Vinh Nguyen, katherena vermette and Lorna Goodison among finalists for $25K Governor General’s Literary Awards
Vinh Nguyen, katherena vermette and Lorna Goodison are among the finalists for the 2025 Governor General’s Literary Awards.
The prizes, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, are awarded in seven English-language categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people’s literature — text, young people’s literature — illustration, drama and French-to-English translation. Seven French-language awards are also given out in the same categories.
A total of $450,000 is awarded across all the prizes annually.
The winner in each category will receive $25,000. The remaining finalists will each receive $1,000.
The finalists and winners are chosen by a peer assessment committee for each category.
The winners will be announced on Nov. 6, 2025.
Nguyen is nominated in the nonfiction category for his memoir, The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse, in which he retraces his family’s journey from post-war Vietnam to Canada — and how this moment in history resonates with experiences in the diaspora today.
Including real-life experiences, meticulous research and a hint of imagination, The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse explores the nature of family, immigration and identity.
Nguyen is a Toronto-based writer, editor and educator whose work has appeared in Brick, Literary Hub and The Malahat Review.
vermette is nominated in the fiction category for her novel real ones, which was also longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
vermette is a Michif (Red River Métis) writer and editor from Winnipeg. Her books include the novels The Break, The Strangers and The Circle, and the poetry collections procession, North End Love Songs and river woman.
North End Love Songs won the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. The Break was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction. It was defended by Candy Palmater on Canada Reads 2017. The Strangers won the 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and was longlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Goodison is nominated in the poetry category for her translation of Dante’s Inferno, called The Inferno. Her version is set in Jamaica and includes Jamaican expressions and sayings.
Goodison is the author of 15 books of poetry, including Collected Poems and Mother Muse, which was a finalist for The Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry. She won the 2019 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry for her body of work and was Jamaica’s poet laureate from 2017-2020. She lives in Halfmoon Bay, B.C.
The prize administrator, the Canada Council for the Arts, is also a partner of the CBC Literary Prizes. Three of the nominees have connections with the prizes. Benjamin Hertwig, nominated for his novel The Juiceboxers, longlisted for the Short Story Prize in 2016 and 2018. Farah Ghafoor, shortlisted for her poetry collection Shadow Price, was longlisted for the Poetry Prize in 2022. Jessica Moore, shortlisted for her translation of Joséphine Bacon’s Uiesh / Somewhere, longlisted for the Short Story Prize in 2016.
The 2025 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open for submissions until Nov. 1, 2025. Maria Reva, who is nominated in the fiction category for Endling, is on the jury.
You can see the finalists in all seven English-language categories below. The French-language categories are available on the Canada Council for the Arts website.
Fiction
The fiction finalists are:
- Endling by Maria Reva
- Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards
- real ones by katherena vermette
- Hi, It’s Me by Fawn Parker
- Juiceboxers by Benjamin Hertwig
The peer assessment committee is Carol Bruneau, Bridget Canning and Conor Kerr.
The 2024 fiction winner was Empty Spaces by Jordan Abel.
Nonfiction
The nonfiction finalists are:
- What to Feel, How to Feel by Shane Neilson
- All Our Ordinary Stories by Teresa Wong
- Searching for Serafim by Ruby Smith Díaz
- How to Survive a Bear Attack by Claire Cameron
- The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse by Vinh Nguyen
The peer assessment committee is Kevin Chong, Norma Dunning and Adrienne Gruber.
The 2024 nonfiction winner was Wînipêk by Niigaan Sinclair.
Poetry
The poetry finalists are:
- Island by Douglas Walbourne-Gough
- Shadow Price by Farah Ghafoor
- The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, translated by Lorna Goodison
- Wellwater by Karen Solie
- 10:10 by Michael Trussler
The peer assessment committee is Tammy Armstrong, Katia Grubisic and Kevin Irie.
The 2024 winner was Scientific Marvel by Chimwemwe Undi.
Drama
The drama finalists are:
- Rise, Red River by Tara Beagan
- The Ministry of Grace by Tara Beagan
- Little Pretty and The Exceptional by Anusree Roy
- Downed Hearts by Catherine Banks
- Fall on Your Knees by Alisa Palmer and Hannah Moscovitch
The peer assessment committee is Kanika Ambrose, Sharon King-Campbell and Bruce McKay.
The 2024 winner was There Is Violence and There Is Righteous Violence and There Is Death, or the Born-Again Crow by Caleigh Crow.
Young people’s literature — text
The young people’s literature — text finalists are:
- Tig by Heather Smith
- Beast by Richard Van Camp
- Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel
- The Outsmarters by Deborah Ellis
- A Drop in the Ocean by Léa Taranto
The peer assessment committee is Wayne Arthurson, Susin Nielsen and Karen Rivers.
The 2024 winner was Crash Landing by Li Charmaine Anne.
Young people’s literature — illustrated books
The young people’s literature — illustrated books finalists are:
- This Land is a Lullaby by Tonya Simpson, illustrated by Delreé Dumont
- It Bears Repeating by Tanya Tagaq, illustrated by Cee Pootoogook
- Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp
- Oasis by Guojing
- The Rock and the Butterfly by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan
The peer assessment committee is Dawn Baker, Matthew Forsythe and Bridget George.
The 2024 winner was Skating Wild on an Inland Sea by Jean E. Pendziwol, illustrated by Todd Stewart.
Translation
The translation finalists are:
- Baldwin, Styron, and Me by Mélikah Abdelmoumen, translated by Catherine Khordoc
- Uiesh / Somewhere by Joséphine Bacon, translated by Jessica Moore
- Muybridge by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher and Rob Aspinall
- Farida by Monia Mazigh, translated by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott
- May Our Joy Endure by Kevin Lambert, translated by Donald Winkler
The peer assessment committee is Bilal Hashmi and Dimitri Nasrallah.
The 2024 winner was Nights Too Short to Dance by Marie-Claire Blais, translated by Katia Grubisic.
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