The Governor General's Award, 2002-1937
Since its creation in 1937, the Governor General's Literary Awards has become one of Canada's most prestigious prizes, awarded in both French and English in the following seven categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Drama, Children's Literature-Text, Children's Literature-Illustration, and Translation.

The awards were created by Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir, himself the noted author of The 39 Steps. The awards first only honoured two authors each year, and only those who wrote in English. In 1957 the awards were put under the administration of the Canada Council for the Arts and a cash prize began to be awarded to the winner.

In 1980 the Council began to announce the finalists for the awards a month before they were presented in order to attract more media attention.

2002
English-language finalists
Fiction - Gloria Sawai, A Song for Nettie Johnson
Other Finalists:
David Bergen, The Case of Lena S.
Ann Ireland, Exile
Wayne Johnston, The Navigator of New York
Carol Shields, Unless

Children's Literature - Illustration - Wallace Edwards, Alphabeasts
Other Finalists:
Brian Deines, Dragonfly Kites/pimihákanisa
Marie-Louise Gay, Stella, Fairy of the Forest
Rogé (Roger Girard), When Pigs Fly
Janie Jaehyun Park, The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon

Translation (French to English) - Nigel Spencer, Thunder and Light
Other Finalists:
Sheila Fischman, Twelve Opening Acts
Linda Gaboriau, Impromptu on Nun's Island
Liedewy Hawke, The Milky Way
Lazer Lederhendler, Larry Volt

French Winners
Fiction Monique LaRue, La Gloire de Cassiodore
Poetry Robert Dickson, Humains paysages en temps de paix relative
Drama Daniel Danis, Le Langue-à-Langue des chiens de roche
Non-Fiction Judith Lavoie for Mark Twain et la parole noire
Children's Literature Hélène Vachon, L'oiseau de passage
Children's Literature - Illustration Luc Melanson, Le grand voyage de Monsieur
Translation - English to French Paule Pierre-Noyart Histoire universelle de la chasteté et du célibat

Poetry Winner - George Elliott Clarke, Execution Poems
Other Finalists:
Anne Carson, Men in the Off Hours
Phil Hall, Trouble Sleeping
Robert Kroetsch, The Hornbooks of Rita K.
Steve McCaffery, Seven Pages Missing

Drama Winner - Kent Stetson, The Harps of God
Other Finalists:
Mark Brownell, Monsieur d'Eon
Clem Martini, A Three Martini Lunch
Michael Redhill, Building Jerusalem
Jason Sherman, An Acre of Time: The Play

Nonfiction Winner: -Thomas Homer-Dixon, The Ingenuity Gap
Other Finalists:
Susan Crean, The Laughing One: A Journey to Emily Carr
Ross A. Laird, Grain of Truth: The Ancient Lessons of Craft
Alberto Manguel, Reading Pictures: A History of Love and Hate
Jack Todd, The Taste of Metal: A Deserter's Story

Children's Literature - Text Winner: Arthur Slade, Dust
Other Finalists:
Brian Doyle, Mary Ann Alice
Beth Goobie, Before Wings
Julie Johnston, In Spite of Killer Bees
Teresa Toten, The Game

French Language Fiction Winner - Andrée A. Michaud, Le ravissement
Other Finalists:
Marie-Claire Blais, Dans la foudre et la lumière
Rachel Leclerc, Ruelle Océan

Poetry Winner - Paul Chanel Malenfant, Des ombres portées
Other Finalists:
Tania Langlais, Douze bêtes aux chemises de l'homme
Hélène Monette, Un jardin dans la nuit
Stefan Psenak, La beauté
Jean-Philippe Raîche, Une lettre au bout du monde

Children's Literature - Illustration Winner - Bruce Roberts, Fidèles éléphants
Other Finalists:
Marjolaine Bonenfant, L'abécédaire des animots
Pascale Constantin, Alexis, chevalier des nuits
Stéphane Poulin, Vieux Thomas et la petite fée
Mylène Pratt, Le dimanche de Madame B

Translation (English to French) Winner - Michel Saint-Germain, No Logo: La Tyrannie des marques
Other Finalists:
Agnès Guitard, Les hauturiers: ils précédèrent les Vikings en Amérique
Maryse Warda, Motel de passage