World Literary Awards

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Governor General's Awards

Edition 88 (2023)

English-language fictionFrench-language fictionEnglish-language non-fictionFrench-language non-fictionEnglish-language poetryFrench-language poetryEnglish-language dramaFrench-language dramaChildren's literature (English)Children's literature (French)Children's illustration (English)Children's illustration (French)Translation (English↔French)Visual and Media ArtsPerforming ArtsMedals in ArchitectureHistory AwardsInnovation AwardsAwards in Commemoration of the Persons CaseAward in Celebration of the Nation's TableAcademic Medal and other specialized awards

Winners

14 people
Chrysalis

Winner, 2023 Governor General's Literary Award Winner, 2023 Writers Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2+ Emerging Writers Shortlisted for the 2024 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Longlisted for the 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction Genre-blending stories of transformation and belonging that centre women of colour and explore queerness, family, and community. A couple in a crumbling marriage faces divine inter…

Winner, 2023 Governor General's Literary Award Winner, 2023 Writers Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2+ Emerging Writers Shortlisted for the 2024 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Longlisted for the 2024 Carol Shield…

175 pages
Fictionfamilypowersexualityqueer identity
Hannah Green Winner
Xanax Cowboy

Winner, 2023 Governor General's Literary Award Winner, 2024 League of Canadian Poets' Gerald Lampert Memorial Award The Xanax Cowboy has a reputation like a rattlesnake. She might as well be a strike-anywhere match in a gasoline town.

Winner, 2023 Governor General's Literary Award Winner, 2024 League of Canadian Poets' Gerald Lampert Memorial Award The Xanax Cowboy has a reputation like a rattlesnake.

136 pages
Poetry

The title of William Shakespeare's As You Like It holds a double meaning that teasingly suggests the play can please all tastes. But is that possible?

The title of William Shakespeare's As You Like It holds a double meaning that teasingly suggests the play can please all tastes.

75 pages
DramaIndigenous experience
Kyo Maclear Winner
Unearthing

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S LITERARY AWARD FOR NON-FICTION • A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year • National Jewish Book Award Finalist • For readers of Crying in H Mart and Wintering, an unforgettable memoir about a family secret revealed by a DNA test, the lessons learned in its aftermath, and the indelible power of love. Three months after Kyo Maclear’s father dies in December 2018, s…

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S LITERARY AWARD FOR NON-FICTION • A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year • National Jewish Book Award Finalist • For readers of Crying in H Mart and Wintering, an un…

409 pages
Body, Mind & Spiritfamilymotherhoodfatherhoodgrief
Sarah Everett Winner
The Probability of Everything

“One of the best books I have read this year (maybe ever).” —Colby Sharp, Nerdy Book Club NPR Books We Love 2023 | Publishers Weekly Best of 2023 | Winner of the Governor General's Literary Awards for Young People's Literature A heart-wrenching middle grade debut about Kemi, an aspiring scientist who loves statistics and facts, as she navigates grief and loss at a moment when life as she knows it changes forever. El…

“One of the best books I have read this year (maybe ever).” —Colby Sharp, Nerdy Book Club NPR Books We Love 2023 | Publishers Weekly Best of 2023 | Winner of the Governor General's Literary Awards for Young People's Lit…

238 pages
Juvenile Fictionfamilymotherhoodfatherhoodgrief
Jack Wong Winner
When You Can Swim

Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Award Winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award A reverent celebration of learning to swim among a diverse cast of children and families who each experience the mysterious joys of water in nature. In this exploration of what it truly means to swim, expansive vignettes introduce sandpipers, tannin-soaked lakes, and the feeling of a small waterfall on sun-soaked…

Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Award Winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award A reverent celebration of learning to swim among a diverse cast of children and families who each experience the m…

48 pages
Juvenile Fictionpowerartnature
Rosaʼs Very Own Personal Revolution

Rosaʼs Very Own Personal Revolution is a work by Peter McCambridge.

Rosaʼs Very Own Personal Revolution is a work by Peter McCambridge.

literature

and other stories

and other stories

literature
Atikᵁ utei. Le cœur du caribou

Atikᵁ utei. Le cœur du caribou is a work by Rita Mestokosho.

Atikᵁ utei. Le cœur du caribou is a work by Rita Mestokosho.

literature
Gros gars

Big guy by Mathieu Gosselin.

Big guy by Mathieu Gosselin.

literature
Faux rebelles : Les dérives du politiquement incorrect

the excesses of political incorrectness

the excesses of political incorrectness

Political correctnesspolitics
Linoubliable

Unforgettable by Lou Beauchesne.

Unforgettable by Lou Beauchesne.

literature
Le plus petit sauveur du monde

Florent is now a teenager and the ecoanxiety that marked his young years has transformed into a burning desire for action. There is a world to save, after all.

Florent is now a teenager and the ecoanxiety that marked his young years has transformed into a burning desire for action.

98 pages
Juvenile Fictionmotherhoodlove
Catherine Ego Winner
Dans lʼombre du soleil: Réflexions sur la race et les récits

In the Shadow of the Sun: Reflections on Race and Narrative by Catherine Ego.

In the Shadow of the Sun: Reflections on Race and Narrative by Catherine Ego.

literature