The Canada Council for the Arts announced the finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards on Wednesday morning.
Five titles were selected in the Novels and Short Stories category: Galumpf, by Marie Hélène Poitras (Alto); The gold of the larches, by Carole Labarre (Mémoire d’encrier); My Son Did Not Return for Seven Days, by David Clerson (Heliotrope); Dark is the night, by Brigitte Haentjens (Boréal); and A postcard from the ocean, by Stéfani Meunier (Leméac).
In poetry, these are the collections On the Open Earth, by Sebastián Ibarra Gutiérrez (Hammock); Atikᵁ utei. The Heart of the Caribou, by Rita Mestokosho (Inkwell Memory); Exercises for Joy, by Louise Dupré (Le Noroît); The Factory of Black, by Virginie Chaloux-Gendron (Le Noroît); and Transparent Mourning, by Virginie Savard (Triptych).
In the Essays category, the finalists are Faux rebels: The excesses of political incorrectness, by Philippe Bernier Arcand (Bush Poets); I accuse the torturers of Omar Khadr, Frédéric Bérard (Saint-Jean); The Provocation Society, by Dahlia Namian (Lux); Mégaptère, by Martine Béland (Leméac); and Panic at the University, by Francis Dupuis-Déri (Lux).
Among the finalists in the Theater category are Akuteu, by Soleil Launière (Éditions du stir-ménage); Charlie, wind behind the navel, by Martin Bellemare (Dramaturges); Big guys, by Mathieu Gosselin (Somme tout); Ice cream, by Rébecca Déraspe (Ta Mère); and Mama, by Nathalie Doummar (Editions du Stir-Mage).
The other award-winning categories are Children’s Literature, in which Sylvie Drapeau’s first children’s novel, Escarpolette (Dominique and company/Héritage), was ranked among others; Illustrated books, which includes among the finalists I write you from my bed, by Maude Nepveu-Villeneuve and Agathe Bray-Bourret (The 400 Blows); and finally Translation from English to French, in which the translation of Emma Hooper’s novel Let’s not be afraid of the sky, signed by Dominique Fortier (at Alto), has carved out a place for itself.
In total, 70 finalists published nationally in 2022 and 2023 were chosen, in French and English.
Winners in all seven categories will be announced on November 8.