Quebec author Alex Thibodeau won the Governor General’s Literary Award for her debut novel “Comme les éclipses.” The Canada Council for the Arts announced Thursday morning the 14 winners of the French- and English-language awards in seven different categories. Thibodeau was recognized in the novels and short stories category for her work, which tells the tale of a woman struggling with a toxic relationship and work environment. The Quebec City-based writer also received awards for her poetry collection “Infantia,” published in 2020. She was up against the novels “Tout cela m’appartient” by Virginie Chaloux-Gendron, “La glace part en morceau” by Charlotte Gosselin, “Godpèle” by Gabriel Marcoux-Chabot and “Pathologique” by Sarah McNeil. In the essay category, Dalie Giroux was honoured for “Penser Croche,” a book in which the University of Ottawa professor explores Quebec’s political imagination. The other nominees were “Vida. Journal de la peur” (Nicholas Dawson), “Le spleen d’Oulan-Bator” (Jean-Frédéric Légaré-Tremblay), “Ondinnok. Le désir secret de l’âme” (Catherine Joncas and Yves Sioui Durand), and “Sur l’errance” (Anouk Sugàr). The winners of the poetry and theatre awards were “Le royaume des chuchotements” by Vincent Lambert and “L’histoire de comment je me suis séparée en deux” by Hoda Adra. In children’s literature, the books “How to Convince a Ghost to Move” (Maude Ménard-Dunn) and “À l’enVERRE” (Orbie) were honoured. Translator Catherine Ego received the translation award for her French adaptation of Tracey Linderman’s book, “La saignée. Enquête sur l’endométriose et la misogynie médicale ordinaire” (“Bleed: Destroying Myths and Misogyny in Endometriosis Care”). Among the seven English-language winners are Kate Cayley for her novel “Property” and Trina Moyles for her essay “Black Bear”. The fourteen winners were selected from among 1,200 books submitted to the competition. Winners received a $25,000 grant, and finalists each received $1,000. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 12, 2026.
