Norma Dunning wins 2021 Governor General's Literary Award

Join us in congratulating Educational Policy Studies alumni and instructor Norma Dunning for winning the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for her short story collection "Tainna: The Unseen Ones." Dr. Dunning received her PhD in 2019 and is a regular instructor in the department.

  • CBC News
  • 23 November 2021

Norma's short story collection Tainna: The Unseen Ones (Douglas & McIntyre) brings together six powerful new short stories centred on modern-day Inuk characters in Tainna. Ranging from homeless to extravagantly wealthy, from spiritual to jaded, young to elderly, and even from alive to deceased, Dunning’s characters are united by shared feelings of alienation, displacement and loneliness resulting from their experiences in southern Canada. Tainna is available for purchase from independent booksellers. 

The Governor General’s Literary Awards (Canada Council for the Arts) promote Canadian Literature and recognize Canada's best English-language and French-language books across seven categories. This $25,000 award was chosen by an assessment committee, who selects one winning book and four finalists in each category. See CBC News and CBC Books for more information. 

Norma Dunning is an author and educator who has also received book awards or been shortlisted for her earlier works. Dr. Dunning received her PhD specializing in Indigenous Peoples Education in 2019 and is a regular instructor in the department.