# 2009 Governor General's Awards

The shortlisted nominees for the 2009 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 14, and winning titles were announced on November 17 (see 2009 in poetry). Each winner will receive a cheque for $25,000 and a copy of their book bound by Montreal bookbinder Lise Dubois.

## English

| Category | Winner | Nominated |
| Fiction | Kate Pullinger, The Mistress of Nothing | Michael Crummey, Galore Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean Alice Munro, Too Much Happiness Deborah Willis, Vanishing and Other Stories |
| Non-fiction | M. G. Vassanji, A Place Within: Rediscovering India | Randall Hansen, Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-45 Trevor Herriot, Grass, Sky, Song: Promise and Peril in the World of Grassland Birds Eric Margolis, American Raj: Liberation or Domination? (Resolving the Conflict Between the West and the Muslim World) Eric Siblin, The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece |
| Poetry | David Zieroth, The Fly in Autumn | David McFadden, Be Calm, Honey Philip Kevin Paul, Little Hunger Sina Queyras, Expressway Carmine Starnino, This Way Out |
| Drama | Kevin Loring, Where the Blood Mixes | Beverley Cooper, Innocence Lost: A Play about Steven Truscott Joan MacLeod, Another Home Invasion Hannah Moscovitch, East of Berlin Michael Nathanson, Talk |
| Children's literature | Caroline Pignat, Greener Grass: The Famine Years | Shelley Hrdlitschka, Sister Wife Sharon Jennings, Home Free Robin Stevenson, A Thousand Shades of Blue Tim Wynne-Jones, The Uninvited |
| Children's illustration | Jirina Marton, Bella's Tree | Rachel Berman, Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog Irene Luxbacher, The Imaginary Garden Luc Melanson, My Great Big Mamma Ningeokuluk Teevee, Alego |
| French to English translation | Susan Ouriou, Pieces of Me (La liberte? Connais pasa, Charlotte Gingras) | Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott, A Slight Case of Fatigue (Un peu de fatigue, Stéphane Bourguignon) Jo-Anne Elder, One (Seul on est, Serge Patrice Thibodeau) David Homel and Fred A. Reed, Wildlives (Champagne, Monique Proulx) Fred A. Reed, Empire of Desire: The Abolition of Time (Le temps aboli: l'Occident et ses grands recits, Thierry Hentsch) |

## French

| Category | Winner | Nominated |
| Fiction | Julie Mazzieri, Le discours sur la tombe de l'idiot | Jean-François Beauchemin, Cette année s'envole ma jeunesse Nadine Bismuth, Êtes-vous mariée à un psychopathe? Dominique Fortier, Du bon usage des étoiles Aki Shimazaki, Zakuro |
| Non-fiction | Nicole V. Champeau, Pointe Maligne: l'infiniment oubliée | Djemila Benhabib, Ma vie à contre-Coran: une femme témoigne sur les islamistes Claude Fournier, À force de vivre: mémoires Céline Lafontaine, La société postmortelle: la mort, l'individu et le lien social à l'ère des communications Charles Le Blanc, Le complexe d'Hermès: regards philosophiques sur la traduction |
| Poetry | Hélène Monette, Thérèse pour joie et orchestre | Normand de Bellefeuille, Mon nom René Lapierre, Traité de physique Philippe More, Brouillons pour un siècle abstrait André Roy, Les espions de Dieu |
| Drama | Suzanne Lebeau, Le bruit des os qui craquent | Évelyne de la Chenelière, Les pieds des anges François Godin, Je suis d'un would be pays Olivier Kemeid, L'Énéide Louis-Dominique Lavigne, Glouglou |
| Children's literature | Hervé Bouchard, Harvey | Jocelyn Boisvert, Mort et déterré Pierre Chartray and Sylvie Rancourt, Simon et le chasseur de dragons Michèle Laframboise, La quête de Chaaas, tome 2 – Les vents de Tammerlan Matthieu Simard, Pavel, épisode 1 – Plus vivant que toutes les pornstars réunies |
| Children's illustration | Janice Nadeau, Harvey | Philippe Béha, Ulysse et Pénélope Gérard DuBois, Henri au jardin d'enfants Pierre Pratt, L'étoile de Sarajevo Rogé, La vraie histoire de Léo Pointu |
| English to French translation | Paule Noyart, Le miel d'Harar (Sweetness in the Belly, Camilla Gibb) | Sylvie Nicolas, Lundi sans faute (Right Away Monday, Joel Thomas Hynes) Hélène Rioux, Certitudes (Certainty, Madeleine Thien) Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné, Cartes postales de l'enfer (The Soul of All Great Designs, Neil Bissoondath) Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné, La veuve (The Outlander, Gil Adamson) |