articles
October 24, 2000
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Nominees At A Glance >>Fiction • The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood • Anil's Ghost Michael Ondaatje • Mercy Among the Children David Adams Richards • Monkey Beach Eden Robinson • The Question Austin Clarke >>Poetry • His Life George Bowering • Another Gravity Don McKay • Rest on the Flight into Egypt A.F. Moritz • Water Stair John Pass • Ruin and Beauty Patricia Young >>Drama • Consecrated Ground George Boyd • Elizabeth Rex Timothy Findley • Alien Creature Linda Griffiths • Monster Daniel MacIvor and Daniel Brooks • It's All True Jason Sherman >>Nonfiction • A Story as Sharp as a Knife Robert Bringhurst • The Girl in the Picture Denise Chong • River in a Dry Land Trevor Herriot • The Spinster and the Prophet A. B. McKillop • Notes from the Hyena's Belly Nega Mezlekia >>Children's Lit: Text • Being with Henry Martha Brooks • Looking for X Deborah Ellis • Charlie Wilcox Sharon E. McKay • The Shaman's Nephew Sheldon Oberman • Kalifax Duncan Thornton >>Children's Illustration • Yuck, A Love Story Marie-Louise Gay • The Snow Queen Nelly and Ernst Hofer • Hannah's Collections Marthe Jocelyn • The Market Wedding Regolo Ricci • Pa's Harvest Cybèle Young >>Translation • Terra Firma Sheila Fischman • Down Dangerous Passes Road Linda Gaboriau • Just Fine Robert Majzels • 15 Seconds Bobby Theodore |
by Barbara Fletcher
Right now, Canada is swimming in a pool of literary frenzy. We are immersed in the International Festival of Authors 2000, The Giller Prize nominations, and now, the Canada Council for the Arts' 64th annual Governor General's Literary Awards.
This year's nominee flotilla for the prestigious Awards in English and French were announced October 24 by the Canada Council for the Arts. The nominees were chosen from 1,283 book submissions.
The Nominees
The nominees in the Fiction category read very much like the Giller Prize nominee roster. Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost, David Adams Richards's Mercy Among the Children, and Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach all share nomination status for both the Giller Prize (awarded November 2) and the Governor General's Award. Austin Clarke's The Question and Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin take the fourth and fifth remaining nominee slots.
Three of this year's Fiction nominees have captured Governor General's Awards in the past: Atwood holds two (1966, 1985), Adams Richards has secured two (1988, 1998), and Ondaatje boasts three (1970, 1979, 1982) awards.
Poetry Awards nominees include 4 wordsmiths from BC: Vancouver's George Bowering, Victoria's Don MacKay and Patricia Young, and Madeira Park's John Pass. A.F. Moritz from Toronto holds ground as the only non-B.C. nominee. All other nominees can be located in the Canada Council for the Arts' Nominee Press Release.
The Winners
Winners of the 14 awards (7 English and 7 French) in Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction, Children's text, Children's illustration, and Translation will be presented on November 14 at Rideau Hall by the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, and Jean-Louis Roux, Chairman of the Canada Council for the Arts. An invitation-only reception and dinner will follow.
On November 15, the public is invited to a gala evening reading by the Award winners at the National Library of Canada Auditorium. A special presentation by the French Award winners is planned for November 16 at Salon du livre de Montréal.
The prize has increased this year to $15000 from $10000. The winners will join the ranks of the Canadian literary elite including previous award winners Alice Munro, Earle Birney, and Margaret Avision.
More About the Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts was founded in 1957 as a result of an Act of Parliament "to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts." The Council provides grants and services to artists and arts organizations, plus adminsters various arts awards in Canada.
Related Links
• Titles Submitted for the 2000 Governor General's Literary Awards
• Nominees' Book Covers
• Nominees' Press Release