Canadian Literary Awards
1980s
Winners of Canadian literary awards in the 1980s.
indicates a review is available for that book
1989
Arthur Ellis Awards
- First Novel
- John Brady – A Stone of the Heart
- Nonfiction
- Mick Lowe – Conspiracy of Brothers
- Novel
- Chris Scott – Jack
BC Book Prizes
- Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize
- Charles Lillard – Circling North
- Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize
- Bill Schermbrucker – Mimosa
- Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize
- Robin Ridington – Trail To Heaven
- Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize
- Celia Haig-Brown – Resistance and Renewal
- Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize
- Mary Ellen Collura – Sunny
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Sandra Birdsell – The Missing Child
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Children's Literature
- Diana Wieler – Bad Boy
- Fiction
- Paul Quarrington – Whale Music
- Non-fiction
- Robert Calder – Willie - The Life of W. Somerset Maugham
- Poetry
- Heather Spears – The Word for Sand
- Études et essais
- Lise Noël – L'Intolérance: une problématique générale
- Littérature Jeunesse
- Charles Montpetit – Temps mort
- Poésie
- Pierre Desruisseaux – Monème
- Romans et nouvelles
- Louis Hamelin – La Rage
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Joseph Kertes – Winter Tulips
Lorne Pierce Medal
- Lorne Pierce Medal
- Maurice Lemire
Writers Trust Awards
- Marian Engel Award
- Merna Summers
- Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature
- Stephane Poulin
1988
Arthur Ellis Awards
- First Novel
- Laurence Gough – The Goldfish Bowl
- Nonfiction
- Gary Ross – Stung: The Incredible Obsession of Brian Moloney
- Novel
- Carol Shields – Swann: A Mystery
BC Book Prizes
- Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize
- Patricia Young – All I Ever Needed Was A Beautiful Room
- Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize
- George McWhirter – Cage
- Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize
- P.K. Page – Brazilian Journal
- Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize
- W.A. Hagelund – Whalers No More
- Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize
- Nicola Morgan – Pride of Lions
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Rick Salutin – A Man of Little Faith
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Children's Literature
- Welwyn Wilton Katz – The Third Magic
- Fiction
- David Adams Richards – Nights Below Station Street
- Non-fiction
- Anne Collins – In the Sleep Room
- Poetry
- Erin Mouré – Furious
- Études et essais
- Patricia Smart – Écrire dans la maison du père
- Littérature Jeunesse
- Michèle Marineau – Cassiopée ou l'Été polonais
- Poésie
- Marcel Labine – Papiers d'épidémie
- Romans et nouvelles
- Jacques Folch-Ribas – Le Silence ou le Parfait Bonheur
Leacock Medal for Humour
Writers Trust Awards
- Marian Engel Award
- Edna Alford
- Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature
- Barbara Smucker
1987
Arthur Ellis Awards
- First Novel
- Medora Sale – Murder on the Run
- Nonfiction
- Elliott Leyton – Hunting Humans
- Novel
- Edward O. Phillips – Buried on Sunday
BC Book Prizes
- Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize
- Diana Hartog – Candy From Strangers
- Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize
- Leona Gom – Housebroken
- Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize
- Doris Shadbolt – Bill Reid
- Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize
- Ruth Kirk – Wisdom of the Elders
- Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize
- Sarah Ellis – The Baby Project
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Marion Quednau – The Butterfly Chair
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Children's Literature
- Morgan Nyberg – Galahad Schwartz and the Cockroach Army
- Fiction
- M.T. Kelly – A Dream Like Mine
- Non-fiction
- Michael Ignatieff – The Russian Album
- Poetry
- Gwendolyn MacEwen – Afterworlds
- Études et essais
- Jean Larose – La petite noirceur
- Littérature Jeunesse
- David Schinkel et Yves Beauchesne – Le Don
- Poésie
- Fernand Ouellette – Les Heures
- Romans et nouvelles
- Gilles Archambault – L'obsédante obèse et autres agressions
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- W.P. Kinsella – The Fencepost Chronicles
Writers Trust Awards
1986
Arthur Ellis Awards
- Nonfiction
- Maggie Siggins – A Canadian Tragedy
- Novel
- Eric Wright – Death in the Old Country
BC Book Prizes
- Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize
- Joe Rosenblatt – Poetry Hotel
- Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize
- Keath Fraser – Foreign Affairs
- Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize
- Bruce Hutchison – The Unfinished Country
- Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize
- Donald Graham – Keepers of the Light
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Karen Lawrence – The Life of Helen Alone
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Fiction
- Alice Munro – The Progress of Love
- Non-fiction
- Northrop Frye – Northrop Frye on Shakespeare
- Poetry
