Governor General's Literary Award for English-Language Fiction

The Governor General's Literary Award for English-Language Fiction is Canada's oldest and most prestigious literary prize for fiction, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts on behalf of the Governor General of Canada. Established in 1936 by the Canadian Authors Association in partnership with Lord Tweedsmuir (Governor General John Buchan), the award was transferred to the Canada Council in 1959 and has since recognised outstanding Canadian fiction writers each year. Eligibility is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents writing fiction in English, covering novels and short story collections. A shortlist of five titles has been released annually since 1997. The award carries a cash prize of CAD $25,000 and a specially bound copy of the winning book. Past winners include luminaries such as Michael Ondaatje, Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood (shortlisted multiple times), Eleanor Catton, Madeleine Thien, and Sheila Heti, making this one of the most important signals of literary achievement in the country. Winners are announced each autumn following jury deliberations, with the ceremony held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The prize spans all fiction forms—literary novels, experimental fiction, and short story collections all qualify—reflecting the breadth of Canadian literary output.