Fraser, Bourrie among history prize winners
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/01/2026 (253 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A pair of English-language authors are among the dozen recipients of the Governor General’s History Awards, administered by Canada’s National History Society.
Ottawa’s Mark Bourrie was awarded the $5,000 Pierre Berton Award for popular media, for writing that has “revealed the complexity and richness of Canada’s history — from early encounters between Europeans and Indigenous peoples to the political struggles, wars, and media forces that have shaped the country’s modern identity.”
Bourrie is the author of Crosses in the Sky, Bush Runner and other works of non-fiction. His most recent book is 2025’s Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre.
Gwichyà Gwich’in author Grystal Gail Fraser, originally from the Northwest Territories and now based in Edmonton, won the Governor General’s History Award for Scholarly Research for her book By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, published in 2024 by University of Manitoba Press.
“Fraser has produced a study remarkable in its research depth and intellectual rigour… In its research methods, incorporation of Indigenous languages, and community-centred approach, By Strength, We Are Still Here makes a striking and original contribution to the literature on Indian Residential Schools in Canada,” the jury notes.
Fraser’s next book is Talk Treaty to Me: Understanding the Basics of Treaties and Land in Canada, written with Sara Komarnisky, which publishes Feb. 24 with HarperCollins.
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After the holiday lull, local book events are once again picking up steam, with a trio of new titles being launched at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location in the coming days.
Winnipeg-based author Lindsay Wong kicks things off on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the launch of her new novel Villain Hitting for Vicious Little Nobodies, a horror-tinged tome exploring the Chinese tradition of corpse brides. Wong will be joined by fellow Winnipeg author/University of Winnipeg prof Jenny Heijun Wills.
For an interview with Wong, click here.
On Thursday at 7 p.m., Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov launches In Search of Dignity: A Lifetime of Reflection, which includes a collection of Chochinov’s publications as well as the story behind each of the publications included.
He’ll be joined at the launch by Dr. Bruce Martin.
Regina-based Winnipeg author Emily Grafton takes the book launch spotlight Friday at 7 p.m., when she’ll launch the book Divided Power: How Federalism Undermines Reconciliation at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location.
Published in October 2025 by Fernwood Publishing, Divided Power argues the division beteween the federal state and the provinces/territories impedes Indigenous Peoples’ governance and agency.
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Saskatchewan-born poet Karen Solie has won the 2025 T.S. Eliot Prize for her collection Wellwater, published in Canada in April 2025 by House of Anansi.
Solie, who splits her time between Scotland and Canada, topped 177 collections submitted by British and Irish publishers (Wellwater was published in the U.K. by Picador Poetry), which were judged by Michael Hofmann, Patience Agbabi and Niall Campbell. Of Wellwater, which also won the 2025 Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry, the jury said the poems “offer no happy endings, no salvation in past or future, in epiphany or private happiness. And yet they are anything but grim, with an ironic humour that plays over our increasingly euphemism-hungry culture.”
The winner of the prize receives £25,000 (around $46,000).
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Winnipeg-born author Miriam Toews is a finalist for the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award in the autobiography category for her book A Truce That Is Not Peace.
The finalists for the awards, which are chosen by American book critics, were announced on Jan. 20; Margaret Atwood’s Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts had been longlisted for the same category as Toews, but didn’t make the five-book short list.
Other Canadians: Omar El-Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This made the short list in the criticism category, while Madeleine Thien’s novel The Book of Records failed to get past the long list.
The winners will be announced on March 26; visit bookcritics.org/awards for a complete list of longlisted and shortlisted books.
winnipegfreepress.com/bensigurdson
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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History
Updated on Monday, January 26, 2026 11:33 AM CST: Adds link
