Vinh Nguyen, katherena vermette, and Lorna Goodison have been named as contenders for the 2025 Governor General’s Literary Awards. These accolades, overseen by the Canada Council for the Arts, encompass seven English-language categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people’s literature — text, young people’s literature — illustration, drama, and French-to-English translation. Additionally, seven French-language awards are presented in corresponding categories.
The total prize money amounts to $450,000 distributed annually across all categories. Winners in each category will receive $25,000, while other finalists will each be awarded $1,000. The selection of finalists and winners is entrusted to peer assessment committees for each category, with the official announcement of the winners set for November 6, 2025.
Nguyen has been nominated in the nonfiction category for his memoir, “The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse,” chronicling his family’s voyage from post-war Vietnam to Canada and connecting it to contemporary diaspora narratives. The memoir blends personal experiences, thorough research, and creative elements to delve into themes of family, immigration, and identity.
vermette is in the running for the fiction category with her novel “real ones,” which was longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize. A writer of Michif heritage from Winnipeg, vermette has authored several notable works, including novels like “The Break,” “The Strangers,” “The Circle,” and poetry collections such as “North End Love Songs” and “river woman.”
Goodison, on the other hand, is vying for the poetry category with her rendition of “Dante’s Inferno: A new translation,” set in Jamaica and infused with local expressions and idioms. A highly accomplished poet with 15 published poetry books, Goodison’s literary achievements include works like “Collected Poems” and “Mother Muse,” which was a finalist for The Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry. She was also honored with the 2019 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and served as Jamaica’s poet laureate from 2017 to 2020.
The Canada Council for the Arts, which administers the awards, is also affiliated with the CBC Literary Prizes. Notably, three of this year’s nominees have ties to these prizes: Benjamin Hertwig, Farah Ghafoor, and Jessica Moore. Hertwig, recognized for his novel “The Juiceboxers,” was previously longlisted for the Short Story Prize. Ghafoor, a poet shortlisted for “Shadow Price,” was previously longlisted for the Poetry Prize, while Moore, nominated for her translation of Joséphine Bacon’s “Uiesh / Somewhere,” was once longlisted for the Short Story Prize.
The 2025 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open for submissions until November 1, 2025, with Maria Reva, a nominee in the fiction category for “Endling,” serving on the jury.
The finalists for all seven English-language categories are outlined below, while the French-language category finalists can be viewed on the Canada Council for the Arts website.
