The finalists for the 2023 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction

Here are the finalists for the 2023Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction.

The Governor General's Literary Awards are one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious literary prizes.

The prizes, administeredby theCanada Council for the Arts, are awarded in seven English-language categories:fiction,nonfiction,poetry,young people's literature text,young people's literature illustration,dramaandFrench-to-English translation. Seven French-language awards arealsogiven outin the same categories.

TheCanada Council for the Artsis a partner oftheCBC Literary Prizes. The2024 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open for submissions.

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Each winner will receive$25,000.The winners will be announced on Nov. 8, 2023.

The nonfiction category was assessed byKat Lafferty, Lorri Neilsen Glenn and Rinaldo Walcott.

You can see the finalists in all seven categories here.

Get to know the nonfiction finalists below.

Gendered Islamophobia: My Journey With a Scar(f)byMonia Mazigh

Gendered Islamophobiadescribes Monia Mazigh'sexperiences as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman who has lived most of her life in Quebec. It discusses stereotypes that plague Muslim women and how Islamophobia can be gendered.

• Monia Mazigh on how fearful memories inspired her hopeful new novel

Monia Mazigh was born and raised in Tunisia and immigrated to Canada in 1991. Her book,Hope and Despair, tells the story of her husband's deportation to Syria where he was tortured and held without charge for over a year. She is also the author of the novelsMirrors and MiragesandHope Has Two Daughters.

Invisible Boy: A Memoir of Self-DiscoverybyHarrison Mooney

Invisible Boyis a memoir and Black coming-of-age narrative that follows Harrison Mooney as he reconsiders his history after years of internalized anti-Blackness. At a young age, he was adopted into a white evangelical family and was made to participate in revivalist church activities, while beingconsistently mocked for his identity.

Based in Vancouver, Harrison Mooneyis a writer and journalist. He has worked for theVancouver Sunfor nearly a decade as a reporter, an editor and a columnist. His writing has also appeared in theNational Post, theGuardian,YahooandMaclean's.

Message in a Bottle: Ocean Dispatches from a Seabird BiologistbyHolly Hogan

Message in a Bottleis a story about the central threat to marine life diversity: ocean plastic. In this book, biologist and writer Holly Hogan brings marine creatures to life as she recounts experiences on her 30 years of ocean travel.

Holly Hogan is an author and wildlife biologist who lives in St. John's.

LISTEN | Holly Hogantalks about Message in a Bottlewith The Next Chapter:

The Next Chapter14:08Holly Hogan on Message in a Bottle

The Newfoundland seabird biologist on her book Message in a Bottle, and the danger that plastic poses to the world's oceans and birds.

Unbrokenby Angela Sterritt

In her memoirUnbroken, Angela Sterritt shares her story from navigating life on the streets to becoming an award-winning journalist. As a teenager, she wrote in her notebook to survive. Now, she reports on cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, showing how colonialism and racism create a society where Indigenous people are devalued.Unbrokenis a story about courage and strength against all odds.

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Angela Sterritt is a journalist, writer and artist. She has previously worked as a host and reporter with CBC Vancouver. Sterritt is a member of the Gitxsan Nation and lives on Swxw7mesh, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh territories in Vancouver.Unbrokenis also shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for nonfiction.

LISTEN | Angela Sterritt talks about Unbroken with The Next Chapter:

The Next Chapter21:01Angela Sterritt on Unbroken

The award-winning journalist Angela Sterritt talks to Shelagh Rogers about Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls.

UnearthingbyKyo Maclear

After Kyo Maclear's father dies, a DNA test shows that she is not biologically related to the father that raised her. Maclear embarks on a journey to unravel the family mystery and uncover the story of her biological father, raising questions about kinship and what it means to be family inUnearthing.

• What keeps Kyo Maclear from loitering at the edge of writing

Maclear is an essayist, novelist and children's author. Her books have been translated into 15 languages, won a Governor General's Literary Award and been nominated for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, among others. Her memoirBirds Art Lifewas a finalist for the 2017 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction andwon the 2018 Trillium Book Award.

LISTEN | Kyo Maclear on Unearthing:

The Next Chapter20:27Kyo Maclear on Unearthing

Shelagh Rogers talks to Kyo Maclear about the author's journey to self discovery in the memoir, Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Families Secrets.