The Governor General Literary Award finalists are here.
“This year’s finalists reflect the richness of Canadian storytelling and the vital role that literature plays in helping us understand each other, explore new perspectives and connect with the world around us,” Canada Council for the Arts director and CEO Michelle Chawla said in a press release.
Sharon Bala’s much-anticipated second novel, Good Guys, is nominated in the fiction category. It explores power, complicity and the gap between a charity’s intentions and realities. A journalist’s investigation exposes a crime that forces staff to confront the harm they have caused.
Acclaimed Canadian author Miriam Toews is nominated in the non-fiction category with A Truce that is Not Peace. For the first time, the author is writing explicitly about her own life and family. Mixing letters, emails and anecdotes, Toews offers an intimate look at family dynamics.
Winnipeg’s David A. Robertson is nominated for The World’s End in the young people’s literature-text category. It is the sixth and final book in The Misewa Saga, an Indigenous fantasy aimed at middle-school aged kids.
See the full list here. The winners will be announced on Nov. 12, 2026.
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Explore the stories behind the story
Good Guys
A Truce That Is Not Peace
The Misewga Saga
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