Governor General’s Literary Awards
Governor General’s Literary Awards
Throughout the year, our partners organize events that feature the books of our Governor General’s Literary Awards finalists and winners. Whether it be readings, discussions or other original activities, they are all opportunities to discover the best of Canadian literature. Check out this list of events!
Many events are taking place virtually and are available online. Watch them at your leisure and keep checking this page for updated events as they become available.
October 12, 2022
The Canada Council for the Arts reveals the five Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks) finalists in each of the seven English-language categories and seven French-language categories.
Bilingual
Online
November 16, 2022
The Canada Council for the Arts reveals the Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks) winners in each of the seven English-language categories and seven French-language categories.
Bilingual
Online
October 2022
Wordfest presents its 27th fall festival, the Imaginairium, featuring many Canadian authors who have been GGArts winners and finalists.
October 2: An exclusive conversation with two-time winner for Children’s Literature, David A. Robertson, hosted by Shelagh Rogers (later broadcast on The Next Chapter).
October 3: Free Family Storytime, in which David A. Robertson will be reading his picture book From the Trapline. Ice cream treats will be provided by Calgary’s Village Ice Cream.
October 5: Andre Alexis & Yann Martel engage in a generous, wide-ranging conversation, co-presented by Wordfest and PEN Canada.
October 28: Presenting the 1990 GGArts winner for Drama (English), Ann-Marie MacDonald, and her new novel, Frayne.
English
Various locations
Visit the Imaginairium by Wordfest website for more details.
Sunday, October 2, 2022, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Raise a glass of mimosa (or a cup of coffee) as we celebrate the final event of our 14th annual festival with literary legend David Adams Richards and Wayne Grady. David has followed up his acclaimed Miramichi Trilogy with The Tragedy of Eva Mott, a powerful standalone novel brimming with his signature blend of gravitas and humour about a community under moral scrutiny for a litany of greater and lesser sins. Enjoy your meal and then sit back and enjoy the conversation with the artist often billed as one of Canada’s greatest living writers.
English
Four Points Sheraton Ballroom – 285 King Street East, Kingston, ON K7L 3B1
Visit the Kingston WritersFest website for more details. 
Wednesday, October 19, 2022, at 8 p.m. PDT
Some writers are so talented and so transcendent that you wonder how they haven’t been part of the canon for generations. Billy-Ray Belcourt is one of those writers: the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize, a national bestseller and multi-award-winning memoirist for A History of My Brief Body, and a celebrated professor, writer, and scholar from the Driftpile Cree Nation. He’ll talk more about his work to date, including his debut novel, A Minor Chorus, an urgent story about breaching the prisons inside which we live. Don’t miss your chance to hear from this brilliant, daring literary voice. Hosted by Mercedes Eng.
English
The NEST – Festival House, 1398 Cartwright Street, 3rd Floor, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R8
Visit the Vancouver Writers Fest website for details
Available now
Amuse-bouches is a literary tasting that whets readers’ appetites. Writings by Canadian authors are read by actor Valérie Laroche over a soundtrack by Frédéric Brunet and broadcast online as audio clips, to the delight of word lovers. The Maison de la littérature’s fall 2021 Amuse-bouches focusses on the winners of the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Awards and their authors.
French
Virtual event
Access the podcasts Visit the Maison de la littérature website for details
The Canada Council for the Arts thanks its media partners for contributing to the promotion of literature.
Publishers can submit works they consider to be outstanding. The guidelines and eligibility requirements are accessible through the button below.