Governor General’s Literary Awards – Page 2

October 3, 2018May 7, 2025

Our 2018 Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalists

GGBOOKS
Each year, the Canada Council for the Arts honours the best books in Canadian literature with the Governor General’s Literary Awards. This year, we have two finalists in the Young People’s Literature categories, one in text and one in illustrated books. Congratulations to Wab Kinew, Joe Morse, and Jonathan Auxier!

Finalist for Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books
Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes
By Wab Kinew
Illustrated by Joe Morse
ISBN 9780735262928 | Tundra Books
Hardcover | 40 Pages

“A beautiful celebration of Indigenous excellence.” – Kirkus Reviews
“The reverberation of the central theme-you matter-and the gorgeous illustrations will resonate with readers” – School Library Connection
“Kinew . . . underlines the key idea that ‘we are people who matter./Yes, it’s true./ Now let’s show the world what people who matter can do.'” – Publishers Weekly
“This is a forever book; one that the child can grow with from the youngest age[.]” – Windspeaker

Finalist for Young People’s Literature – Text
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
by Jonathan Auxier
ISBN 9780735264359 | Puffin Canada
Hardcover | 368 Pages

“This dazzling, warmhearted novel contemplates selflessness and saving, deep love and what makes a monster.” – Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
“As heartbreaking as bleak midwinter – and as hopeful as early spring.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
“Sweep‘s ambition and sophistication are impressive.” – Quill & Quire
“. . . a tale that is both uplifting and heartbreaking.” – The New York Times

Follow the conversation on Twitter through @CanadaCouncil and by using the hashtag #GGbooks. The winners of the 2018 Governor General Literary Awards will be announced on Tuesday, October 30, 2018.

October 6, 2016May 7, 2025

Finalists for the 2016 Governor General’s Literary Awards

ggla2016 Each year, the Canada Council for the Arts honours the best books in Canadian literature with the Governor General’s Literary Awards. This year, we have two finalists in the Young People’s Literature categories, one in text and one in illustrated books. Congratulations to Trilby Kent and Esmé Shapiro!

Young People’s Literature – Text

Once, in a Town Called Moth
Written by Trilby Kent
Hardcover | 224 Pages | Ages 12+
ISBN: 9781101918111
eBook: 9781101918135
“Kent writes with refreshing emotional sophistication…. As literary as it is smart, Kent’s novel reflects life beautifully in its rigorous denial of pat, easy answers.”
– Starred review, Quill & Quire

Congratulations to the other finalists in this category: Mikaela Everett for The Unquiet, E.K. Johnston for A Thousand Nights, Martine Leavitt for Calvin, and Tim Wynne-Jones for The Emperor of Any Place.

Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books

Ooko
By Esmé Shapiro
Hardcover | 40 Pages | Ages 3-7
ISBN: 9781101918449
eBook: 9781101918456
“Shapiro is onto something here: a hard to define ‘Ooko-ness,’ that is lovely, invigorating and pure.”
– Quill & Quire

Congratulations to the other finalists in this category: Jo Ellen Bogart and Sydney Smith for The White Cat and the Monk, Lucy Ruth Cummins for A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals, Jon-Erik Lappano and Kellen Hatanaka for Tokyo Digs a Garden, and Mireille Messier and Pierre Pratt for The Branch.

Go online to discover the year’s best books and their authors, illustrators and translators, on the new interactive GG website. Follow the conversation on Twitter through @CanadaCouncil and by using the hashtag #GGbooks. Like the GGs on Facebook for all the latest updates.

The winners of the 2016 Governor General Literary Awards will be announced on Tuesday, October 25, 2016.

October 7, 2014May 7, 2025

Finalist for the 2014 Governor General’s Literary Awards

Each year, the Canada Council for the Arts honours the best books in Canadian literature with the Governor General’s Literary Awards. This year, we have a finalist for Children’s Illustration. Huge congratulations to Julie Morstad for her fantastic artwork on Julia, Child by Kyo Maclear.

