1989 Governor General's Awards

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, Whale Music

Other Finalists:

• Ann Copeland, The Golden Thread
• Helen Weinzweig, A View from the Roof

Poetry

Winner:

• Heather Spears, The Word for Sand

Other Finalists:

• Tim Lilburn, 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
• John Krizanc, Tamara

Non-fiction

Winner:

• Robert Calder, 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, Bad Boy

Other Finalists:

• Kit Pearson, The Sky is Falling
• Eliane Corbeil Roe, Circle of Light

Children's literature – illustration

Winner:

• Robin Muller, The Magic Paintbrush

Other Finalists:

• Michèle Lemieux, A Gift from Saint Francis
• Jan Thornhill, The Wildlife 123

Translation (French to English)

Winner:

• Wayne Grady, On the Eighth Day

Other Finalists:

• Arlette Francière, Kaleidoscope
• Donald Winkler, Rose and Thorn

French language

Fiction

Winner:

• Louis Hamelin, La Rage

Other Finalists:

• Robert Lalonde, Le Diable en personne
• Jacques Poulin, Le Vieux Chagrin

Poetry

Winner:

• Pierre DesRuisseaux, Monème

Other Finalists:

• Christiane Frenette, Cérémonie mémoire
• Élise Turcotte, La Terre est ici

Drama

Winner:

• Michel Garneau, Mademoiselle Rouge

Other Finalists:

• Michel Marc Bouchard, Les Muses orphelines
• Robert Claing, La Femme d'intérieur

Non-fiction

Winner:

• Lise Noël, 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, Temps mort

Other Finalists:

• Jacques Lazure, Le Domaine des Sans Yeux
• Joceline Sanschagrin, 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, Un Oiseau dans la maison