Canadian literature is written in several languages including English,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and various

Indigenous Canadian languages A multitude of languages have always been spoken in Canada. Prior to Confederation, the territories that would become Canada were home to over 70 distinct languages across 12 or so language families. Today, a majority of those indigenous language ...

. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in the literary traditions of France and Britain, respectively. The earliest Canadian narratives were of travel and exploration.

Indigenous literatures

Indigenous peoples of Canada are culturally diverse. Each group has its own literature, language and culture. The term "Indigenous literature" therefore can be misleading, as writer Jeannette Armstrong states in one interview, "I would stay away from the idea of "Native" literature, there is no such thing. There is Mohawk literature, there is

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...

literature, but there is no generic Native in Canada".

French-Canadian literature

In 1802, the Lower Canada legislative library was founded. All books it contained were subsequently moved to the Canadian parliament in Montreal when the two Canadas, Lower and Upper, were united. On April 25, 1849 the Canadian parliament was burned along with thousands of French Canadian books and a few hundred English books. A consequence of this event was the mistaken impression that from the early settlements until the 1820s, Quebec had virtually no literature. It was the rise of Quebec patriotism and the 1837

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together wit ...

, in addition to a modern system of primary school education, which led to the rise of French-Canadian fiction. '' L'influence d'un livre'' by Philippe-Ignace-Francois Aubert de Gaspé is widely regarded as the first French-Canadian novel. The genres which first became popular were the rural novel and the historical novel. French authors were influential, especially authors like Balzac. Gabrielle Roy 1945

In 1866, Father

Henri-Raymond Casgrain Henri-Raymond Casgrain (December 16, 1831 – February 11, 1904) was a French Canadian Roman Catholic priest, author, publisher, and professor of history. Life Born in Rivière-Ouelle, Lower Canada, the son Charles-Eusèbe Casgrain and Eli ...

became one of Quebec's first literary theorists. He argued that literature's goal should be to project an image of proper

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

morality. However, a few authors like Louis-Honoré Fréchette and Arthur Buies broke the conventions to write more interesting works. This pattern continued until the 1930s with a new group of authors educated at the

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

and the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

. Novels with psychological and sociological foundations became the norm.

Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (; March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature. Early life Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, an ...

and

Anne Hébert Anne Hébert (pronounced in French) (August 1, 1916 – January 22, 2000), was a Canadian author and poet. She won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Awards, Governor General's Award, three times, twice for fiction and once fo ...

even began to earn international acclaim, which had not happened to French-Canadian literature before. During this period, Quebec theatre, which had previously been melodramas and comedies, became far more involved. French-Canadian literature began to greatly expand with the turmoil of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the beginnings of industrialization in the 1950s, and most especially the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...

in the 1960s. French-Canadian literature also began to attract a great deal of attention globally, with

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Antonine Maillet Antonine Maillet (10 May 1929 – 17 February 2025) was an Acadian novelist, playwright and scholar. Early life and education Maillet was born on 10 May 1929 in Bouctouche, New Brunswick"Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de ...

winning the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

in 1979. An experimental branch of Québécois literature also developed; for instance the poet

Nicole Brossard Nicole Brossard (born November 27, 1943) is a French-Canadian formalist poet and novelist. Her work is known for exploration of feminist themes and for challenging masculine-oriented language and points of view in French literature. She lives i ...

wrote in a formalist style. In 1979,

Roch Carrier Roch Carrier (born 13 May 1937) is a French Canadian novelist and author of "contes" (a very brief form of the short story). He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada. Life He was born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, and studied a ...

wrote the story ''

The Hockey Sweater ''The Hockey Sweater'' (''Le chandail de hockey'' in the original French) is a short story by Canadian author Roch Carrier and translated to English by Sheila Fischman. It was originally published in 1979 under the title "'" ("An abominable map ...

'', which highlighted the cultural and social tensions between English and

speaking Canada.

Before Confederation

Because Canada only officially became a country following the unification, or 'confederation' of several colonies, including Upper and Lower Canada, into one nation on July 1, 1867, it has been argued that literature written before this time was colonial. The book often considered to be the first work of Canadian literature is ''

The History of Emily Montague ''The History of Emily Montague'', written by Frances Brooke and first published in 1769, is often considered the first Canadian novel. It is a sentimental novel written in the epistolary form. It also features some elements of a travelogue, as ...

