The Governor General's Award for English-language children's writing is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, one each for writers and illustrators of English- and French-language books. The Governor General's Awards program is administered by the Canada Council.
In name, this award is part of the Governor General's Award program only from 1987 but there was a single award for "Juvenile" literature from 1949 to 1958, and the four present-day "Children's" awards were established in 1975 under a Canada Council name. In the event, the "Canada Council" and "Governor General's" awards have recognized writing in an English-language children's book every year from 1975.
Juvenile fiction
The oldest of now-14 annual Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were inaugurated in 1936. One award for a "juvenile" book was introduced in 1949, and conferred every year to 1958. Throughout those ten years, the juvenile literature award was one of five in the program, all for English-language books. +Juvenile fiction winners, 1949–1958YearAuthorTitle1949Franklin of the Arctic195019511952Cargoes on the Great Lakes1953Rebels Ride at Night195419551956Lost in the Barrens19571958NkwalaTwo of the Governor General's Award-winning writers also won the Canadian Library Association award for children's book writing, recognizing the same book: Richard Lambert in 1949 and Farley Mowat in 1958. The CLA Book of the Year for Children Award was conferred six times during these ten years.
Canada Council Children's Literature Prize
In 1975 the Canada Council established four annual prizes of $5000 for the year's best English- and French-language children's books by Canadian writers and illustrators. Those "Canada Council Children's Literature Prizes" were continued under the "Governor General's Awards" rubric from 1987, and continue today. Among them the English-language writing prize was awarded every year from 1975. +Canada Council Children's Literature Prize winners, 1975–1986YearAuthorTitle1975Shantymen of Cache Lake19761977Listen for the Singing 1978Hold Fast1979Days of Terror1980, illus. by Douglas Tait1981 1982Hunter in the Dark19831984Sweetgrass1985Julie1986Shadow in Hawthorn BayThree of the CCCLP-winning English-language writers also won the annual Canadian Library Association award for children's book writing, recognizing the same book. Their CLA Book of the Year for Children Awards are dated one year later: Kevin Major 1979, Cora Taylor 1986, and Janet Lunn 1987. The CLA Book of the Year was inaugurated in 1947 and has been awarded every year since 1963."Book of the Year for Children Award" [winners]. Book Awards. Canadian Library Association (cla.org). Retrieved 2015-08-06.
Two of the CCCLP-winning English-language writers also won the CLA Young Adult Book Award, recognizing the same book, namely Monica Hughes in 1983 and Janet Lunn in 1987."Young Adult Book Award" [winners]. Book Awards. CLA. Retrieved 2015-08-06. That is, Janet Lunn and Shadow in Hawthorn Bay (1986) won both the CLA awards for children's and young-adult books.
According to one WorldCat library record The Trouble With Princesses (McClelland & Stewart, 1980) "retells stories about Northwest Coast princesses and compares them with similar Old World princesses", . For their collaboration Christie Harris won the CCCLP prize for English-language writing and Douglas Tait won the CLA award for children's book illustration, the 1981 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award."Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award" [list of winners]. Book Awards. CLA. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
Children's literature (writing)
Four books listed below, winners of the English-language writing award under the "Governor General's" name, were also named CLA Book of the Year for Children: Bedard 1991, Wynne-Jones 1994, Porter 2006, and Nielsen 2013. Four of them also won the CLA Young Adult Book Award: Wieler 1990, Johnston 1995, Wynne-Jones 1996, and Brooks 2003.
