The winners of the 1998 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced by

Jean-Louis Roux Jean-Louis Roux, (May 18, 1923 – November 28, 2013) was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the List of lieutenant governors of Quebec#Lieutenant Governors of Quebec, 1867–present, 26th Lieutenant Governor of Que ...

, Chairman, and Shirley L. Thomson, Director of the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

on November 17 in Ottawa. Each winner received a cheque for $10,000.

English-language finalists

Fiction

Diane Schoemperlen Diane Mavis Schoemperlen (born July 9, 1954) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Early life and education Schoemperlen was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and educated at Lakehead University. Career Schoemperlen's first novel, ''In the ...

, ''Forms of Devotion'' *

Lynn Coady Lynn Coady (born January 24, 1970)Lynn Coady
at

Barbara Gowdy Barbara Gowdy, CM (born 25 June 1950) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Born in Windsor, Ontario, she is the long-time partner of poet Christopher Dewdney and resides in Toronto. Literary career Gowdy's novel '' Falling Angels'' ...

, ''

The White Bone ''The White Bone'' is a Canadian novel written by Barbara Gowdy and published by HarperCollins in 1999. It was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 1998. Sometimes compared to Richard Adams's ''Watership Down'', it is an adult fantasy sto ...

'' * Wayne Johnston, ''

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams ''The Colony of Unrequited Dreams'' is a novel by Wayne Johnston, published on September 30, 1998 by Knopf Canada. Johnston's breakthrough work, the novel was a Canadian bestseller, and was shortlisted for the 1998 Giller Prize and the 1998 Gov ...

'' *

Kerri Sakamoto Kerri Sakamoto (born 1960 in Toronto) is a Canadian novelist. Her novels commonly deal with the experience of Japanese Canadians. Sakamoto's debut novel, ''The Electrical Field'' (1998), won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. It ...

, ''The Electrical Field''

Poetry

Stephanie Bolster Stephanie Bolster (born 1969) is a Canadian poet and professor of creative writing at Concordia University, Montreal. History She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (1991) and a Master of Fine Arts (1994) from the University of Br ...

, ''White Stone: The Alice Poems'' *

Louise Bernice Halfe Louise Bernice Halfe, is a Cree poet and social worker from Canada. Halfe's Cree name is Sky Dancer. At the age of seven, she was forced to attend Blue Quills Residential School in St. Paul, Alberta. Halfe signed with Coteau Books in 1994 and has ...

, ''Blue Marrow'' *

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

, ''Handwriting'' *

Lisa Robertson Lisa Robertson (born July 22, 1961) is a Canadian poet, essayist and translator. She lives in France. Life and work Born in Toronto, Ontario, Robertson moved to British Columbia in 1979, first living on Saltspring Island, then in Vancouver, wh ...

, ''Debbie: An Epic'' *

Kathy Shaidle Kathy Shaidle (7 May 1964 – 9 January 2021) was a Canadian author, columnist, poet and blogger. A self-described "anarcho-peacenik" in the early years of her writing career, she moved to a conservative, Roman Catholic position following the ...

, ''Lobotomy Magnificat''

Drama

Djanet Sears Djanet Sears is a Canadian playwright, actor and director, nationally recognized for her work in African-Canadian theatre. Sears has many credits in writing and editing highly acclaimed dramas such as ''Afrika Solo'', the first stage play to be wr ...

, ''

Harlem Duet ''Harlem Duet'' is a 1997 dramatic play by Canadian playwright Djanet Sears. Billie, a young graduate student in Harlem, deals with her husband Othello leaving her for a white woman named Mona. The play moves through time to show Billie and O ...

'' * Bruce McManus, ''Selkirk Avenue'' *

Richard Sanger Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, ''Not Spain'' *

Sandra Shamas Sandra Shamas (born 1957) is a Canadian puppeteer, comedic actress, writer, director and producer. Biography Shamas was born in Sudbury, Ontario. She moved to Toronto in 1980, where she held a variety of jobs before a workshop at The Second City i ...

, ''Sandra Shamas: A Trilogy of Performances'' * David Young, ''Inexpressible Island''

Non-fiction

David Adams Richards David Adams Richards (born 17 October 1950) is a Canadian writer and member of the Canadian Senate.