'' by

Frances Brooke Frances Brooke ( Moore; 12 January 1724 – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist, essayist, playwright and translator. Hers was the first English novel known to have been written in Canada. Biography Frances Moore was born in Claypole, Li ...

, published in 1769. Brooke wrote the novel in Sillery, Quebec following the

Conquest of New France The conquest of New France () was the military conquest of New France by Great Britain during the French and Indian War. It started with a British campaign in 1758 and ended with the region being put under a British military regime between 1760 ...

Susanna Moodie Susanna Moodie ( Strickland; 6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was an English-born Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada, which was a British colony at the time. Family Susanna Moodie was born in Bungay, on th ...

and

Catharine Parr Traill Catharine Parr Traill (born Strickland; 9 January 1802 – 29 August 1899) was an English-Canadian author and naturalist who wrote about life in Canada, particularly what is now Ontario (then the colony of Upper Canada). In the 1830s, Canada ...

, English sisters who adopted the country as their own, moved to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

in 1832. They recorded their experiences as pioneers in Parr Traill's ''The Backwoods of Canada'' (1836) and ''Canadian Crusoes'' (1852), and Moodie's ''Roughing It in the Bush'' (1852) and ''Life in the Clearings'' (1853). However, both women wrote until their deaths, placing them in the country for more than 50 years and certainly well past Confederation. Moreover, their books often dealt with survival and the rugged Canadian environment; these themes re-appear in other Canadian works, including

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

's ''Survival''. Moodie and Parr Trail's sister,

Agnes Strickland Agnes Strickland (18 July 1796 – 8 July 1874) was an English historical writer and poet. She is particularly remembered for her ''Lives of the Queens of England'' (12 vols, 1840–1848). Biography The daughter of Thomas Strickland and his wi ...

, remained in England and wrote elegant royal biographies, creating a stark contrast between Canadian and English literatures. However, one of the earliest Canadian writers virtually always included in Canadian literary anthologies is

Thomas Chandler Haliburton Thomas Chandler Haliburton (17 December 1796 – 27 August 1865) was a Nova Scotian politician, judge, and author who was the first international best-selling fiction author from what is now Canada, and who served as a Conservative Member of P ...

(1796–1865), born and raised in Nova Scotia, who died just two years before Canada's official birth. He is remembered for his comic character, Sam Slick, who appeared in ''The Clockmaker'' and other humorous works throughout Haliburton's life.

After 1867

A group of poets now known as the "

Confederation Poets ''Confederation Poets'' is the name given to a group of Canadian poets born in the decade of Canada's Confederation (the 1860s) who rose to prominence in Canada in the late 1880s and 1890s. The term was coined by Canadian professor and literary c ...

", including Charles G. D. Roberts, Archibald Lampman,

Bliss Carman William Bliss Carman (April 15, 1861 – June 8, 1929) was a Canadian poet who lived most of his life in the United States, where he achieved international fame. He was acclaimed as Canada's poet laureate during his later years. In Canada, Car ...

Duncan Campbell Scott Duncan Campbell Scott (August 2, 1862 – December 19, 1947) was a Canadian civil servant and poet and prose writer. With Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Archibald Lampman, he is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. A caree ...

, and William Wilfred Campbell, came to prominence in the 1880s and 1890s. Choosing the world of nature as their inspiration, their work was drawn from their own experiences and, at its best, written in their own tones. Isabella Valancy Crawford, Annie Campbell Huestis, Frederick George Scott, and Francis Sherman are also sometimes associated with this group. During this period, E. Pauline Johnson and

William Henry Drummond William Henry Drummond (April 13, 1854 – April 6, 1907) was an Irish-born Canadian poet whose humorous dialect poems made him "one of the most popular authors in the English-speaking world," and "one of the most widely-read and loved poets" ...

were writing popular poetry – Johnson's based on her part- Mohawk heritage, and Drummond, the Poet of the Habitant, writing dialect verse. L. M. Montgomery's novel ''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'' was first published in 1908. It has sold an estimated 50 million copies and is one of the

best selling books This page provides lists of best-selling books and book series to date and in any language. ''"Best-selling"'' refers to the estimated number of copies sold of each book, rather than the number of books printed or currently owned. Comics and text ...

