Award season is upon us! It’s time to recognize and celebrate the best of the best in Canadian writing. The Governor General’s Literary Awards, established in 1936, is one of Canada’s most prestigious book prizes, awarded annually to the country’s best English-language and French-language books in seven distinct categories. Previous GG award winners include Michelle Good’s Five Little Indians, Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, Lorna Crozier’s Inventing the Hawk, and Alice Munro’s Who Do You Think You Are?.
This year’s finalists were recently announced, and we were thrilled to see two BC books on the list: Tainna: The Unseen Ones by Norma Dunning (Douglas & McIntyre) in Fiction category, and A History of the Theories of Rain by Stephen Collis (Talonbooks) in the Poetry category. Winners will be announced November 17 — and we’ll be on the edge of our virtual seats!
Here are some fantastic BC-published books by past GG award winners and nominees.
He Leaves His Face in the Funeral Car by Arleen Paré (Caitlin Press & Dagger Editions)
Poet Arleen Paré won the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry in 2014 for her collection, Lake of Two Mountains. In He Leaves His Face in the Funeral Car, she explores themes of relationships, history, and death.
Leaving Now by Arleen Paré (Caitlin Press & Dagger Editions)
Another collection by a 2014 GG award-winner, Leaving Now is set in the 1970s and 80s and explores the complexities of motherhood. Weaving together the poet’s personal history and the story of Gudrun, the five-hundred-year-old mother of Hansel and Gretel to examine what it means to be a mother.
Peyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity by Darrel J. McLeod (Douglas & McIntyre)
Darrel J. McLeod’s 2018 memoir, Mamaskatch, won the GG Award for Non-fiction, and recounted his story of growing up Cree in Northern Alberta. In Peyakow, he continues his story, this time sharing his battle with being self-destruction, loss, bullying, the loss of family and culture, and the trauma of physical and sexual abuse. An inspiring account of triumphing over unthinkable odds.
We All Play by Julie Flett (Greystone Books)
Julie Flett is a Cree-Metis author, illustrator, and artist, who was awarded the GG Award for Children’s Literature in 2017 for her work on When We Were Alone by David Robertson. In We All Play, Flett has created a charming and whimsical book about playtime, perfect for babies all the way to kids up to age 7.
Birdsong by Julie Flett (Greystone Books)
Another stunning picture book by children’s author and illustrator Julie Flett, Birdsong uses Flett’s signature art and prose to explore the joy created by intergenerational relationships, shared hobbies, and spending time outdoors with the ones we love.
Orrery by Donna Kane (Harbour Publishing)
This moving collection of poems by Donna Kane was a shortlist finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Award for Poetry. Revolving around Pioneer 10 — an American space probe launched in 1972 to study Jupiter’s moons — the collection explores themes of materiality, consciousness, transformation and space.
Answer to Blue by Russell Thornton (Harbour Publishing)
Poet Russell Thornton’s collection, Birds, Metals, Stones & Rain (2013) was a shortlist nominee for the GG Award for Poetry. His latest collection weaves together Greek myths and biblical passages to deepen our understanding of perception, and to explore what it means to grow and change as time passes.
Could Be by George Bowering (New Star Books)
George Bowering is a two-time GG award winner and was Canada’s first Parliamentary Poet Laureate. With over 100 books under his belt, Bowering has written poems, novels, memoirs, essays, criticism, and letters. In Could Be, he explores the ideas of life and mortality with his signature wit and poetic voice.
Nevers by Sara Cassidy (Orca Book Publishers)
A shortlist finalist for the 2020 award for young people’s literature, Nevers is set in 1799 Burgundy, France in a town filled with quirky eccentric characters. Fourteen-year-old protagonist Odette and her mother are stowaways who must find a new home and a sense of belonging.
In Nature’s Realm by Michael Layland (TouchWood Editions)
Winner of a Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing, In Nature’s Realm by Micheal Layland showcases and celebrates the flora and fauna of Vancouver Island using the records of explorers, settlers, and visitors, and the wealth of Indigenous traditional knowledge to share the island’s ecosystems.
The King Has Goat Ears by Katarina Jovanovic (Tradewind Books)
This retelling of a traditional Balkan tale is accompanied by stunning illustrations from Governor General’s award winner Philippe Béha. The story features a mysterious king, who hires barber after barber to cut his hair, but each one ends up as a prisoner in his palace. Can apprentice Milo uncover the king’s secret and free the prisoners?