With emotion, daring, magic, profound
ideas and just the right words, this year’s GGBooks winners again remind us
how essential Canadian literature is to our lives.
Simon Brault, Canada Council Director and
CEO
|
English-language winners (by category and peer assessment committee citations)
Fiction:
•
The Red Word – Sarah Henstra (Toronto, Ontario)
•
ECW Press
•
"Groundbreaking and provocative, this is an
astonishing evisceration of the clichés of sexual politics as they exist not
only on our college campuses, but also within broader present-day society.
Alternately heartbreaking, funny, and critical, no one gets off easily. The
Red Word plumbs the depths of literature, mythology, history, philosophy,
and a host of contemporary issues—an utterly effing good read."
Poetry:
•
Wayside Sang – Cecily Nicholson (Burnaby, British
Columbia)
•
Talonbooks
•
"'there are times that a car bends perspective
in
its
motion
making room'
In this hypnotic suite of long poems, Cecily Nicholson makes
room, offering glimpses and echoes of the Canadian landscape as she explores
ideas of borders, identity, industry and travel. She offers a catalogue of
impressions, a collage of the ephemeral, held together by image and the pulsing
phrase that stays with you long after the journey’s over."
Drama:
•
Botticelli in the Fire & Sunday in Sodom – Jordan Tannahill
(Budapest, Hungary)
•
Playwrights Canada Press
•
"Jordan Tannahill’s two-play volume explores the
fragility of social consensus in a world made uneasy by the forces of social
division. Both plays are poetic, irreverent and funny, offering the pleasure of
entertainment while displaying masterful literary ability. Tannahill possesses
a powerful artistic voice that reflects where we come from, who we are and who
we may become."
Non-fiction:
•
Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age – Darrel J. McLeod
(Sooke, British Columbia)
•
Douglas & McIntyre
•
"Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age dares to
immerse readers in provocative contemporary issues including gender fluidity,
familial violence, and transcultural hybridity. A fast-moving, intimate memoir
of dreams and nightmares—lyrical and gritty, raw and vulnerable, told without
pity, but with phoenix-like strength."
Young People's
Literature – Text:
•
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster – Jonathan Auxier
(Swissvale, Pennsylvania)
•
Puffin Canada/Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers
•
"A tender story of what makes us human, Sweep
doesn’t shy away from the risks of love and monstrousness of indifference. With
an impeccable narrative, Sweep shows how love can breathe life into
darkness and how hope can spark change. Auxier weaves a multi-layered
masterpiece with endearing characters and gut-wrenching twists that are certain
to instill readers with a sense of wonder and discovery for the miracle of
storytelling."
Young People's
Literature – Illustrated Books:
•
They Say Blue – Jillian Tamaki (Toronto, Ontario)
•
Groundwood Books
•
"They Say Blue is a wonderful blend of words
and art, a sweeping, joyous book from cover to cover. Its lively and dynamic
compositions are sure to captivate both children and those who love to read to
children. Wonderfully uplifting and imaginative, it spans an entire range of
emotions and colours and makes one’s heart sing."
Translation (from
French to English):
•
Descent into Night – Translated by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard
Scott (Montréal, Quebec)
•
Mawenzi House Publishers; translation of Explication
de la nuit by Edem Awumey, Les Éditions du Boréal
•
"Descent into Night, translated by Phyllis
Aronoff and Howard Scott, is a beautifully assured rendering of a text offering
many translation challenges. The translators agilely follow the text as it
shifts between an ailing Quebec writer’s regrets about his life, and his
long-ago involvement in a failed West African revolution, which haunts him into
the present. This translation skillfully captures the lyricism of the French
text."
French-language winners (by category and
peer assessment committee citations)
Fiction:
•
De synthèse – Karoline Georges (Saint-Hyacinthe,
Quebec)
•
Éditions Alto
•
"In this unique story dedicated to mothers, the narrator
creates an avatar in an attempt to cope with her pain. Karoline Georges
skilfully weaves the real and the virtual in with the complexity of family,
while describing solitude and the representation of the body with astonishing
insight. With its intelligent and efficient prose, De synthèse
transcends all genres. "
Poetry:
•
La raison des fleurs – Michaël Trahan (Montréal, Quebec)
•
Le Quartanier
•
"Entering these pages means wandering into the maze
of human density, both philosophical and physical, hanging onto reality by a
thread of little details. It is vulnerability explored—and tamed. Calm, yet
enchanting, this requiem reveals the potential expanse of silence and
disappearance. Michaël Trahan has penned a complete poetic experience."
Drama:
•
Venir au monde – Anne-Marie Olivier (Québec, Quebec)
•
Atelier 10
•
"Venir au monde—a striking depiction of
everyday life tinged with the fantastic within an impressively efficient
structure—paints a subtle and intelligent portrait of society. Its poetically
laced and regionally anchored language lauds the courage of women in a way that
moves and compels us. We were deeply touched by the strong and endearing
characters, as well as their stories bursting with truth."
Non-fiction:
•
Avant l’après : voyages à Cuba avec George Orwell – Frédérick Lavoie
(Montréal, Quebec)
•
La Peuplade
•
"Deeply personal writing, original ideas, issues in
civilization. Frédérick Lavoie’s work of non-fiction readily handles the
tension between these three aspects to delve into the mechanisms of Cuban
totalitarianism. Using the new Cuban edition of George Orwell’s 1984 as
a pretext and connecting theme, Lavoie deftly shows how the work is still
significant and relevant by exploring the everyday life of a population living
in a time of censorship."
Young People's
Literature – Text:
•
Ferdinand F., 81 ans, chenille – Mario Brassard
(Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Quebec)
•
Soulières éditeur
•
"A true masterpiece: the story of Ferdinand F., an
old man forgotten by society, surviving more than living. Mario Brassard’s
deeply moving novel, written in poetic prose and with astounding humour,
explores loneliness, but also the friendship that can come into our lives when
we least expect it."
Young People's
Literature – Illustrated Books:
•
Le chemin de la montagne – Marianne Dubuc
(Montréal, Quebec)
•
Comme des géants
•
"A book that focuses on what matters. The interwoven
text and illustrations perfectly express how important it is to pass on
knowledge and find happiness not only in the big things but in the small ones
too. A universal story that will resonate with everyone."
Translation (from
English to French):
•
Le Monde selon Barney – Translated by Lori Saint-Martin
and Paul Gagné (Montréal, Quebec)
•
Les Éditions du Boréal; translation of Barney’s
Version by Mordecai Richler, Knopf Canada
•
"This superb translation re-asserts the significance
of Richler’s insolent and brilliant text. The duo’s linguistic originality
admirably captures the work’s lively pace, irreverent humour, and tone that
constantly vacillates between dark and light, parody and tragedy. A colossal
work that fully lives up to the inherent complexity of a great novel."
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