Discover the 2025 Governor General's Literary Awards Finalists

70 GGBooks revealed by the Canada Council

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - The Canada Council for the Arts is pleased to announce the 2025 Governor General's Literary Awards (GGBooks) finalists. These awards celebrate works published in Canada, in both official languages, across seven categories, and include books for readers of all ages.

"The books selected as 2025 Governor General's Literary Awards finalists motivate readers of all ages to dream, discover and immerse themselves in captivating stories. Each of these literary works offers distinct perspectives on Canada and the world with the power to deepen connections between people, build communities and imagine a better future for all. The Canada Council for the Arts is honoured to celebrate the unique Canadian voices represented in these incredible literary works."
— Michelle Chawla, Director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts

Following a rigorous process, the peer assessment committees convened by the Canada Council have selected 70 books published in Canada over the last year as the 2025 finalists.

About the GGBooks

• Founded in 1936, the Governor General's Literary Awards are some of the oldest and most prestigious literary prizes in Canada, with a total annual prize value of $450,000.
• The Canada Council for the Arts has funded, administered and promoted these awards since 1959.
• Finalists are selected by category-specific, language-based peer assessment committees (seven in English and seven in French). This year, the committees considered eligible books published between August 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
• The writers, translators and illustrators whose books are selected as the winner in each category receive a $25,000 prize. Publishers receive $3,000 to promote the winning book; finalists receive $1,000 each.

English-language 2025 finalists (Seven categories)

Fiction

• Endling – Maria Reva (New Westminster, British Columbia), Knopf (Penguin Random House Canada)
• Hi, It's Me – Fawn Parker (Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Toronto, Ontario), McLelland & Stewart (Penguin Random House Canada)
• Juiceboxers – Benjamin Hertwig (Edmonton, Alberta), Freehand Books
• real ones – katherena vermette (Treaty 1 territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba), Penguin Random House Canada
• Small Ceremonies – Kyle Edwards (Lake Manitoba First Nation, Manitoba), McLelland & Stewart (Penguin Random House Canada)

Poetry

• 10:10 – Michael Trussler (Regina, Saskatchewan), icehouse poetry (Goose Lane Editions)
• Dante's Inferno: A new translation – Lorna Goodison (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia), Carcanet Press
• Island – Douglas Walbourne-Gough (Mi'kmaq First Nation, Elmastukwek (the Bay of Islands)), Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), icehouse poetry (Goose Lane Editions)
• Shadow Price – Farah Ghafoor (Toronto, Ontario), House of Anansi Press
• Wellwater – Karen Solie (Canada and Scotland), House of Anansi Press

Drama

• Downed Hearts – Catherine Banks (Sambro, Nova Scotia), Scirocco Drama (J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing)
• Fall on Your Knees – Alisa Palmer, Hannah Moscovitch (Montréal, Quebec / Halifax, Nova Scotia (Playwrights Canada Press)
• Little Pretty and The Exceptional – Anusree Roy (Toronto, Ontario), Playwrights Canada Press
• Rise, Red River – Tara Beagan (Calgary, Alberta), Playwrights Canada Press
• The Ministry of Grace – Tara Beagan (Calgary, Alberta), Scirocco Drama (J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing)

Non-fiction

• All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey – Teresa Wong (Calgary, Alberta), Arsenal Pulp Press
• How to Survive a Bear Attack – Claire Cameron (Toronto, Ontario), Knopf Canada (Penguin Random House Canada)
• Searching for Serafim: The Life and Legacy of Serafim "Joe" Fortes– Ruby Smith Dίaz (Ladysmith, British Columbia), Arsenal Pulp Press
• The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse: A Memoir – Vinh Nguyen (Toronto, Ontario), HarperCollins Canada
• What to Feel, How to Feel – Shane Neilson (Cambridge, Ontario), Palimpsest Press

Young People's Literature – Text

• A Drop in the Ocean – Léa Taranto (Burnaby, British Columbia), Arsenal Pulp Press
• Beast – Richard Van Camp (Edmonton, Alberta), Douglas & McIntyre
• Best of all Worlds – Kenneth Oppel (Toronto, Ontario) Tundra Books (Penguin Random House Canada)
• The Outsmarters – Deborah Ellis (Simcoe, Ontario) Groundwood Books
• Tig – Heather Smith (Waterloo, Ontario), Tundra Books (Penguin Random House Canada)

