The Canada Council for the Arts Reveals the Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalists

Ottawa, October 12, 2022 ― It is with great pleasure that the Canada Council for the Arts revealed today the 2022 finalists in the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks).

Following a rigorous process, the Canada Council’s peer assessment committees determined that these 70 books were the best to have been published in Canada in 2022, across seven categories, in both English and French.

Mark your calendars

The 14 winners for 2022 will be announced on ggbooks.ca on November 16, 2022.

About the GGBooks

• Founded in 1936, the Governor General’s Literary Awards are some of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious prizes, with a total annual prize value of $450,000.
• The Canada Council for the Arts has funded, administered and promoted these awards since 1959.
• Finalists are selected by category-specific, language-based peer assessment committees (seven in English and seven in French), who consider eligible books published between August 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022.
• Each writer, translator, or illustrator whose book is selected as winner in its category receives a $25,000 prize. Publishers receive $3,000 to promote the winning book; finalists receive $1,000 each.

English-language finalists for 2022 (seven categories)

Fiction

• All the Quiet Places – Brian Thomas Isaac (Falkland, British Columbia)
  Brindle & Glass / TouchWood Editions
• Finding Edward – Sheila Murray (Hamilton, Ontario)
  Cormorant Books
• Probably Ruby – Lisa Bird-Wilson (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
  Doubleday Canada / Penguin Random House Canada
• Pure Colour – Sheila Heti (Toronto, Ontario)
  Penguin Random House Canada
• The Most Precious Substance on Earth – Shashi Bhat (New Westminster, British Columbia)
  McClelland & Stewart / Penguin Random House Canada

Poetry

• Dream of No One But Myself – D.M. Bradford (Montréal, Quebec)
  Brick Books
• H of H Playbook – Anne Carson (Ann Arbor, United States)
  New Directions Publishing
• Horrible Dance – Avery Lake (Montréal, Quebec)
  Brick Books
• Shadow Blight – Annick MacAskill (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
  Gaspereau Press
• Shifting Baseline Syndrome – Aaron Kreuter (Toronto, Ontario)
  University of Regina Press

Drama

• Everybody Just C@lm the F#ck Down – Robert Chafe (St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador)
  Playwrights Canada Press
• Inheritance: a pick-the-path experience – Daniel Arnold (Vancouver, British Columbia), Darrell Dennis (Los Angeles, United States) and Medina Hahn (Vancouver, British Columbia)
  Talonbooks
• Iphigenia and the Furies (On Taurian Land) and Antigone: 方 – Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) (Toronto, Ontario)
  Playwrights Canada Press
• Lady Sunrise – Marjorie Chan (Toronto, Ontario)
  Playwrights Canada Press
• The Piano Teacher: A Healing Key – Dorothy Dittrich (Vancouver, British Columbia)
  Talonbooks

Non-fiction

• Aki-Wayn-Zih: A Person as Worthy as theEarth – Eli Baxter (London, Ontario)
  McGill-Queen’s University Press
• All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler – Rebecca Donner (New York City, United States)
  Little, Brown and Company / Hachette Book Group
• Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of ClimateCrisis – Britt Wray (Los Gatos, United States)
  Penguin Random House
• Persephone’s Children: A Life in Fragments – Rowan McCandless (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
  Rare Machines / Dundurn Press
• Rehearsals for Living – Robyn Maynard (Toronto, Ontario) and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Peterborough, Ontario)
  Knopf Canada / Penguin Random House Canada

Young People’s Literature – Text

• A Boy Is Not a Ghost – Edeet Ravel (Montréal, Quebec)
  Groundwood / House of Anansi Press
• Sorry for Your Loss – Joanne Levy (Clinton, Ontario)
  Orca Book Publishers
• Step – Deborah Ellis (Simcoe, Ontario)
  Groundwood / House of Anansi
• The Summer of Bitter and Sweet – Jen Ferguson (Playa del Rey, United States)
  Heartdrum / HarperCollins
• Urchin – Kate Story (Peterborough, Ontario)
  Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides

Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books

• kā-āciwīkicik / The Move – Doris George (Easterville, Manitoba), Don K. Philpot (Shippensburg, United States) and Alyssa Koski (Okotoks, Alberta)
  Heritage House
• Mina – Matthew Forsythe (Montréal, Quebec)
  Simon & Schuster Canada
• The Big Bath House – Kyo Maclear (Toronto, Ontario) and Gracey Zhang (Coquitlam, British Columbia)
  Random House Studio, Penguin Random House
• The Sour Cherry Tree – Naseem Hrab (Toronto, Ontario) and Nahid Kazemi (Montréal, Quebec)
  Owlkids Books
• Time is a Flower – Julie Morstad (Vancouver, British Columbia)
  Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada

Translation (from French to English)

• History of the Jews in Quebec – Translated by Judith Weisz Woodsworth (Montréal, Quebec)
  University of Ottawa Press. A translation of Histoire des Juifs du Québec, by Pierre Anctil.
• Remnants – Translated by Aleshia Jensen (Montréal, Quebec)
  Book*hug Press. A translation of Le drap blanc, by Céline Huyghebaert.
• They Called Us Savages: A Hereditary Chief’s Quest for Truth and Harmony – Translated by Ben Vrignon (Feltzen South, Nova Scotia)
  Vidacom Publications. A translation of On nous appelait les Sauvages : souvenirs et espoirs d’un chef héréditaire algonquin, by Dominique Rankin and Marie-Josée Tardif.
• This Is How I Disappear – Translated by Aleshia Jensen and Bronwyn Haslam (both in Montréal, Quebec)
  Drawn & Quarterly. A translation of C’est comme ça que je disparais, by Mirion Malle.
• White Resin – Translated by Susan Ouriou (Calgary, Alberta)
  House of Anansi Press. A translation of Blanc Résine, by Audrée Wilhelmy.

French-language finalists for 2022 (seven categories)

Fiction

• Jardin radio – Charlotte Biron (Montréal, Quebec)
  Le Quartanier
• Les ombres blanches – Dominique Fortier (Montréal, Quebec)
  Éditions Alto
• Mille secrets mille dangers – Alain Farah (Montréal, Quebec)
  Le Quartanier
• Sans refuge – Maryse Andraos (Montréal, Quebec)
  Le Cheval d’août
• Tableau final de l’amour – Larry Tremblay (Montréal, Quebec)
  La Peuplade

Poetry

• À mon retour – Élise Turcotte (Montréal, Quebec)
  Éditions du Noroît
• Chambre minimum – Frédéric Dumont (Longueuil, Quebec)
  Les Herbes rouges
• Enfants du lichen – Maya Cousineau Mollen (Longueuil, Quebec)
  Éditions Hannenorak
• Le programme double de la femme tuée – Carole David (Montréal, Quebec)
  Les Herbes rouges
• Vivarium – Anna Babi (Montréal, Quebec)
  les éditions du passage

Drama

• Disgrâce – Nadia Girard Eddahia (Québec City, Quebec)
  L’instant même
• L’art de vivre – Liliane Gougeon Moisan (Montréal, Quebec)
  Leméac Éditeur
• Le poids des fourmis – David Paquet (Montréal, Quebec)
  Leméac Éditeur
• Les remugles ou La danse nuptiale est une langue morte – Caroline Bélisle (Moncton, New Brunswick)
  Éditions Perce-Neige
• Seeker – Marie-Claude Verdier (Laval, Quebec)
  Dramaturges Éditeurs

Non-fiction

• Armer la rage : Pour une littérature de combat – Marie-Pier Lafontaine (Montréal, Quebec)
  Héliotrope
• La source et le roseau – Jean-François Beauchemin (Sainte-Adèle, Quebec)
  Éditions Druide
• La Voie romaine – Sylveline Bourion (Montréal, Quebec)
  Les Éditions du Boréal
• L’habitude des ruines : Le sacre de l’oubli et de la laideur au Québec – Marie-Hélène Voyer (Rimouski, Quebec)
  Lux Éditeur
• La source et le roseau – Jean-François Beauchemin (Sainte-Adèle, Quebec)
  Éditions Druide
• Tu vois ce que je veux dire? Illustrations, métaphores et autres images qui parlent – Clément de Gaulejac (Montréal, Quebec)
  Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal (Collection Terrains Vagues)

