Governor General’s Awards

The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction; he created the Governor General's Literary Award with two award categories. Successive governors general have followed suit, establishing an award for whichever endeavour they personally found important. Only Adrienne Clarkson created three Governor General's Awards: the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, the Governor General's Northern Medal, and the Governor General's Medal in Architecture (though this was effectively a continuation of the Massey Medal, first established in 1950).

Inaugurated in 1937 for 1936 publications in two categories, the Governor General's Literary Awards have become one of Canada's most prestigious prizes. Since 1987 there are fourteen awards, recognizing both French and English language work in seven categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, children's literature (one each for text and illustration), and translation. The program was created by the Lord Tweedsmuir—John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps. Initially there were only two awards, for fiction and non-fiction books, and the program honoured only English-language writers before 1959. The Stephen Leacock Award for humor literature, while administered separately from the Governor General's Awards and presented to the winners at a separate ceremony, made its initial announcements of award winners as part of the Governor General's Awards announcements in this era.

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