The Governor General Literary Awards at Rideau Hall, April 18, 2024!

Author photo courtesy Terry Fan

Here it is, the last day of 2024! What was my TOP POST of the year? Yep, my visit to Rideau Hall on April 18, to receive the incredible honour of the gift of a GG award for my book FIREFLY.

An amazing day for any writer, enjoy! And Happy New Year all:

"Well, it's happened! The 4-year wait for the Governor General Awards has ended, and all the literary laureates from 2020-2023 have been celebrated in a four-day visit to Ottawa this April!

I'm still processing, and when the official photos come out, I'll share them along with more thoughts about the experience. Sincere thanks to illustrator Terry Fan for the candid photo of me before the ceremony, in the sunroom at Rideau Hall! 

Thank you to the Governor General of Canada and to the Canada Council for the Arts for hosting us writers, from all over the country. It was an absolute blast to meet 60+ laureates (usually it's 14 or so), and to visit the archives, the National Gallery, the Canadian War Museum (a personal trip), and then Rideau Hall together on April 18th. 

Each of us took our turn in front of the crowd of 200+ attendees, listened as our book was cited by the GG committee, then met Her Excellency The Right Honourable Mary Simon, our Governor General. 

FIREFLY, leather-bound, on the right

When we shook hands, our Governor General whispered, "good morning!" then smiled and handed me my gift: a leather-bound copy of my winning middle-grade book, FIREFLY. Apparently we were photographed together, but all I remember honestly, is her sweet smile and her green eyes!

A wondrous day. Thank you to my publisher, Marc Cote (Cormorant Books), and my editor, Barry Jowett, who were both there to celebrate with me. I told them when I was standing in front of the crowd filled with joy (and more than a little emotion), I was 9-year-old Philippa and 60-year-old Philippa, and every Philippa in-between, who wrote and failed, then wrote some more.

The Pink Room, Rideau Hall, for lunch

A magical experience, I'm filled with gratitude. Thank you and congratulations to all the laureates, it was SO great to meet you and celebrate together!

Here is the complete list of Governor General laureates 2020-2023.

Official photos of me with the Governor General and other laureates 

For all posts about FIREFLY on this blog.