October 25, 2016 - 1:09 AM
OTTAWA - This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Governor-General Literary Awards. Here is a timeline of key events:
1937: First Governor General Literary Awards handed out, Gov. Gen Lord Tweedsmuir attends award ceremony.
1937: Poetry or drama added as category.
1949: Juvenile category added.
1957: Canada Council of the Arts is launched.
1959: First French-language awards for fiction and other genres.
1960: Canada Council for the Arts takes over administration of the awards.
1975: Inauguration of the Canada Council Children's Literature Awards in French and English.
1981: Poetry and drama are split into separate categories.
1987: Translation categories added (English-to-French, French-to-English).
2005: Award ceremony is held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, the official residence of the Governor General.
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2016 BY THE NUMBERS
— 1,458 eligible books (892 English, 566 French) were evaluated by 14 peer assessment committees.
— 68 books shortlisted.
— 78 nominees, 43 men and 35 women.
— 37 first-time finalists.
— 4 indigenous finalists.
Source: Canada Council for the Arts
News from © The Canadian Press, 2016