About
The John H. Meier, Jr.
Governor General’s Literary Award Collection
Although I believe the first editions of these works are important to preserve and study, my real aim in bringing my collection to the attention of the public is to showcase the stories themselves, in the belief that these books are of enduring interest, and will continue to make a vital contribution to our literary culture. “
Preface for the 75th Anniversary of the Governor General’s Literary Awards Exhibition in Toronto
It was on the evening of 24 November 1937, a Wednesday night, when the first Governor General’s Literary Awards were presented at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall, just a few minutes walk from where the Fisher Library stands today. The presentations were part of Canadian Poetry Night, organized by the Canadian Author’s Association (CAA) and its president, Dr. Pelham Edgar. The late fall date was chosen for a practical reason: the Governor General, Lord Tweedsmuir, was scheduled to be in Toronto for the Royal Winter Fair – although, as his secretary made clear in a letter to Tweedsmuir, His Excellency would be unavailable to arrive at Convocation Hall “earlier than 8:25 p.m.” on the 24th. The evening thus began at 8:3o in front of an estimated crowd of 1,200 people.
The first presentation of the awards was considered by the Toronto Daily Star to be “the most auspicious literary program in the history of Toronto,” even though the paper also reported that Lord Tweedsmuir said to the gathered audience, “Much of the so-called Left Wing poetry is, I fear, half-baked poetry.” Bertram Brooker’s Think of the Earth received the medal for the best novel of 1936, while the medal for general literature, or non-fiction, was posthumously awarded to T.B. Robertson for his book T.B.R. Newspaper Pieces. The Governor General presented the medals, with no formal speech, but with a warm handshake and a few words of appreciation to each.
Some newspapers of the day referred to that first awards event as the “Tweedsmuir Book Awards”. It was an honest mistake since, to this day, the Canadian government credits Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir – John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875-1940) the politician and Scottish novelist who was the the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps – with founding the awards. In fact, the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) founded and administered the awards until it was passed on to the Canada Council in 1959. What also appears to be forgotten are the men behind the initial concept of the awards. Beginning in 1934, Albert H. Robson, CAA Toronto branch president, queried William Arthur Deacon, the noted literary critic and editor, for ideas on how to help Canadian authors. The importance of Deacon’s forty years of promoting Canadian literature through his criticism and moral support of early Canadian authors deserves recognition, and it is unlikely that the GG awards would exist today if it wasn’t for Deacon. He suggested a literary award to encourage sales, and to impress upon the public the high quality of books produced in Canada.
In 1935 Robson suggested in a letter to Pelham Edgar, the president of the CAA, that the newly appointed Governor General, Lord Tweedsmuir, be approached to offer an award for Canadian literature: “a shield, medal or gift could be officially presented for the finest book published the previous year in several classes, such as Poetry, History, Biography, Novel Essays and Short Stories. The prizes need not be of any great value, but should be dignified.
The winning of the Tweedsmuir Trophy would carry with it such nation-wide publicity as to give the work national prominence.” In early 1937, Edgar, on behalf of the CAA, began corresponding with Lord Tweedsmuir about the start of a new national literary award, and over the ensuing months the details were agreed upon and Tweedsmuir agreed to present the first award.
Initially, only English-language works or books translated from French were eligible. A category for French language titles was established in 1959 when the Canada Council for the Arts was created. Today awards are given for best English-language and French-language publications in each of seven categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, children’s literature (text and illustration), and translation.
The presentation and scheduling of the awards have changed since that first evening in 1937. When the CAA administered the GG’s, medals were usually presented at the finale of their annual convention, which was held during the spring in cities across the country. In 1980 the Canada Council started publishing the names of finalists in all categories in the weeks preceding the awards presentation. In 1992, the Council began presenting the awards in November of each year to coincide with the major book-buying season.
Seventy five years after that first award ceremony, the Governor General’s Literary Awards continues to be acknowledged as this country’s most prestigious literary award. Since its inception, being nominated has been seen as a significant achievement by both Canadian authors and their publishers, and winning the award has almost always resulted in increased sales.
Today it is common for publishers to order an additional print run of a book within hours of the nominations, and it is not unusual for a title to be reprinted multiple times during the subsequent three- to six-month period after the award is presented.
My focus has been on collecting all of the first English language editions. The French editions included in the exhibit won the Governor General’s Award for their respective English language translations. These of course form an important part of the book’s publishing history. I have collected these in the original wrappers. Examples include: Ringuet, Trent Arpents (Thirty Acres); Gabrielle Roy, Bonheur d’ Occasion (The Tin Flute); Germaine Guevremont, Le Survenant (The Outlander) and Gabrielle Roy, Rue Deschambault (Street of Riches).
Although I believe the first editions of these works are important to preserve and study, my real aim in bringing my collection to the attention of the public is to showcase the stories themselves, in the belief that these books are of enduring interest, and will continue to make a vital contribution to our literary culture.
John H. Meier, Jr. Delta, British Columbia
Whatever the objects of their pursuit, all successful collectors display a degree of dedication that sometimes borders on obsession. The most successful, however, are those who commit their time, money, and passion, but also exhibit a laser-like focus and discipline. John H. Meier, Jr. is just such a collector. For more than a decade, this successful Vancouver entrepreneur has devoted himself to the study and collecting of the English-language fiction of his adopted country. By choosing to specialize, and collect the winners of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, their first edition variants, proofs, and related documents, he has succeeded in amassing a collection of national significance, unmatched in depth and completeness even by Canada’s national library collection. Meier’s dogged research―ranging from publishers’ archives to personal interviews― has unearthed and revealed the fascinating publishing history of those books generally acknowledged as the cream of English Canada’s fiction output since the institution of the gg Awards in 1937.
Ernie Ingles, Vice-Provost & Chief Librarian, University of Alberta
‘I had been told at the beginning, by several booksellers and collectors, that I would not be able to locate many of the early Canadian editions since they were printed in such small numbers. I’ve always enjoyed a challenge, so this only further motivated me to complete the collection.’
John H. Meier, Jr. is former president and founder of the W.A. Deacon Literary Foundation. He is a businessman and independent scholar with an eclectic career history including business management, import export development, medical research, and real estate. His past careers have involved Canadian contract and patent law, clinical testing, feasibility studies, and international trade reports. Meier has been collecting books for over forty five years. He is known in academic circles as the leading expert on the Governor General’s Literary Awards. He has traveled extensively in Canada conducting research at all the major institutions that hold publishers’ and authors’ archives. Meier has given lectures on the awards across Canada and extensive interviews in print, television, and CBC Radio. He lives in Delta, British Columbia.