Each winner of the 1961 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study a ...

Winners

English Language

*Fiction:

Malcolm Lowry Clarence Malcolm Lowry (; 28 July 1909 – 26 June 1957) was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel ''Under the Volcano'', which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list.

, ''Hear Us O Lord from Heaven Thy Dwelling Place'' *Poetry or Drama: Robert Finch, ''Acis in Oxford'' *Non-Fiction:

T. A. Goudge Thomas Anderson Goudge (1910–1999) was a Canadian philosopher and university professor. Career He was born on January 19, 1910, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, son of Thomas Norman and Effie (Anderson) Goudge. He graduated from the Halifax Academy ...

, ''The Ascent of Life''

French Language

*Fiction:

Yves Thériault Yves Thériault OC (November 27, 1915 – October 20, 1983) was a Canadian author. He was born in Quebec City to Alcide and Aurore (Nadeau) Thériault. On April 21, 1942, he married Germaine Blanchet, with whom he had two children, Marie-José ...

, ''Ashini'' *Non-Fiction:

Jean Le Moyne Jean Le Moyne, (February 17, 1913 – April 1, 1996) was a Canadian theologian, journalist, social theorist, and screenwriter. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1982. Born in Montreal, Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of C ...

, ''Convergences''

References

{{GovernorGeneralsAwards 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 ...