worldwide. Atlantic Canadian folklore and song became the subject of a Maritime literary revival in the 1920s, centered on Nova Scotia. Folklore collection expressed an interest in the region's pre-industrial lifestyle and a romantic vision of the "hardiness, simplicity, and virtues of the seafaring life". Poets and novelists participating in the literary revival included the Song Fishermen. Between 1915 and 1925,

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

(1869–1944) was the best selling humour writer in the world. His best known book of fiction,

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town ''Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town'' is a sequence of stories by Stephen Leacock, first published in 1912. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these st ...

was published in 1912. Three of Canada's most important post-World War I novelists were

Hugh MacLennan John Hugh MacLennan (March 20, 1907 – November 9, 1990) was a Canadian writer and professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award. Family and childhood MacLennan was born in Glace B ...

(1907–1990), W.O. Mitchell (1914–1998), and

Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and Television, TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian No ...

(1903–1990). MacLennan's best-known works are ''

Barometer Rising ''Barometer Rising'' is a romantic-realist novel by Canadian author Hugh MacLennan. The work explores life in Halifax, Nova Scotia during World War I, and its interruption by the Halifax explosion. The narrative predominantly follows and pivots ...

'' (1941), '' The Watch That Ends the Night'' (1957), and '' Two Solitudes'' (1945), while Callaghan is best known for '' Such Is My Beloved'' (1934), ''

The Loved and the Lost ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1951), and ''

More Joy in Heaven ''More Joy in Heaven'' is a novel written by Canadian author Morley Callaghan and published in 1937. The central figure, Kip Caley, was inspired by Norman Ryan (1895-1936), a criminal who had committed a number of robberies in Quebec, Ontario an ...

'' (1937). Mitchell's most-loved novel is Who Has Seen the Wind. Perhaps reacting against a tradition that largely emphasized the wilderness and the small town and country experience,

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

wrote the novel '' Beautiful Losers'' (1966). It was labelled by one reviewer "the most revolting book ever written in Canada". In time, however, this novel was considered a Canadian classic. Despite beginning his career as a poet of major importance, Cohen is perhaps best known as a folk singer and songwriter, with an international following. Canadian author

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

is best known for his work ''

Never Cry Wolf ''Never Cry Wolf'' is a fictional account of author Farley Mowat's subjective experience observing wolves in subarctic Canada, first published in 1963 by McClelland and Stewart. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1983. It has been cr ...

'' (1963) and his Governor General's Award-winning children's book, '' Lost in the Barrens'' (1956). Following World War II, writers such as Mavis Gallant, Mordecai Richler, Norman Levine, Sheila Watson, Margaret Laurence and Irving Layton added to the Modernist influence in Canadian literature previously introduced by F. R. Scott, A. J. M. Smith and others associated with the ''McGill Fortnightly''. This influence, at first, was not broadly appreciated. Norman Levine's ''Canada Made Me'', a travelogue that presented a sour interpretation of the country in 1958, for example, was widely rejected. After 1967, the country's centennial year, the national government increased funding to publishers and numerous small presses began operating throughout the country. The best-known Canadian children's writers include L. M. Montgomery and Monica Hughes.

Contemporary Canadian literature: After 1967

Arguably, the best-known living Canadian writer internationally (especially since the deaths of

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

and

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

) is

, a prolific novelist, poet, and literary critic. Other great 20th-century Canadian authors include

Margaret Laurence Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...

Mavis Gallant Mavis Leslie de Trafford Gallant, ( Young; 11 August 1922 – 18 February 2014), was a Canadian writer who spent much of her life and career in France. Best known as a short story writer, she also published novels, plays and essays. Person ...

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

Carol Shields Carol Ann Shields (née Warner; June 2, 1935 – July 16, 2003) was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel ''The Stone Diaries'', which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as t ...

Alistair MacLeod Alistair MacLeod (July 20, 1936 – April 20, 2014) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer and academic. His powerful and moving stories vividly evoke the beauty of Cape Breton Island's rugged landscape and the resilient character of ma ...

Mazo de la Roche Mazo de la Roche (; born Maisie Louise Roche; January 15, 1879 – July 12, 1961) was a Canadian writer who was the author of the ''Jalna (novel series), Jalna'' novels, one of the most popular series of books of her time. Biography Early lif ...