1980s +Award winners, 1987–1989YearAuthorTitleResult 1987 Galahad Schwartz and the Cockroach ArmyWinner False Face Finalist Going to the Dogs 1988 Winner Paradise Café and Other Stories Finalist Easy Avenue Little by Little 1989 Bad BoyWinner Finalist Circle of Light
1990s +Award winners, 1990–1999YearAuthorTitleResult 1990 RedworkWinner Finalist Covered Bridge Whale Singer 1991 Pick-Up SticksWinner Two Moons in August Finalist Stars Come Out Within 1992 Hero of Lesser CausesWinner My Mother's Ghost Finalist 1812: Jeremy and the General Looking at the Moon 1993 Some of the Kinder PlanetsWinner Bryna Means CourageFinalist Drifting Snow: An Arctic Search Daniel's Story My Name Is Seepeetza 1994 Adam and Eve and Pinch-MeWinner Out of the BlueFinalist Josepha: A Prairie Boy's Story Past Tense 1995 Winner Mission Impossible Finalist Tess Out of the Dark RanVan A Worthy Opponent 1996 Ghost TrainWinner KeriFinalist Bottom Drawer Glory Days and Other Stories 1997 Awake and DreamingWinner One Thing That's TrueFinalist Wish Me Luck Dippers 1998 Winner Janey's GirlFinalist Make or Break Spring Bat Summer 1999 Winner Finalist Hate You Each One Special
2000s +Award winners, 2000–2009YearAuthorTitleResult 2000 Looking for XWinner Being with HenryFinalist Charlie Wilcox Kalifax 2001 DustWinner Mary Ann AliceFinalist Before Wings In Spite of Killer Bees 2002 True Confessions of a Heartless GirlWinner Finalist Parvana's Journey Hana's Suitcase 2003StitchesWinner Finalist Theories of Relativity Ann and Seamus 2004AirbornWinner Heck SuperheroFinalist Esther Red Land, Yellow River: A Story from the Cultural Revolution 2005Winner AfterFinalist Hannah Waters and the Daughter of Johann Sebastian Bach Mella and the N'anga: An African Tale Swimming in the Monsoon Sea 2006Pirate's PassageWinner Ingrid and the WolfFinalist Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen Me and the Blondes Friendships 2007Gemini SummerWinner Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose: The Story of a PaintingFinalist Vanessa Farquharson, "Heavyweights vie for fiction prize; Two Islanders in the running for Governor General's Literary Awards". Victoria Times-Colonist, October 17, 2007. Elijah of Buxton Kanada 2008Winner LibertadFinalist Shimmerdogs Child of Dandelions Skim 2009Greener Grass: The Famine YearsWinner Sister WifeFinalist Home Free
2010s +Award winners, 2010–2019YearAuthorTitle 2010FishtailingWinner Me, Myself and Ike Finalist Tyranny Free as a Bird Scars 2011From Then to Now: A Short History of the WorldWinner A Hare in the Elephant's TrunkFinalist No Ordinary Day This Dark Endeavour Blink & Caution 2012Winner SeraphinaFinalist Under the Moon 2013Winner Finalist Becoming Holmes Once Upon a Northern Light Counting Back from Nine 2014When Everything Feels Like the MoviesWinner Finalist Jeremy Stone and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley Skraelings This One Summer 2015Winner Audrey (cow)Finalist Are You Seeing Me? We Are All Made of Molecules Young Man with Camera 2016CalvinWinner Finalist Once, in a Town Called Moth 2017Winner Hit the Ground RunningFinalist Those Who Run in the Sky Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined 2018Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her MonsterWinner Finalist Learning to Breathe and Josh Greenhut Winnie's Great War Ebb & Flow 2019Stand on the SkyWinner Break in Case of EmergencyFinalist Cold White Sun Girl of the Southern Sea
2020s +Award winners, 2020–presentYearAuthorTitleResultRef 2020Winner NeversFinalist Pine Island Home and Tara Anderson Harvey Holds His Own 2021FireflyWinner Peter Lee's Notes from the FieldFinalist Unravel Blood Like Magic and Kevin Sylvester 2022Winner StepFinalist Sorry for Your Loss Urchin 2023 Sarah Everett The Probability of Everything Winner "Anuja Varghese wins Governor General's literary award for fiction". Toronto Star, November 8, 2023. Michelle Kadarusman Berani Finalist "Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for $25K Governor General's Literary Awards". CBC Books, October 25, 2023. Zoulfa Katouh As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow Iain Lawrence Fire on Headless Mountain Kim Spencer Weird Rules to Follow 2024 Li Charmaine Anne Crash Landing Winner Cassandra Drudi, "Jordan Abel, Niigaan Sinclair among 2024 Governor General's award winners". Quill & Quire, November 13, 2024. Cherie Dimaline Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix Finalist Cassandra Drudi, "Canisia Lubrin, Danny Ramadan among 2024 Governor General's Literary Award finalists". Quill & Quire, October 8, 2024. Shari Green Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams June Hur A Crane Among Wolves Kristy Jackson Mortified 2025 Heather Smith Tig Winner Nicole Thompson, "Kyle Edwards wins Governor General's Literary Award for fiction". Toronto Star, November 6, 2025. Deborah Ellis The Outsmarters Finalist "Governor General's Literary Awards shortlists announced". Quill & Quire, October 21, 2025. Kenneth Oppel Best of All Worlds Léa Taranto A Drop in the Ocean Richard Van Camp Beast
See also
Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration Governor General's Award for French-language children's literature Governor General's Award for French-language children's illustration
References