1980 Governor General's Awards

Each winner of the 1980 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

English

Category	Winner	Nominated
Fiction	George Bowering, Burning Water	Susan Musgrave, The Charcoal Burners Leon Rooke, Fat Woman
Non-fiction	Jeffrey Simpson, Discipline of Power: The Conservative Interlude and the Liberal Restoration	John Fraser, The Chinese: Portrait of a People Donald MacKay, Scotland Farewell: The People of the Hector
Poetry or drama	Stephen Scobie, McAlmon's Chinese Opera	Douglas Lochhead, High Marsh Road

French

Category	Winner	Nominated
Fiction	Pierre Turgeon, La première personne	Gilbert La Rocque, Les masques Hélène Ouvrard, La noyante
Non-fiction	Maurice Champagne-Gilbert, La famille et l'homme à délivrer du pouvoir	Jean-Luc Hétu, Croissance humaine et instinct spirituel Yvan Lamonde, La philosophie et son enseignement au Québec
Poetry or drama	Michel van Schendel, De l'oeil et de l'écoute	Nicole Brossard, Amantes Gilles Cyr, Ce lieu