, and

. This group, along with Nobel Laureate

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

, who has been called the best living writer of short stories in English, were part of a 'new wave' of Canadian writers, some starting their careers in the 1950s. The first to elevate Canadian Literature to the world stage were Lucy Maud Montgomery, Stephen Leacock, Mazo de la Roche, and Morley Callaghan. During the post-war decades Canadian literature, as were Australian and New Zealand literature, viewed as an appendage to British Literature. When academic Clara Thomas decided in the 1940s to concentrate on Canadian literature for her master's thesis, the idea was so novel and so radical that word of her decision reached ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' books editor William Arthur Deacon, who then personally reached out to Thomas to pledge his and the newspaper's resources in support of her work."Author and educator Clara Thomas was a relentless advocate of CanLit"
''

'', November 28, 2013. Other major Canadian novelists include

Lawrence Hill Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist. He is known for his 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes'', inspired by the Black Loyalists given freedom and resettled in Nova Scotia by the British after the A ...

, and

novel ''The Stone Diaries'' won the 1995

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

, and another novel, '' Larry's Party'', won the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

in 1998.

's '' Book of Negroes'' won the 2008

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation has presented a number of prizes since 1987. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best First ...

Overall Best Book Award, while

became the first Canadian to win the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

in 2013. Munro also received the

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

in 2009. In the 1960s, a renewed sense of nation helped foster new voices in Canadian poetry, including:

Eli Mandel Eli Mandel (December 3, 1922 – September 3, 1992) was a Canadian poet, editor of many Canadian anthologies, and literary academic. Biography Eli Mandel died in relative obscurity. A series of strokes had left him unable to write and, as a ...

and

Margaret Avison Margaret Avison, (April 23, 1918 – July 31, 2007) was a Canadian poet who twice won Canada's Governor General's Award and has also won its Griffin Poetry Prize.Michael Gnarowski,Avison, Margaret" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig ...

. Others such as

Al Purdy Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four ...

, Milton Acorn, and

Earle Birney Earle Alfred Birney (13 May 1904 – 3 September 1995) was a Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honour, for his poetry. Life Born in Calgary in the North-West Territories' District o ...

, already published, produced some of their best work during this period. The TISH Poetry movement in Vancouver brought about poetic innovation from

Jamie Reid Jamie Macgregor Reid (16 January 1947 – 8 August 2023) was an English visual artist. His best known works include the record cover for the Sex Pistols single " God Save the Queen", which was lauded as "the single most iconic image of the pun ...

George Bowering George Harry Bowering, (born December 1, 1935) is a prolific Canadian novelist, poet, historian, and biographer. He was the first Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Life and career Bowering was born in Penticton, British Columbia, and rai ...

Fred Wah Frederick James Wah, OC, (born January 23, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, scholar and former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Life Wah was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, but grew up in the interior (West Kootenay) of British Col ...

Frank Davey Frankland Wilmot Davey, FRSC (born April 19, 1940) is a Canadian poet and scholar. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he grew up in the Fraser Valley village of Abbotsford. In 1957 he enrolled at the University of British Columbia where, in ...

, Daphne Marlatt, David Cull, and

Lionel Kearns Lionel John Kearns (born February 16, 1937) is a writer, educator, philosopher and polyartist, known for his innovative literary forms, and his contributions to the field of digital poetics.Jim Andrews. Vispo. https://www.vispo.com/kearns/about. ...

. Canadian poets have been expanding the boundaries of originality:

Christian Bök Christian Bök, FRSC (; born August 10, 1966, in Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian poet known for his experimental works. He is the author of ''Eunoia'', which won the Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize. Life and work He was born "Christian Book", but ...

, Ken Babstock, Karen Solie,

Lynn Crosbie Lynn Crosbie (born 7 August 1963) is a Canadian poet and novelist. She teaches at the University of Toronto. Life and career Crosbie was born in Montreal, Quebec, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario. She received her PhD in English from the Uni ...

, Patrick Lane,

George Elliott Clarke George Elliott Clarke (born February 12, 1960) is a Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the Poet Laureate of Toronto from 2012 to 2015 and as the Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate in 2016-2017. Clarke's work addresse ...

and Barry Dempster have all imprinted their unique consciousnesses onto the map of Canadian imagery. A notable anthology of Canadian poetry is ''The New Oxford book of Canadian Verse'', edited by Margaret Atwood ().

