Two Albertans named finalists for 2022 Governor General’s Literary Awards
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The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the finalists, including two Albertans, for the Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks). Seventy books were chosen in 14 categories – seven categories in English and seven in French.
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Finalists come from across Canada – living in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Of the 82 individual writers, illustrators and translators, the overwhelming majority this year are women, and 71% of people are first-time GGBook finalists, including some for whom the book is their first publication.
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This year’s nominated books are genre and boundary-pushing, discussing gender-based violence, Indigenous experience, racism, culture, identity and belonging.
The Alberta finalists are:
Alyssa Koski, an Okotoks illustrator and member of the Kainai Nation. She worked on the book The Move – Literature for young people (illustrated books) with Doris George of Easterville, Man., and Don K. Philpot of Shippensburg, Penn.
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The Move is a bilingual story of two Cree elders adjusting to life in their new surroundings after their people have been displaced from their ancestral homeland. Using traditional Cree storytelling techniques and vivid imagery, the new landscape comes alive and becomes a true community, filled with life and happiness.
Susan Ouriou, of Calgary, for the translation of White Resin. Ouriou won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation in 2009 for pieces of me. She was also a finalist in 2021, 2015 (with Christine Morelli), 2003 and 1995.
The book she translated from the original by Audree Wilhelmy is described as aan ethereal love story of the almost impossible reconciliation between the manufactured world and the bewitching, feminine nature that envelops it.
The books in the running for the English Fiction Prize are All the Quiet Places (Brian Thomas Isaac), Finding Edward (Sheila Murray), Probably Ruby (Lisa Bird-Wilson), Pure Color (Sheila Heti), The Most Precious Substance on Earth, (Shashi Bhat).
Other categories for English and French include poetry, drama, non-fiction, children’s literature (text), children’s literature (illustrated) and translation.
Each winner will receive $25,000 and runners-up will receive $1,000 each. Winners will be announced November 16 on ggbooks.ca.
