quartanier |
| Michel Marc Bouchard (Montreal) |
La divine illusion, Leméac Éditeur |
| Sébastien David (Montreal) |
Les haut-parleurs, Leméac Éditeur |
| Olivier Kemeid (Montreal) |
Five kings : l'histoire de notre chute, Leméac Éditeur |
| Wajdi Mouawad (France) |
Inflammation du verbe vivre, Leméac Éditeur / Actes Sud |
Non-fiction
| Author |
Book |
André Habib (Montreal)
|
La main gauche de Jean-Pierre Léaud, Les Éditions du Boréal |
| Michel Morin (Montreal) |
Être et ne pas être, Éditions Les Herbes rouges
|
Yvon Rivard (Montreal)
|
Exercices d'amitié, Leméac Éditeur |
Roland Viau (Long Sault, Ont.)
|
Amerindia : essais d'ethnohistoire autochtone, Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal
|
Louise Warren (Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Que.)
|
La vie flottante, Les Éditions du Noroît
|
Young People’s Literature (Text)
| Author |
Book |
| Camille Bouchard (Quebec City) |
Nouvelle-Orléans, Éditions Québec Amérique |
| Mario Brassard (Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Que.) |
Quand hurle la nuit, Soulières Éditeur |
| Amélie Dumoulin (Montreal)
|
Fé M Fé, Éditions Québec Amérique |
| François Gilbert (Montreal) |
Hare Krishna, Leméac Éditeur |
| Patrick Isabelle (Montreal)
|
Camille, Leméac Éditeur |
Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Books)
| Author |
Book |
| Jules Asselin and Ninon Pelletier (Montreal) |
Le mystère des billes d'or , Les Éditions L'Interlinge |
Simon Boulerice and Delphie Côté-Lacroix (Montreal)
|
Florence et Léon, Éditions Québec Amérique
|
| Stéphanie Lapointe and Rogé (Montreal) |
Grand-père et la Lune, Les Éditions XYZ
|
| Andrée Poulin and Marie Lafrance (Gatineau, Que./ Montreal)
|
Deux garçons et un secret, Les Éditions de la Bagnole |
| Yayo (Côte Saint-Luc, Que.)
|
Pikiq, Les Éditions de la Bagnole |
Translation (English to French)
| Author |
Book |
|
Christophe Bernard (Burlington, VT)
|
Les hautes montagnes du Portugal, Les Éditions XYZ; translation of The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel, Alfred A. Knopf Canada
|
| Catherine Ego (Montreal) |
La destruction des Indiens des Plaines : maladies, famines organisées, disparition du mode de vie autochtone, Presses de l'Université Laval; translation of Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life by James Daschuk, University of Regina Press
|
| Daniel Poliquin (Ottawa) |
Le grand retour : le réveil autochtone, Les Éditions du Boréal; translation of The Comeback by John Ralston Saul, Viking
|
| Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné (Montreal) |
Joshua, Les Éditions du Boréal; translation of Joshua Then and Now by Mordecai Richler, McClelland & Stewart
|
|
Madeleine Stratford (Gatineau, Que.)
|
Elle nage, Éditions La Peuplade; translation of Swim by Marianne Apostolides, BookThug
|
English-language peer assessment committees:
Fiction: Jaspreet Singh, Mary Swan, Sara Tilley
Poetry: Shane Book, Richard Lemm, Sandy Shreve
Drama: Robert Chafe, Kevin Kerr, Beatriz Pizano
Non-fiction: Kevin Chong, Mary Soderstrom, Christl Verduyn
Young People’s Literature (Text): Don Aker, Polly Horvath, Y.S. Lee
Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Books): Gary Clement, Chieri Uegaki, Ludmila Zeman
Translation (French to English): Deborah Blythe, David Edney, Don Wilson
French-language peer assessment committees:
Fiction: Edem Awumey, André Lamontagne, Francine Noël
Poetry: Bathélemy Bolivar, François Charron, Rachel Leclerc
Drama: Hanna Abd El Nour, David Baudemont, Carole Fréchette
Non-fiction: Samuel Archibald, Ying Chen, Jacques Julien
Young People’s Literature (Text): Andrée-Anne Gratton, Bernadette Renaud, Louise Royer
Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Books): Laila Héloua, Sylvie Nicolas, Réjean Roy
Translation (English to French): Patricia Godbout, Pierrot Lambert, Daniel Lauzon
-30-
Canada Council media contact:
Meredith Sharpe
1-800-263-5588, ext. 4166
343-998-2627 (cell)
meredith.sharpe@canadacouncil.ca
Rideau Hall media contact for award ceremony:
Julie Rocheleau
613-998-7280
julie.rocheleau@gg.ca
To book interviews with the finalists:
Geneviève Blouin, Genesis PR
514-887-8187
gen@genesispr.com