- Al Purdy – The Collected Poems of Al Purdy
- Études et essais
- Régine Robin – Le réalisme socialiste: une esthétique impossible
- Poésie
- Cécile Cloutier – L'écouté
- Romans et nouvelles
- Yvon Rivard – Les silences du corbeau
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Joey Slinger – No Axe Too Small to Grind
Lorne Pierce Medal
Writers Trust Awards
1985
Arthur Ellis Awards
- Nonfiction
- Martin Friedland – The Trials of Israel Lipsky
- Novel
- Howard Engel – Murder Sees the Light
BC Book Prizes
- Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize
- Audrey Thomas – Intertidal Life
- Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize
- David Ricardo Williams – Duff
- Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize
- Hilary Stewart – Cedar
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Wayne Johnston – The Story of Bobby O'Malley
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Fiction
- Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid's Tale
- Non-fiction
- Ramsay Cook – The Regenerators: Social Criticism in Late Victorian English Canada
- Poetry
- Fred Wah – Waiting for Saskatchewan
- Études et essais
- François Ricard – La littérature contre elle-même
- Poésie
- André Roy – Action writing
- Romans et nouvelles
- Fernand Ouellette – Lucie ou un midi en novembre
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Ted Allen – Love is a Longshot
Writers Trust Awards
- Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature
- Edith Fowke
1984
Arthur Ellis Awards
- Novel
- Eric Wright – The Night the Gods Smiled
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Geoffrey Ursell – Perdue: Or How the West Was Lost
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Fiction
- Josef Skvorecky – The Engineer of Human Souls
- Non-fiction
- Sandra Gwyn – The Private Capital: Ambition and Love in the Age of Macdonald and Laurier
- Poetry
- Paulette Jiles – Celestial Navigation
- Études et essais
- Jean Hamelin et Nicole Gagnon – Le XXe Siècle: Histoire du catholicisme québécois
- Poésie
- Nicole Brossard – Double Impression
- Romans et nouvelles
- Jacques Brault – Agonie
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Gary Lautens – No Sex Please...We're Married
Lorne Pierce Medal
- Lorne Pierce Medal
- Sheila Watson
Writers Trust Awards
- Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature
- Bill Freeman
1983
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Heather Robertson – Willie: A Romance
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Fiction
- Leon Rooke – Shakespeare's Dog
- Non-fiction
- Jeffery Williams – Byng of Vimy
- Poetry
- David Donnell – Settlements
- Études et essais
- Maurice Cusson – Le contrôle social du crime
- Poésie
- Suzanne Paradis – Un goût de sel
- Romans et nouvelles
- Suzanne Jacob – Laura Laur
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Morley Torgov – The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick
Writers Trust Awards
- Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature
- Claire Mackay
1982
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- W.P. Kinsella – Shoeless Joe
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Fiction
- Guy Vanderhaeghe – Man Descending
- Non-fiction
- Christopher Moore – Louisbourg Portraits: Life in an Eighteenth- Century Garrison Town
- Poetry
- Phyllis Webb – The Vision Tree: Selected Poems
- Études et essais
- Maurice Lagueux – Le marxisme des années soixante: une saison dans l'histoire de la pensée critique
- Poésie
- Michel Savard – Forages
- Romans et nouvelles
- Roger Fournier – Le cercle des arènes
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Mervyn J. Huston – Gophers Don't Pay Taxes
Lorne Pierce Medal
- Lorne Pierce Medal
- Malcolm M. Ross
Writers Trust Awards
1981
Books in Canada First Novel Award
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Fiction
- Mavis Gallant – Home Truths: Selected Canadian Stories
- Non-fiction
- George Calef – Caribou and the barren-lands
- Poetry
- F.R. Scott – The Collected Poems of F.R. Scott
- Études et essais
- Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska – L'échappée des discours de l'oeil
- Poésie
- Michel Beaulieu – Visages
- Romans et nouvelles
- Denys Chabot – La province lunaire
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Gary Lautens – Take My Family...Please!
Writers Trust Awards
- Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature
- Monica Hughes
1980
Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Books in Canada First Novel Award
- W.D. Valgardson – Gentle Sinners
Governor General's Literary Awards
- Fiction
- George Bowering – Burning Water
- Non-fiction
- Jeffrey Simpson – Discipline of Power: The Conservative Interlude and the Liberal Restoration
- Poetry
- Stephen Scobie – McAlmon's Chinese Opera
- Études et essais
- Maurice Champagne-Gilbert – La famille et l'homme à délivrer du pouvoir
- Poésie
- Michel Van Schendel – De l'oeil et de l'écoute
- Romans et nouvelles
- Pierre Turgeon – La première personne
Leacock Medal for Humour
- Leacock Medal for Humour
- Donald Jack – Me Bandy, You Cissie
Lorne Pierce Medal
- Lorne Pierce Medal
- Antonine Maillet