Young People’s Literature – Text

• Cancer ascendant Autruche – Julie Champagne (Mirabel, Quebec)
  la courte échelle
• Dessiner dans les marges et autres activités de fantôme – Carolanne Foucher (Québec City, Quebec)
  Les Éditions de la bagnole, Groupe Ville-Marie Littérature
• La pluie des autres – Daphné B. (Montréal, Quebec)
  la courte échelle
• Les Bulles – Reynald Cantin (Québec City, Quebec)
  Les Éditions du Boréal
• Les carnets de novembre – Marie-Hélène Jarry (Montréal, Quebec)
  la courte échelle

Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books

• La fin des poux? – Orbie (Percé, Quebec)
  Éditions Les 400 coups
• Trèfle – Nadine Robert (Varennes, Quebec) and Qin Leng (Toronto, Ontario)
  Comme des géants
• Truffe – Fanny Britt (Montréal, Quebec) and Isabelle Arsenault (Montréal, Quebec)
  Les Éditions de la Pastèque
• Seuls – Paul Tom (Montréal, Quebec) and Mélanie Baillairgé (Montréal, Quebec)
  la courte échelle
• Un rhume de cheval – Pierrette Dubé (Saint-Lambert, Quebec) and Enzo (Montréal, Quebec)
  Fonfon

Translation (from English to French)

• Dans la lugubre forêt nos corps seront suspendus – Translated by Benoit Laflamme (Ottawa, Ontario)
  Les Éditions L’Interligne. A translation of Through the Sad Wood Our Corpses Will Hang, by Ava Farmehri
• Le fruit de la puanteur – Translated by Sylvie Bérard (Peterborough, Ontario) and Suzanne Grenier (Montréal, Quebec)
  Triptyque, Groupe Nota bene. A translation of Salt Fish Girl, by Larissa Lai.
• Le malenchantement de sainte Lucy – Translated by Éric Fontaine (Montréal, Quebec)
  Éditions Alto. A translation of The Beguiling, by Zsuzsi Gartner.
• Les coups de dés – Translated by Catherine Leroux (Montréal, Quebec)
  Éditions Alto. A translation of The Wagers, by Sean Michaels.
• Partie de chasse au petit gibier entre lâches au club de tir du coin – Translated by Mélissa Verreault (Lévis, Quebec)
  Éditions Québec Amérique. A translation of Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, by Megan Gail Coles.

Makeup of the 2022 English-language peer assessment committees

Fiction: Norma Dunning, Thea Lim and John Steffler
Poetry: Joe Denham, Stewart Donova and Aisha Sasha John
Drama: Keith Barker, Marie Leofeli Romero Barlizo and Alex Poch Goldin
Non-fiction: Will Aitken, Madhur Anand and Jenna Butler
Young People’s Literature – Text: Michael Hutchinson, Sharon Jennings and Wesley King
Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books: Kate Beaton, Nhung N. Tran-Davies and Frank Viva
Translation (from French to English): Anita Anand, Chantal Bilodeau and Steven Urquhart

Makeup of the 2022 French-language peer assessment committees

Fiction: Katia Belkhodja, Emmanuel Kattan and Alain Bernard Marchand
Poetry: Éric Charlebois, Anne-Marie Desmeules and Nadine Ltaif
Drama: Maxime Beauregard-Martin, Djennie Laguerre and Maryse Pelletier
Non-fiction: Gabrielle Giasson-Dulude, Daniel Jacques and Eftihia Mihelakis
Young People’s Literature – Text: Edith Kabuya, Daniel Marchildon and Mireille Villeneuve
Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books: David Bouchard, Beatriz Carvalho and Ninon Pelletier
Translation (from English to French): Louise Ladouceur, Aurélie Laroche and Stanley Péan

About the Canada Council for the Arts

The Canada Council for the Arts contributes to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene and supports its presence across Canada and around the world. The Council is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to “foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts.”

The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments support Canadian artists, authors, and arts groups and organizations. This support allows them to pursue artistic expression, create works of art, and promote and disseminate the arts and literature.

Through its arts funding, communications, research, and promotion activities, the Council fosters ever-growing engagement of Canadians and international audiences in the arts.

The Council’s Public Lending Right (PLR) program makes annual payments to creators whose works are held in Canadian public libraries.

The Council’s Art Bank operates art rental programs and helps further public engagement with contemporary arts through exhibition and outreach activities.

The Council is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which promotes the values and programs of UNESCO to contribute to a future of peace, reconciliation, equity, and sustainable development.