Anne Carson Anne Patricia Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, classicist, and professor. Trained at the University of Toronto, Carson has taught classics, comparative literature, and creative writing at universities across ...

is probably the best known Canadian poet living today. Carson in 1996 won the

Lannan Literary Award The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

for poetry. The foundation's awards in 2006 for poetry, fiction and nonfiction each came with $US 150,000.

Canadian authors who have won international awards

(2013)

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

* Alice Munro (2009)

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

, ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main charact ...

'' (1992) *

, ''

The Blind Assassin ''The Blind Assassin'' is a novel by the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 2000. The book is set in the fictional Ontario town of Port Ticonderoga and in Toronto. It is narrated from the present ...

'' (2000) *

Yann Martel Yann Martel, (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spe ...

, ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...

'' (2002) * Margaret Atwood, ''

The Testaments ''The Testaments'' is a 2019 novel by Margaret Atwood. It is the sequel to ''The Handmaid's Tale'' (1985). The novel is set 15 years after the events of ''The Handmaid's Tale''. It is narrated by Aunt Lydia, a character from the previous novel; A ...

'' (2019)

, '' The Stone Diaries'' (1995)

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Carol Shields Carol Ann Shields (née Warner; June 2, 1935 – July 16, 2003) was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel ''The Stone Diaries'', which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as t ...

, '' The Stone Diaries'' (1994)

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

, '' No Great Mischief'' (2001) *

Rawi Hage Rawi Hage (Arabic: راوي الحاج, romanized: Rāwī Ḥāj; born 1964) is a Lebanese-Canadian journalist, novelist, and photographer based in Montreal, Quebec, in Canada. Personal life Hage is the common-law partner of novelist Madeleine T ...

, '' De Niro's Game'' (2008)

Anne Michaels Anne Michaels (born 15 April 1958) is a Canadian poet and novelist whose work has been translated and published in over 45 countries. Her books have garnered dozens of international awards including the Orange Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, ...

, '' Fugitive Pieces'' (1997) *

, '' Larry's Party'' (1998)

* Olive Senior, ''Summer Lightning'' (1987) *

, '' Solomon Gursky Was Here'' (1990) *

Rohinton Mistry Rohinton Mistry (born 1952) is an Indian-born Canadian writer. He has been the recipient of many awards including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2012. Each of his first three novels was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His ...

, '' Such a Long Journey'' (1991) *

, '' A Fine Balance'' (1996) * Austin Clarke, '' The Polished Hoe'' (2003) *

, '' The Book of Negroes'' (2008)

Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is an international list of peace prizes, peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Frankfurter Paulskirche, Paulskirche in Frankfurt. T ...

* Margaret Atwood (2017)

Awards

There are a number of notable Canadian awards for literature: * The Atlantic Writers Competition highlights talent across the Atlantic Provinces. *

Books in Canada First Novel Award The Amazon Canada First Novel Award, formerly the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a Canadian literary award, co-presented by Amazon.ca and ''The Walrus'' to the best first novel in English published the p ...

for the best first novel of the year * Canadian Authors Association Awards for Adult Literature, honouring works by Canadian writers that achieve excellence without sacrificing popular appeal since 1975 * CBC Literary Awards *

Canada Council Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and human ...

for distinguished contributions to Canada's cultural and intellectual heritage *

Danuta Gleed Literary Award The Danuta Gleed Literary Award is a Canadian national literary prize, awarded since 1998. It recognizes the best debut short fiction collection by a Canadian author in English language. The annual prize was founded by John Gleed in honour of his ...

for a first collection of short fiction by a Canadian author writing in English *

Dayne Ogilvie Prize The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...

for an emerging writer in the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender communities * Doug Wright Awards for graphic literature and novels *

Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Awards The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award was a Canadian literary award given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having performances in the Toronto area. The prize had a monetary value of Canadian dollar, ...

for best Canadian play staged by a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

theatre company *

Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction The Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best work of non-fiction by a Canadian writer. Canada's most lucrative non-fiction prize, the winner re ...

for best work of nonfiction *

Gerald Lampert Award The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert. Each winner receive ...

for the best new poet * Lane Anderson Award for best Canadian non-fiction science *

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...

for the best Canadian novel or book of short stories in English *

Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for the best Canadian fiction, poetry, non-fiction, drama, and translation, in both English and French *