Julia, Child
Written by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Hardcover | 32 pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-449-7

“Julia, Child is not only a book about the joy of cooking, but the wonder of childhood, and, like the best cooking, is meant to be savored…. I guarantee it’ll leave you hungry.” – The National Post

“Maclear works in a genre that I believe she has invented: the fictional childhood anecdote of a famous person. Here she takes elements from the life of chef Julia (no-comma) Child and transposes them to the childhood of a little girl, also named Julia. Morstad’s illustrations, which show children in full colour and adults in line-drawn black and white, are full of jokey details…. The sight of adults running amok is always a pleasure…. And what child has not come to the conclusion, along with Julia, that ‘too many grown-ups don’t have the proper ingredients’?” – Featured Review, Quill and Quire

Congratulations to the other finalists in children’s illustration!
Marie-Louise Gay – Any Questions? by Marie-Louise Gay
Qin Leng – Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki
Renata Liwska – Once Upon a Memory by Nina Laden
Jillian Tamaki – This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

The winners of the 2014 Governor General Literary Awards will be announced on Wednesday, November 26 at 6 pm at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa.

October 2, 2013May 7, 2025

Finalists for the 2013 Governor General’s Literary Awards

Each year, the Governor General’s Literary Awards (the GGs) honours the best in Canadian literature. Tundra Books would like to showcase our two finalists!

For Children’s Text, congratulations to Shane Peacock!

Becoming Holmes: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Final Case
Written by Shane Peacock
Hardcover | 264 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-232-5
eBook: 978-1-77049-291-2
“This final book in Shane Peacock’s award-winning Boy Sherlock Holmes series combines brilliant storytelling with fascinating historical detail, including famous people, popular myths and street-level views of London. A surprising and shocking conclusion to a mystery worthy of one of the greatest sleuths in English literature.”

Congratulations to the other finalists in the text category: Beverley Brenna for The White Bicycle, Jean E. Pendziwol for Once Upon a Northern Night, Valerie Sherrard for Counting Back From Nine, and Teresa Toten for The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B.

For Children’s Illustration, congratulations to Rachel Berman!

Miss Mousie’s Blind Date
Written by Tim Beiser
Illustrated by Rachel Berman
Hardcover | 24 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-251-6
eBook: 978-1-77049-363-6
“A story about self-acceptance, and love lost and found, told through the eyes of a little mouse, and her possibly-not-so-handsome suitor, Mole. Charmingly illustrated, cleverly told, the message is timeless, and the illustrations endearing.”

Congratulations to the other finalists in the illustration category: Gary Clement for Oy, Feh, So?, text by Cary Fagan; Matt James for Northwest Passage, text by Stan Rogers; Jon Klassen for The Dark, text by Lemony Snicket; and Julie Morstad for How To.

The winners will be announced Wednesday, November 13, 2013 at 10 am at the Betty Oliphant Theatre at Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto. For the official press release, please click here. For more information about the award and other finalists, please visit ggbooks.canadacouncil.ca

November 13, 2012May 7, 2025

2012 Governor General’s Literary Award Winner

Today, the Governor General’s Literary Award winners were announced at the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec in Montréal.

Tundra Books is happy to announce that The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen is the Winner of the 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award in Children’s Text. Congratulations to Susin Nielsen!

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen
Written by Susin Nielsen
Hardcover | 256 pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-372-8
eBook: 978-1-77049-373-5
Of the winning title, the jury said, “The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen is an engaging grief story. Thought-provoking and relevant, it addresses the effects of bullying in a realistic, compelling and compassionate way, exemplifying the adage ‘There are two sides to every story.’ Henry’s journey is moving and weirdly, wildly funny.”

This marks the second consecutive year that Tundra Books has published the winning title in this category. In 2011, author Christopher Moore’s From Then to Now: A Short History of the World took the honour. Tundra’s publisher, Alison Morgan, said, “We are thrilled to have another Governor General’s Award-winner on our list. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is about the terrible aftermath of bullying. As a humourist and novelist, Susin’s deep understanding of family relationships and teens allows her to explore difficult territory with a deft touch. We are proud to have published this important novel and to have Susin on our list.”

We would also like to congratulate all of the Governor General’s Literary Award finalists, winners, and publishers! What a wonderful day for Canadian literature!

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