, ''Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi'' *

Wayne Grady Wayne Desmond Grady (born 26 July 1957) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Born in Brisbane, Grady turned professional in 1978. Professional career Grady began his career on the PGA Tour of Australia. He had much early suc ...

, ''The Quiet Limit of the World: A Journey to the North Pole to Investigate Global Warming'' * Charlotte Gray, ''Mrs. King: The Life and Times of Isabel Mackenzie King'' * Judy Schultz, ''Mamie's Children: Three Generations of Prairie Women'' *

Rudy Wiebe Rudy Henry Wiebe (born 4 October 1934) is a Canadian author and professor emeritus in the department of English at the University of Alberta since 1992.

and

Yvonne Johnson Yvonne Johnson was the mayor of Greensboro, North Carolina, from 2007 until 2009. She was previously a member of the Greensboro City Council for 14 years, beginning in 1993 and Mayor Pro-Tem for 6 years. Johnson was the first African-American t ...

, ''Stolen Life: The Journey of a Cree Woman''

Children's literature (text)

Janet Lunn Janet Louise Lunn, ('' née'' Swoboda; December 28, 1928 – June 26, 2017) was a Canadian children's writer. Early life and education Lunn was born in Dallas, Texas; she moved with her family to Vermont when she was an infant. In 1938, she ...

, ''The Hollow Tree'' *

Gayle Friesen Gayle Friesen (born September 18, 1960) is a Canadian author of young adult novels. She was raised in Chilliwack, British Columbia. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia. She is married with two children. Fries ...

, ''Janey's Girl'' *

Julie Johnston Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

, ''The Only Outcast'' *

Janet McNaughton Janet McNaughton (born November 29, 1953) is a Canadian writer from Newfoundland and Labrador. She wrote the coming of age novel, ''An Earthly Knight'', published in 2003. Life She was born in Toronto, Ontario and stayed there for 26 years, movi ...

, ''Make or Break Spring'' * Sarah Withrow, ''Bat Summer''

Children's literature (illustration)

Kady MacDonald Denton Kady MacDonald Denton (born 22 July 1941) is a Canadian creator of children's books, primarily an illustrator of picture books. She observed in 2011 that "I'm in that quickly-shrinking group of illustrators who doesn’t use a computer at any st ...

, ''A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes'' * Victor Bosson, ''The Fox's Kettle'' * Harvey Chan, ''Music for the Tsar of the Sea'' * Zhong-Yang Huang, ''The Great Race'' *

Stéphane Jorisch Stéphane Jorisch is a Canadian artist and illustrator. He is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Award for French-language children's illustration(once in 1993 for ''Le Monde selon Jean de ...'' and in 1999 for ''Charlotte et l'île du des ...

, ''The Village of a Hundred Smiles and Other Stories''

Translation (from French to English)

Sheila Fischman Sheila Leah Fischman (born 1 December 1937) is a Canadian translator who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature from French to English. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, she was brought up in Ontario. She hold ...

, ''Bambi and Me'' *

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

, ''Voltaire's Man in America'' *

David Homel David Homel (born 1952) is an American-Canadian writer and literary translator.Ian McGillis"Montreal's David Homel counsels self-forgiveness in new memoir" ''Montreal Gazette'', April 23, 2021. He is most noted as a two-time winner of the Governo ...

, ''The Second Fiddle'' *

Daniel Sloate Daniel Sloate (January 27, 1931 – April 10, 2009) was a Canadian translator, poet and playwright. Sloate attended the University of Western Ontario (where he obtained a B.A. in French and English) and obtained a doctorate in French literature f ...

, ''Aknos and Other Poems''

French-language finalists

Fiction

* Christiane Frenette, ''La Terre ferme'' *

Marie-Célie Agnant Marie-Célie Agnant (born 1953, Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is an author who has been living in Canada since 1970. Agnant is a writer of poems, novels and novellas, and she has also published children's books. She is also a storyteller and occasiona ...

, ''Le Silence comme le sang'' * Madeleine Gagnon, ''Le Deuil du soleil'' *

Nancy Huston Nancy Louise Huston, OC (born September 16, 1953) is a Canadian-born novelist and essayist who writes primarily in French and translates her own works into English. Biography Huston was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the city in which she l ...