Griffin Poetry Prize The Griffin Poetry Prize is a Canadian poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, two separate awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. I ...

for the best book of poetry, one award each for a Canadian poet and an international poet *

Indigenous Voices Awards The Indigenous Voices Awards are a Canadian literary award program, created in 2017 to honour Indigenous literatures in Canada.First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

and

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

writers * Marian Engel Award for female writers in mid-career * Matt Cohen Award to honour a Canadian writer for a lifetime of distinguished achievement * Milton Acorn Poetry Awards for an outstanding "people's poet" * National Business Book Award * Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction *

Pat Lowther Award The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual Canadian literary award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman. The award was established in 1980 to honour poet Pat Lowther, who was murdered by ...

for poetry written by a woman *International Council for Canadian Studies'

Pierre Savard Pierre Raymond Savard (29 June 1927 – 20 July 2021) was a Liberal party member of the House of Commons of Canada. His career included various business interests including merchandising, administration and store ownership. Savard entered nation ...

Award ( e.g.

Faye Hammill Faye Hammill Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE is a professor in the University of Glasgow, specialising in North American and British modern writing in the first half of the twentieth century, what is often called 'middlebrow'. ...

for ''Literary Culture and Female Authorship in Canada)'' *

Prix Aurora Awards The Aurora Awards () are a set of primarily literary awards given annually for the best Canadian science fiction or fantasy professional and fan works and achievements from the previous year."Literary glow of Auroras lures galaxy of sci/fi stars". ...

for Canadian

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, in English and

* RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers *

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...

for the best work of fiction * Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing * Stephen Leacock Award For Humour * W.O. Mitchell Literary Prize for a writer who has made a distinguished lifetime contribution both to Canadian literature and to mentoring new writers * Room of One's Own Annual Award for poetry and literature *

3-Day Novel Contest The Three-Day Novel Contest is an annual Canada, Canadian literary contest conducted in September of each year. The contest, which is open to writers from anywhere in the world, gives entrants three days to write a novel. Writers are permitted to pl ...

annual literary marathon, born in Canada * Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award for a distinguished writer in mid-career * Writers' Trust / McClelland & Stewart

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short stories published b ...

Awards For Children's and Young Adult Literature: * Young Adult Novel Prize of the Atlantic Writers Competition * R.Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature * Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction *

Ann Connor Brimer Award The Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children's Literature is a $5,000 annual award given to an Atlantic Canadian writer deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to literature for young people. Starting in 2016, the prize alter ...

* Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award for Children * CLA Young Adult Canadian Book Award *

Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize The Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize is awarded annually as the BC Book Prizes, BC Book Prize for the best juvenile or young adult novel or work of non-fiction by a resident of British Columbia or the Yukon, Canada. It was first awarded ...

Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award The Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award is an annual literary award for children's picture illustrators. It was established in 1985 following the death of Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver, one of Canada's pre-eminent book illustrators. In ...

* Floyd S. Chalmers Award for Theatre for Young Adults *

Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award was presented annually by the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques (CLA) to an outstanding illustrator of a new Canadian children's book.

* Information Book of the Year * I0DE Book Award * Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature * Max and Greta Ebel Memorial Award for Children's Writing * Norma Fleck Award for children's non-fiction * Governor-General's Awards for the best Canadian children's literature, text-based or illustrated, in both English and French *

Vicky Metcalf Award The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, colloquially called the Vicky, is given annually at the Writers' Trust Awards to a writer or illustrator whose body of work has been "inspirational to Canadian youth". It is a top honour for ...

for Children's Literature

References

External links

Introduction – Canadian Writers
– Library and Archives Canada
''Canadian Literature''
– CanLit
''Canadian Literature''
– Historica – The Canadian Encyclopedia Library
Canadian Writers
– Resource for Canadian authors publishing in English or French – Athabasca University, Alberta
''Studies in Canadian Literature''
– University of New Brunswick
Dominion of the North: Literary & Print Culture in Canada
– An online exhibition celebrating prominent poets, authors, and historians. It comprises one hundred monographs, organized topically into eight collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Literature North American literature English-language literature Canadiana

Indigenous literatures

French-Canadian literature

Before Confederation

After 1867

Contemporary Canadian literature: After 1967

Canadian authors who have won international awards

Awards

Further reading

See also

References

External links