Mary Helen Poitras won the Governor General’s Award

Published by Aalto in the spring, this collection of 11 short stories is a quilt of stories around empathy, as well as finding ways to connect with others and live in harmony with others — “but no longer crushing each other,” says the author.

“I am delighted to have won the prize with a collection of short stories, a genre that is surprisingly underserved,” said Mary Helen Poitras. Pres. And as a writer, this is my favorite genre because the short story is like a concentration of intensity. »

The author Desire there And Suddenly the minotaur Her collection’s eponymous short story explores the origins of the invention of writing, reading, literature, and language learning. “I also go back to my childhood in Aylmer, Outtays. So this is a more personal text. »

Interestingly, this year, it was a collection of short stories that won the prize in the same category in English: ChrysalisD’Anuja Varghese (House of Ananci Press).

Other finalists in the Novels and Short Stories category Gold of larchesCarol Labarre (Mémoire d’encrier); My son has not returned for seven days. David Clerson (Heliotrope); Night is dark, by Brigitte Haentjens (Boréal); And A postcard from the oceanBy Stéfani Meunier (Leméac).

Winners in seven categories

In total, 14 of the year’s 70 finalists titles were selected in French and English.

In poetry, Innu poet and writer Rita Mestogosho won the prize I used a stick. Le cœur du caribou (Inkwell Memory). Winners in Essay and Play categories respectively False Rebels: Excessive Political IncorrectnessBy Philippe Bernier Arcand (Bush Poets). big boylater, in translation, by Mathieu Gosselin (Som Doud), the French version of Esi Edugyan’s novel, In the Shadow of the Sun: Reflections on Race and NarrativesTranslated by Catherine Ego (Boreal), she stood out.

As for children’s literature, in the text category, the winner was Lou Beauchesne With Linoublible (small size), in illustrated children’s books, it The world’s smallest savior It was chosen, a story for ages 7 and up by Samuel LaRochelle and Ave Patenaud, which addresses environmental concerns.

“I put my finger on something, I believe that my words correspond to what I want to write, and the illustrations of Ave Paternot come to explode small bombs in the hearts of our readers,” declared Samuel LaRochelle.

Published last fall by XYZ, the book won the Espiègle Prize in the spring and was one of the finalists for the 2024 Quebec Booksellers Prize. It will be published in French-speaking Europe and in English, while a second volume will appear next year.

“It’s a crazy fall because I have 10^e Anniversary in the world of literature, I publish a novel for adults [Elias et Justine]one life [Louise Portal – Aimer, incarner, écrire] And my cabaret Pronunciation is odd Now at Usine C, it was already a sign of approval from the art community. “And receiving this prize is like an even more powerful stamp of approval because, at my age, it’s like the highest literary distinction one can receive across Canada,” he said.

Winners of the Governor General’s Literary Awards receive $25,000 for their book, $3,000 for the publisher to promote it, and $1,000 for finalists.