, ''L'Empreinte de l'ange'' *

Pierre Samson Pierre Samson (born 1958) is a Canadian writer. He was born in Montreal, Quebec and settled in Toronto, Ontario in 1995 where he wrote his first novel ''Messie de Belém''. He returned to Montreal and published a second novel entitled ''Un garço ...

, ''Un garçon de compagnie''

Poetry

Suzanne Jacob Suzanne Jacob (born 1943) is a French Canadian novelist, poet, playwright, singer-songwriter, and critic. Life and career Born in the town of Amos, in the Abitibi region of Québec, she studied classics at the Collège Notre-Dame de l'Assomp ...

, ''La Part de feu preceded by Le Deuil de la rancune'' *

Hugues Corriveau Hugues may refer to People: * Hugues de Payens (c. 1070–1136), French soldier * Hugues I de Lusignan (1194/95 –1218), French-descended ruler a.k.a. Hugh I of Cyprus * Hugues IV de Berzé (1150s–1220), French soldier * Hugues II de Lusignan ...

, ''Le Livre du frère'' *

Hélène Dorion Hélène Dorion, (born 21 April 1958) is a Canadian poet, and writer. Life Born in Quebec City, Quebec, Dorion taught literature before heading Publisher Noroît from 1991 until 2000. She also conducted a series of audio recordings of poetry and ...

, ''Les Murs de la grotte'' * Christine Richard, ''L'Eau des oiseaux'' * Michel van Schendel, ''Bitumes''

Drama

François Archambault François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, ''15 secondes'' * Serge Boucher, ''Motel Hélène'' *

Olivier Choinière Olivier Choinière (born July 10, 1973) is a Canadian playwright from Granby, Quebec.Gaëtan Charlebois"Choinière, Olivier" ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', April 24, 2020. He is most noted as a three-time nominee for the Governor General's Aw ...

, ''Le Bain des raines'' *

Carole Fréchette Carole Fréchette (born 1949) is a Canadian playwright. She won the Siminovitch Prize in 2002. To date she has written more than a dozen plays including ''The Four Lives of Marie'', ''The Seven Days of Simon Labrosse'', ''Helen's Necklace'', ''J ...

, ''La Peau d'Élisa'' * Suzanne Lebeau, ''L'Ogrelet''

Non-fiction

Pierre Nepveu Pierre Nepveu (born 16 September 1946 in Montreal, Quebec) is a French Canadian poet, novelist and essayist. As a scholar, he specializes in modern Quebec poetry, in particular the work of Gaston Miron. He taught at the French Studies Departm ...

, ''Intérieurs du Nouveau Monde : Essais sur les littératures du Québec et des Amériques'' * Chantal Bouchard, ''La Langue et le Nombril : Histoire d'une obsession québécoise'' * Marcel Olscamp, ''Le Fils du notaire Jacques Ferron 1921-1949 : Genèse intellectuelle d'un écrivain'' *

Régine Robin Régine Robin (born as Rivka Ajzersztejn; 10 December 1939 – 3 February 2021) was a historian, novelist, translator and professor of sociology. Her prolific fiction and non-fiction, primarily on the themes of identity and culture and on the socio ...

, ''Le Golem de l'écriture : De l'autofiction au Cybersoi'' * Patricia Smart, ''Les Femmes du Refus global''

Children's literature (text)

* Angèle Delaunois, ''Variations sur un même «t'aime»'' * Guy Dessureault, ''Lettre de Chine'' * Daniel Mativat, ''Terreur sur la Windigo'' * Danielle Rochette, ''La Fugue d'Antoine'' * Hélène Vachon, ''Le Cinéma de Somerset''

Children's literature (illustration)

Pierre Pratt Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, ''Monsieur Ilétaitunefois'' * Stéphane Poulin, ''Petit zizi'' * Alain Reno, ''Un tartare pour le bonhomme Sept Heures'' * Yayo, ''Le Chasseur d'arc-en-ciel''

English-to-French translation

* Charlotte Melançon, ''Les Sources du moi : La Formation de l'identité moderne'' * Paule Noyart, ''Leonard Cohen : Le Canadien errant'' *

Hélène Rioux Hélène Rioux (born January 12, 1949) is a French Canadian writer and translator. She was born in Montreal, Quebec and was educated at the Cégep du Vieux-Montréal, going on to study Russian at the Université de Montréal. Her stories have be ...

, ''Self'' {{Governor General's Literary Awards Governor General's Awards

Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...