OTTAWA, ONTARIO, June 1, 2021— It is with great pleasure that the Canada Council for the Arts revealed the 2020 winners of the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks), albeit a little later than usual.

Through a rigorous process, peer assessment committees selected the best 14 books published in Canada among the 70 finalists. There are winners across seven categories, both in English and in French.

“Every year, our creators push the boundaries of literature, presenting their vision of the world, surprising us and making us think. I salute the talent and audacity of the GGBooks winners, who are proving once again that literature is an essential part of our culture and life.”

― Simon Brault, Director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts

2020 English-language winners (seven categories):
Fiction

Five Little Indians – Michelle Good (Kamloops, British Columbia) – Harper Perennial / HarperCollins Canada

Poetry

Norma Jeane Baker of Troy – Anne Carson (Ann Arbor, Michigan) – New Directions Publishing

Drama

Kamloopa: An Indigenous Matriarch Story – Kim Senklip Harvey (Vancouver, British Columbia) – Talonbooks

Non-fiction

This Red Line Goes Straight to Your Heart: A Memoir in Halves – Madhur Anand (Guelph, Ontario) – Strange Light / Penguin Random House Canada

Young People’s Literature – Text

The King of Jam Sandwiches – Eric Walters (Guelph, Ontario) – Orca Book Publishers

Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books

The Barnabus Project – The Fan Brothers (Toronto, Ontario) – Tundra Books / Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers

Translation (from French to English)

If You Hear Me – Translated by Lazer Lederhendler (Montréal, Quebec) – Biblioasis; translation of Si tu m’entends by Pascale Quiviger