Past Winners and Finalists
Explore the list of Governor General’s Literary Award winners (since 1936) and finalists (since 1979) to discover the best books!
To show our continued appreciation of the GGBooks winners and finalists from 2021 and 2022, we are maintaining access to the Web pages featuring the best books for those years.
2021 winners and finalists | 2022 winners and finalists
Prior to 2016, the “Young People’s Literature” categories were referred to as the “Children’s Literature” categories.
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.
Filters
Winner
**Award declined by recipient.
Media partners
The Canada Council for the Arts thanks the 2023 GGBooks media partners for contributing to the promotion of literature from Canada.
Submitting a book
Publishers can submit works they consider to be outstanding. The guidelines and eligibility requirements are accessible through the button below.