The Ottawa Public Library is pleased to invite you to attend the celebration of Ottawa’s outstanding authors with the presentation of the Ottawa Book Awards / Le Prix du livre d’Ottawa 2025. