Each year, the Governor General’s Literary Awards (the GGs) honour the best in Canadian literature.
As Canada’s national literary awards, the GGs represent the rich diversity of Canadian literature. Some 1,600 books are submitted each year from English and French-language publishers representing authors, translators and illustrators from across Canada, in seven categories.
- Fiction
- Poetry
- Drama
- Non-fiction
- Children’s literature – text
- Children’s literature – illustration
- Translation
For each category, a jury, comprised of fellow authors, translators and illustrators, makes the final selection. Each GG winner receives $25,000 and a specially-bound copy of their winning book. Non-winning finalists each receive $1,000. The publisher of each winning book receives $3,000 to help promote the book. The total annual value of the GGs is close to $450,000.