Each winner of the 1986 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, was introduced by Parliament in 1957. ...

English Language

Fiction

Winner:

• Alice Munro, The Progress of Love

Other Finalists: Alice Munro (born Alice Ann Laidlaw on July 10, 1931) is a noted Canadian short story writer. ...

• Lois Braun, A Stone Watermelon
• John Metcalf, Adult Entertainment
• Aritha van Herk, No Fixed Address

John Metcalf is the real name of Blind Jack. ... Aritha van Herk (born 1954) is a Canadian writer. ...

Poetry

Winner:

• Al Purdy, The Collected Poems of Al Purdy

Other Finalists: Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918_April 21, 2000) is one of the most popular and important Canadian poets of the 20th century. ...

• Christopher Dewdney, The Immaculate Perception
• John Newlove, The Night the Dog Smiled

Christopher Dewdney (born May 9, 1951) is an avant-garde Canadian poet. ... John Newlove (June 13, 1938 - December 23, 2003) was a Canadian poet who lived in Ottawa, Ontario for several years before his death. ...

Drama

Winner:

• Sharon Pollock, Doc

Other Finalists: Sharon Pollock (born April 19, 1936) is a Canadian playwright who lives in Calgary, Alberta. ...

• Frank Moher, Odd Jobs
• Allan Stratton, Papers

Non-fiction

Winner:

• Northrop Frye, Northrop Frye on Shakespeare

Other Finalists: Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 - January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic, one of the most distinguished of the 20th century. ...

• Claude Bissell, The Imperial Canadian
• Phyllis Grosskurth, Melanie Klein
• Witold Rybczynski, Home

Claude Thomas Bissell (February 10, 1916_2000) was a Canadian author and educator. ... Witold Rybczynski (born in 1943, in Edinburgh, Scotland), is a Canadian architect, professor and writer. ...

French Language

Fiction

Winner:

• Yvon Rivard, Les silences du corbeau

Other Finalists:

• Pierre Nepveu, L'hiver de Mira Christophe
• Sylvain Trudel, Le souffle de l'Harmattan

Poetry

Winner:

• Cécile Cloutier, L'écouté

Other Finalists:

• François Charron, La chambre des miracles
• Normand de Bellefeuille, Catégoriques, un deux et trois
• Louise Dupré, Chambres

Drama

Winner:

• Anne Legault, La visite des sauvages

Other Finalists:

• Normand Chaurette, Fragments d'une lettre d'adieulus par des géologues
• Yves Desgagnés and Louise Roy, Les nouilles
• Jean-Pierre Ronfard, Le Titanic

Non-fiction

Winner:

• Régine Robin, Le réalisme socialiste: une esthétique impossible

Other Finalists:

• Marcel Fournier, L'entrée dans la modernité: science, culture et société au Québec
• René Major, De l'élection: Freud face aux idéologies américaine, allemande et soviétiq

Other Governor General's Awards:

2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996 - 1995 - 1994 - 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990 - 1989 - 1988 - 1987 - 1986 - 1985 - 1984 - 1983 - 1982 - 1981 - 1980 - 1979 - 1978 - 1977 - 1976 - 1975 - 1974 - 1973 - 1972 - 1971 - 1970 - 1969 - 1968 - 1967 - 1966 - 1965 - 1964 - 1963 - 1962 - 1961 - 1960 - 1959 - 1958 - 1957 - 1956 - 1955 - 1954 - 1953 - 1952 - 1951 - 1950 - 1949 - 1948 - 1947 - 1946 - 1945 - 1944 - 1943 - 1942 - 1941 - 1940 - 1939 - 1938 - 1937 - 1936