Each winner of the 1989 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $5000 and a medal from the
Governor General of Canada. The winners and nominees were selected by a panel of judges administered by the
Canada Council for the Arts.
English language
Fiction
Winner:
*
Paul Quarrington
Paul Lewis Quarrington (July 22, 1953 – January 21, 2010) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, musician and educator.
Background
Born in Toronto as the middle of three sons in the family of four of Bruce Quarrington, , ''
Whale Music ''Whale music'' is a term for whale sound. It may also refer to:
*'' Whale Music'', a 1989 novel by Paul Quarrington
* ''Whale Music'' (film), a 1994 Canadian film based on the Quarrington novel
**'' Music from the Motion Picture Whale Music'', the ...
''
Other Finalists:
*
Ann Copeland
Ann Copeland is the pen name of Virginia Walsh Furtwangler (born December 16, 1932),W. H. New, ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''. University of Toronto Press, 2002. . Entry "Copeland, Ann", p. 236. an American and Canadian writer. She was a ...
, ''The Golden Thread''
*
Helen Weinzweig
Helen Weinzweig (1915–2010), née Tenenbaum, was a Canadian writer. , ''A View from the Roof''
Poetry
Winner:
*
Heather Spears, ''The Word for Sand''
Other Finalists:
*
Tim Lilburn
Tim Lilburn (born 27 June 1950) is a Canadian poet and essayist. Lilburn was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He obtained a B.A. from the University of Regina, a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Gonzaga University, and his PhD from McMaster Uni ...
, ''Tourist to Ecstasy''
*
Stephen Scobie, ''Dunino''
Drama
Winner:
*
Judith Thompson, ''The Other Side of the Dark''
Other Finalists:
*
Tomson Highway, ''
Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing
''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'' is a play by Canadian writer Tomson Highway (Cree), which premiered in 1989 at Theatre Passe-Muraille in Toronto.
Character List
*Nanabush (playing the spirit of Gazelle Nataways, Patsy Pegahmagahbow, a ...
''
*
John Krizanc
John Krizanc (born 1956) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright who established an international reputation with his non-linear work, ''Tamara (play), Tamara''. Exploring the rise of Fascism in 1920s Italy, the play was one of the first non-linear, i ...
, ''
Tamara''
Non-fiction
Winner:
*
Robert Calder
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career h ...
, ''Willie-The Life of W. Somerset Maugham''
Other Finalists:
*
Janice Boddy, ''Wombs and Alien Spirits''
*
Robert MacNeil, ''Wordstruck''
*
Dale A. Russell, ''An Odyssey in Time: The Dinosaurs of North America''
Children's literature – text
Winner:
*
Diana Wieler
Diana Wieler (born October 14, 1961) is a Canadian writer of children's books.
The daughter of Jean Florence Zebrasky and Heinz Egon Petrich, she was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and was educated there and in Calgary, Alberta. She attended the South ...
, ''Bad Boy''
Other Finalists:
*
Kit Pearson, ''The Sky is Falling''
*
Eliane Corbeil Roe Eliane can refer to:
Éliane
* Éliane a French feminine given name
** Éliane, the name for Hill A1 in the 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu taken by Colonel General Nguyễn Hữu An
* Pierre Éliane (1955), French singer and Carmelite friar
Eliane
I ...
, ''Circle of Light''
Children's literature – illustration
Winner:
*
Robin Muller, ''The Magic Paintbrush''
Other Finalists:
*
Michèle Lemieux
Michèle Lemieux (born May 29, 1955) is a Canadian illustrator and animator.Patricia Belzil"Michèle Lemieux : Nuit d’orage" ''Voir
''Voir'' was a francophone alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, Quebec, published by Communications Voir. ...
, ''A Gift from Saint Francis''
*
Jan Thornhill, ''The Wildlife 123''
Translation (French to English)
Winner:
*
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 succ ...
, ''On the Eighth Day''
Other Finalists:
*
Arlette Francière, ''Kaleidoscope''
*
Donald Winkler, ''Rose and Thorn''
French language
Fiction
Winner:
*
, ''La Rage''
Other Finalists:
*
Robert Lalonde, ''Le Diable en personne''
*
Jacques Poulin, ''Le Vieux Chagrin''
Poetry
Winner:
*
Pierre DesRuisseaux, ''Monème''
Other Finalists:
*
Christiane Frenette
Christiane Frenette (born November 18, 1954) is a Quebec educator and writer.
The daughter of Pierrette Duchesne and Claude Frenette, she was born in Quebec City and received a master's degree in Quebec literature from the Université Laval. Fren ...
, ''Cérémonie mémoire''
*
Élise Turcotte
Élise Turcotte (born 26 June 1957 in Sorel, Quebec) is a Canadian writer. She completed her BA and MA in literary studies at the University of Quebec and later received her doctorate at the Université de Sherbrooke. She now teaches literature ...
, ''La Terre est ici''
Drama
Winner:
*
Michel Garneau
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
, ''Mademoiselle Rouge''
Other Finalists:
*
Michel Marc Bouchard, ''Les Muses orphelines''
*
Robert Claing
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, ''La Femme d'intérieur''
Non-fiction
Winner:
*
Lise Noël Lise may refer to:
People
* Eliseo Nicolás Alonso (known as Lise; 1955–2012), Spanish woodcarver and sculptor
* Claude Lise (born 1941), French politician from Martinique
Given name
Lise is a variant of the given name Lisa
*Lise de Baissac, M ...
, ''L'Intolérance : une problématique générale''
Other Finalists:
*
Jean Éthier-Blais, ''Fragments d'une enfance''
*
Pierre Morency, ''L'Oeil américain''
Children's literature – text
Winner:
*
Charles Montpetit
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
, ''Temps mort''
Other Finalists:
*
Jacques Lazure
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
, ''Le Domaine des Sans Yeux''
*
Joceline Sanschagrin
Joceline Sanschagrin (born September 2, 1950) is a Canadian writer living in Quebec.
She was born in Montreal and studied French literature at the Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal and the Cégep du Vieux Montréal. She went on to earn a bachelor ...
, ''La Fille aux cheveux rouges''
Children's literature – illustration
Winner:
*
Stéphane Poulin, ''Benjamin et la saga des oreillers''
Other Finalists:
*
Frédéric Back, ''L'Homme qui plantait des arbres''
*
Philippe Béha, ''Mais que font les fées avec toutes ces dents?''
Translation (English to French)
Winner:
*
Jean Antonin Billard, ''Les Âges de l'amour''
Other Finalists:
*
Ronald Guévremont, ''Comme un vent chaud de Chine''
*
Christine Klein-Lataud
Christine may refer to:
People
* Christine (name), a female given name
Film
* ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei''
* ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name
* ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...
, ''Un Oiseau dans la maison''
{{GovernorGeneralsAwards
Governor General's Awards
Governor General's Awards
Governor General's Awards