Governor General’s Literary Awards 2010
The Governor General's Literary Awards are given annually to the best English-language and the best French-language book in each of the seven categories of Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Children's Literature (text), Children's Literature (illustration) and Translation (from French to English).
Each laureate receives $25,000 and a specially crafted copy of the winning book. In addition, publishers of winning titles receive a $3,000 grant for the promotion of the prize-winning book. Non-winning finalists each receive $1,000.
Eligibility
Eligibility of Publishers
Only eligible book publishers can submit titles for consideration. Publishers must:
- publish books based on an editorial selection process
- have at least four eligible titles in print and be committed to a sustained trade book publishing program, consisting of titles by a variety of authors
- pay royalties or financially compensate the author, illustrator or translator for any submitted title
- use appropriate and effective means to market, distribute and create public awareness of their titles, and
- meet basic professional standards of publishing.
The publisher may publish a maximum of 25 percent each year of publications written by owners, family or employees of the publishing house.
Books may be published in Canada or abroad. Foreign or new publishers must provide a historical background, a catalogue of their published titles and a list of Canadian distributors.
Eligibility of Titles
Publishers should note that the award is for literary and artistic excellence; they should submit only books that they deem to be outstanding in these regards.
Books must be first foreign or first Canadian edition trade books that have been written, translated or illustrated by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. In the Translation category, the original work, written in French, must also be a Canadian-authored title.
- English titles must be published and be available on the market between 1 September 2009 and 30 September 2010 (13 months).
- The main language of all the books must be English.
- All books must have an ISBN, be distributed in Canada and be available in Canadian bookstores.
- All books must have a print run of at least 350 copies.
- All books must be at least 48 pages long, except for children's picture books which must have a minimum of 24 pages.
A non-fiction work is composed of narrative text about real events, people or ideas. The writer’s voice and opinions are evident and the narrative is set within a context and a critical framework. The work should be accessible to a general reading audience and cannot be intended for a specialized or academic readership. Eligible literary non-fiction titles make a significant contribution to literature, or to information about the arts or to the enjoyment of writing by Canadians.
The Canada Council reserves the right to ask the publisher for supplementary information.
Ineligible Titles
Titles that are not eligible include:
- books that were already submitted to the Governor General’s Literary Awards
- selections and collections of poetry, short stories, essays and plays containing material that has previously been short-listed for a Governor General's Literary Award
- selections and collections of poetry, short stories, essays and plays that do not contain unpublished material (however, all the poems, short stories, essays and plays may have been previously published in magazines).
- reprints or new format reprints of any kind
- self-published books
- textbooks or instruction guides, academic and scholarly publications, illustrated (coffee-table) books, how-to and self-help books, guide books, cookbooks, exhibition catalogues, film scripts, testimonials, journals, transcripts of interviews, collected letters, directories, reference books or bibliographies, and books of minimal critical content
- anthologies of the works of more than one author, illustrator or translator, or works that are not expressed in a single voice
- books whose author, illustrator or translator was deceased at the time of publication, and
- books that have been translated from a language other than one of the two official languages - except for titles submitted in the Children’s Literature (illustration) category.
Application Deadlines
Publishers must submit books as early as possible to ensure that members of the peer assessment committees have sufficient reading time.
Books published in English between 1 September 2009 and 28 February 2010 must reach the Canada Council no later than 15 March 2010. Books published between 1 March 2010 and 15 May 2010 must reach the Canada Council no later than 1 June 2010. For books and bound proofs published between 16 May 2010 and 30 September 2010, the deadline is 7 August 2010. If the deadline falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Books must reach the Canada Council for the Arts by the deadline date. Late submissions, incomplete submissions and registration forms submitted by fax or email will not be accepted.
Submission Procedure
Publisher’s Registration forms are emailed annually to eligible book publishers who have sent in titles in previous years. They are also available on the Canada Council website.
Publishers must complete a separate Publisher's Registration Form for each eligible title submitted in any of the categories and send the completed form with four copies of the book to the Canada Council for the Arts, Writing and Publishing Section. For the Translation category only, the Canada Council also requires four copies of the original work. Books will not be returned to publishers.
Books must be submitted in only one category, except for those submitted to the Translation, Children’s Illustration and Children’s Text categories.
Publishers may submit their August 2010 and September 2010 books in the form of reading copies or bound proofs. All proof copies must be bound: no loose or stapled sheets are accepted. Pre-publication copies must contain the final corrected version of the text and must provide the same information as the published work, including the final version of the acknowledgements, the blurbs that will appear on jacket, etc. Those submitting proofs must agree to send four copies of the printed book to the Canada Council for the Arts before 30 September.
A list of titles submitted to the peer assessment committees will be posted regularly on the Canada Council Web site.
Selection Process
Peer assessment committees review all eligible titles in each of the seven categories of Fiction, Literary Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Children's Literature (text), Children's Literature (illustration) and Translation (from French to English). Composed of writers, critics and/or independent book professionals, the peer assessment committees examine the eligible books according to literary and artistic merit.
Announcement of Finalists and Winners
The names of finalists will be announced in mid to late October 2010; the names of winners will be announced in mid November 2010.
Publisher's Registration Form
Governor General's Literary Awards 2010 Guidelines and Publisher's Registration Form
Further Information
Diane Miljours, Program Officer
Writing and Publishing Section
Canada Council for the Arts
P.O. Box 1047, 350 Albert Street
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5573
TTY: 1-800-585-5559
Fax: 613-566-4410
January 2010