TORONTO 鈥� Acclaimed writer Sheila Heti has won this year鈥檚 Governor General鈥檚 Literary Award for fiction.
She picked up the $25,000 prize for her novel 鈥淧ure Colour,鈥� a strange and meditative book about love and grief in a pre-apocalyptic time.聽
The novel, which was published by Penguin Random House Canada, was also longlisted for this year鈥檚 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
But despite the prestige that comes with award nods and wins, Heti said that sort of recognition isn鈥檛 what drives her.
鈥淚 think probably a better world would be one where we didn't give out awards for books, but if they have to give them out then I鈥檓 happy to get one,鈥� Heti said in a phone interview.
Instead, she said, she鈥檚 more concerned with what her friends and other writers think of her work.
鈥淧ure Colour鈥� is the Toronto-based author鈥檚 tenth book.
She became a critical darling with her second novel, 2010鈥檚 鈥淗ow Should A Person Be?鈥�, a work of autofiction that landed her on the New York Times鈥� list of 鈥渢he new vanguard.鈥�
Her book 鈥淢otherhood,鈥� published in 2018, was shortlisted for the Giller.
The Governor General鈥檚 Awards, founded in 1936, are among the country鈥檚 oldest literary honours. English and French awards are handed out in seven categories with the winners receiving $25,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, which administers the prizes.
This year鈥檚 prize for non-fiction went to Eli Baxter of London, Ont., for 鈥淎ki-Wayn-Zih: A Person as Worthy as the Earth,鈥� published by McGill-Queen鈥檚 University Press.
The book traces the history of the Anishinaabeg and their connection to the land, up to Baxter鈥檚 experience in the residential school system and beyond.聽
Halifax鈥檚 Annick MacAskill won the poetry prize for 鈥淪hadow Blight鈥� (Gaspereau Press), which uses classical myth to examine the unique grief that comes with pregnancy loss.
Dorothy Dittrich of 麻豆传媒映画won the honour in the drama category for 鈥淭he Piano Teacher: A Healing Key鈥� (Talonbooks).
In the young people鈥檚 literature category, the text award went to 鈥淭he Summer of Bitter and Sweet鈥� (Heartdrum) by Jen Ferguson, a Canadian author now based in Iowa. Toronto鈥檚 Naseem Hrab and Montreal鈥檚 Nahid Kazemi won the illustrated book award for 鈥淭he Sour Cherry Tree鈥� (Owlkids Books).
The English translation prize went to Judith Weisz Woodsworth of Montreal for 鈥淗istory of the Jews in Quebec鈥� (University of Ottawa Press), originally written in French by Pierre Anctil.
There are separate French-language categories for francophone writing.
Publishers of award winners also receive $3,000 and the finalists for each award get $1,000.
The awards hand out a total annual prize value of $450,000.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2022.
Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press