Governor General's Literary Award Winners 2012

The Governor General's Literary Awards have announced the 2012 winners:

Fiction- Linda Spalding for The Purchase

In 1798, Daniel Dickinson, a young Quaker father and widower, leaves his home in Pennsylvania to establish a new life. He sets out with two horses, a wagonful of belongings, his five children, a 15-year-old orphan wife, and a few land warrants for his future homestead. When Daniel suddenly trades a horse for a young slave, Onesimus, it sets in motion a struggle in his conscience that will taint his life forever, and sets in motion a chain of events that lead to two murders and the family's strange relationship with a runaway slave named Bett. Stripped down and as hard-edged as the realities of pioneer life, Spalding's writing is nothing short of stunning, as it instantly envelops the reader in the world and time of the novel, and follows the lives of unforgettable characters. Inspired by stories of the author's own ancestors


Poetry- Julie Bruck for Monkey Ranch


Drama- Catherine Banks for It is Solved by Walking


Nonfiction- Ross King for Leonardo and the Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci's transcendent painting The Last Supper defined the master artist. Until now, no one has told the full story behind its creation. Political events weighed on da Vinci and all of Italy during the time of the painting's conception and creation, as his patron, the Duke of Sforza, unleashed forces leading to a decades-long series of tragedies known as the Italian Wars. Sforza was overthrown by French forces in 1499, forcing da Vinci to flee Milan with the paint on The Last Supper barely dry. The Last Supper ensured Leonardo's universal renown as a visionary master of the arts




 Children's Text- Susin Nielsen for The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen




A third novel from award-winning author and screenwriter, Susin Nielsen. A darker novel than her previous novels, Susin returns to familiar turf with a cast of fabulous characters, dark humour, and a lovable, difficult protagonist struggling to come to terms with the horrible crime his brother has committed.






Children's Illustration- Isabelle Arsenault for Virginia Wolf

 

Translation- Nigel Spencer for Mai at the Predators' Ball



The winners for the French language section can be found at the Governor General's Literary Awards