1985 Governor General's Awards Explained

Each winner of the 1985 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

English

width=15%	Category	width=30%	Winner	width=55%	Nominated
Fiction	Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale^[1]	Sharon Butala, Queen of the Headaches Keath Fraser, Foreign Affairs David Adams Richards, Road to the Stilt House
Non-fiction	Ramsay Cook, The Regenerators: Social Criticism in Late Victorian English Canada	Michael D. Behiels, Prelude to Quebec's Quiet Revolution: Liberalism versus Neo-nationalism John Herd Thompson, Canada 1922-1939: Decades of Discord P. B. Waite, The Man from Halifax: Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister
Poetry	Fred Wah, Waiting for Saskatchewan	Lorna Crozier, The Garden Going on Without Us Richard Lush, A Manual for Lying Down Anne Szumigalski, Instar
Drama	George F. Walker, Criminals in Love	David French, Salt-Water Moon Margaret Hollingsworth, War Babies (in Willful Acts: Five Plays) Ken Mitchell, Gone the Burning Sun

French

width=15%	Category	width=30%	Winner	width=55%	Nominated
Fiction	Fernand Ouellette, Lucie ou un midi en novembre	Louise Bouchard, Les Images Jean-Paul Fugère, Popa moman et le saint homme Suzanne Paradis, La Ligne bleue
Non-fiction	François Ricard, La littérature contre elle-même	Lysiane Gagnon, Chroniques politiques Hélène Pelletier-Baillargeon, Marie Gérin-Lajoie
Poetry	André Roy, Action writing	Anne-Marie Alonzo, Bleus de mine François Charron, La vie n'a pas de sens Patrice Desbiens, Dans l'après-midi cardiaque Paul Chanel Malenfant, Les noms du père, suivi de Lieux dits: Italique
Drama	Maryse Pelletier, Duo pour voix obstinées	Michel Marc Bouchard, La poupée de Pélopia Francine Noël, Chandeleur

Notes and References

1. News: Atwood wins Governor General award. Red Deer Advocate. The Canadian Press. June 4, 1986. November 23, 2024. 10D. Newspapers.com.