Past Winners and Finalists

Explore the list of Governor General’s Literary Award winners (since 1936) and finalists (since 1979) to learn more about past awards, generate a book club reading list or simply discover the best books! 

To show our continued appreciation of the GGBooks winners and finalists from 2020 and 2021, we are maintaining access to the Web pages featuring the best books for those years.

2020 winners and finalists | 2021 winners and finalists 

Did you know? 

• Until 1959, only English-language books were eligible. Francophone authors could receive an award only if their work had been translated and published in English. In addition, there were no finalists prior to 1979. 
• Categories have changed over time. For example, from 1987 to 2015, the “Young People’s Literature” categories were referred to as the “Children’s Literature” categories.