Young People's Literature – Illustrated Books

• Bog Myrtle, Sid Sharp (Toronto, Ontario), Annick Press
• It Bears Repeating – Tanya Tagaq, Cee Pootoogook (Toronto, Ontario / Cape Dorset, Nunavut), Tundra Books (Penguin Random House Canada)
• Oasis, Guojing (Surrey, British Columbia), Henry Holt & Co. (Macmillan Publishers)
• The Rock and the Butterfly, Kathy Stinson, Brooke Kerrigan (Rockwood, Ontario / Les Houches, France), Orca Book Publishers
• This Land is a Lullaby – Tonya Simpson, Delreé Dumont (Westerose, Alberta / Nakusp, British Columbia), Orca Book Publishers

Translation (from French to English)

• Baldwin, Styron, and Me – Catherine Khordoc (Ottawa, Ontario), Biblioasis; translation of Baldwin, Styron et moi, by Mélikah Abdelmoumen
• Farida – Phyllis Aronoff, Howard Scott (Montréal, Quebec / Montréal, Quebec), Mawenzi House Publishers; translation of Farida, by Monia Mazigh
• May Our Joy Endure – Donald Winkler (Montréal, Quebec), Biblioasis; translation of Que notre joie demeure, by Kevin Lambert
• Muybridge – Helge Dascher, Rob Aspinall (Montréal, Quebec / Guelph, Ontario), Drawn & Quarterly; translation of Muybridge, by Guy Delisle
• Uiesh / Somewhere – Jessica Moore (Toronto, Ontario), Talonbooks; translation of Uiesh / Quelque part, by Joséphine Bacon

French-language 2025 finalists (Seven categories)

Fiction

• Femmes silencieuses – Cristina Vanciu (Brossard, Quebec), Héliotrope
• Je mets mes rêves sur la table – Martina Chumova (Montréal, Quebec), Le Cheval d'août
• Les déterrées – Katia Belkhodja (Brossard, Quebec), Mémoire d'encrier
• Rapines – Patrice Lessard (Montréal, Quebec), Éditions XYZ
• Une histoire silencieuse – Alexandra Boilard-Lefebvre (Montréal, Quebec), La Peuplade

Poetry

• Aller aux corps – Laurence Veilleux (Rimouski, Quebec), Éditions du Noroît
• Au passage du fleuve – Paul Chanel Malenfant (Rimouski, Quebec), Éditions du Noroît
• Comparution – Angelina Guo (Longueuil, Quebec), Le Quartanier
• Les sutures – Catherine Harton (Montréal, Quebec), Poètes de brousse
• Mourir est beau – Stéphane Martelly (Montréal, Quebec), Éditions du Noroît

Drama

• Awards – Maxime Brillon (Montréal, Quebec), Les Herbes rouges
• Ces regards amoureux de garçons altérés – Éric Noël (Montréal, Quebec), Leméac Éditeur
• Fanny – Rébecca Déraspe (Montréal, Quebec), Éditions de Ta Mère
• La vengeance et l'oubli – Olivier Kemeid (Montréal, Quebec), Leméac Éditeur
• Paysages – Danièle LeBlanc (Montréal, Quebec), Lansman Editeur

Non-fiction

• Faire que! L'engagement politique à l'ère de l'inouï – Alain Deneault (Petite-Rivière-de-l'Île, New Brunswick), Lux Éditeur
• Mourir de froid, c'est beau, c'est long, c'est délicieux – Nathalie Plaat (Sherbrooke, Quebec), Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal (Les salicaires)
• Recueillir – Louise Warren (Saint-Lambert, Quebec), Éditions du Noroît
• Soigner, écrire – Ouanessa Younsi (Montréal, Quebec), Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal
• Tu viens d'où? Réflexions sur le métissage et les frontières – Maïka Sondarjee (Gatineau, Quebec), Lux Éditeur

Young People's Literature – Text

• Cheer – Laura Doyle Péan (Montréal, Quebec), Les Éditions de La Bagnole
• Coup bas – Laurie Léveillé (Montréal, Quebec), La courte échelle
• Fatigué mort – Marc-André Dufour-Labbé (Richmond, Quebec), Leméac Jeunesse
• Tête boule disco – Noémie Pomerleau-Cloutier (Rimouski, Quebec), Les Éditions du Boréal
• Vieille branche – Catherine Fouron (Montréal, Quebec), Les Éditions de La Bagnole

Young People's Literature – Illustrated Books

• En crise – Annick Lefebvre, Vincent Partel-Valette (Montréal, Quebec / Mont-Royal, Quebec), Les Éditions de La Bagnole
• La tasse de Gilles – Catherine Trudeau, Qin Leng (Longueuil, Quebec / Toronto, Ontario), La Pastèque
• Le livre aspirateur – Jocelyn Boisvert, Enzo (Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec / Montréal, Quebec), Éditions Michel Quintin
• Murielle et le mystère – Charlotte Parent (Bécancour, Quebec), Comme des géants
• Un cadeau de Noël en novembre – Stéphane Laporte, Jacques Goldstyn (Montréal, Quebec / Mont-Royal, Quebec), Les Éditions de La Bagnole

Translation (from English to French)

• Créatures obscures du 21^e siècle – Annie Goulet (Montréal, Quebec), Héliotrope; translation of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21^st Century, by Kim Fu
• Étude pour l'obéissance – Catherine Leroux (Montréal, Quebec), Alto; translation of Study for Obedience, by Sarah Bernstein
• Les sœurs de la Muée – Sylvie Bérard, Suzanne Grenier (Peterborough, Ontario / Montréal, Quebec), Le Quartanier; translation of The Tiger Flu, by Larissa Lai
• Nous, Jane – Geneviève Robichaud, Danielle LeBlanc (Tantramar, New Brunswick / Moncton, New Brunswick), Éditions Perce-Neige; translation of We, Jane, by Aimee Wall
• Rouge – Marie Frankland (Montréal, Quebec), Québec Amérique; translation of Rouge, by Mona Awad

Makeup of the 2025 English-language peer assessment committees

Fiction: Carol Bruneau, Bridget Canning, Conor Kerr
Poetry: Tammy Armstrong, Katia Grubisic, Kevin Irie
Drama: Kanika Ambrose, Sharon King-Campbell, Bruce McKay
Non-fiction: Kevin Chong, Norma Dunning, Adrienne Gruber
Young People's Literature – Text: Wayne Arthurson, Susin Nielsen, Karen Rivers
Young People's Literature – Illustrated Books: Dawn Baker, Matthew Forsythe, Bridget George
Translation (from French to English): Bilal Hashmi, Dimitri Nasrallah

Makeup of the 2025 French-language peer assessment committees

Fiction: Daniel Grenier, Ayavi Lake, Sophie Létourneau
Poetry: Chantal Ringuet, Patrick Roy, Ouanessa Younsi
Drama: Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, Pénélope Bourque, Émilie Monnet
Non-fiction: Marie-Pier Lafontaine, Guylaine Massoutre, Melchior Mbonimpa
Young People's Literature – Text: Lula Carballo, Mathieu Fortin, François Gilbert
Young People's Literature – Illustrated Books: Katia Canciani, Lyne Gareau, Samuel Parent
Translation (from English to French): Arianne Des Rochers, Émilie Laramée, Paul Ruban

Mark your calendars

The 14 winning books will be announced on November 6, 2025. For more information, visit: ggbooks.ca.

About the Canada Council for the Arts

The Canada Council for the Arts mandate is to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. Through its grants, services, prizes, initiatives, and payments, the Canada Council supports a dynamic and diverse arts and literary scene. These activities generate a meaningful economic, cultural and social impact for over 2,000 communities in all parts of the country and beyond. The investments and leadership of the Council help advance public engagement in the arts from coast to coast to coast while also contributing to the international recognition of artists and arts organizations from Canada. 

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SOURCE Canada Council for the Arts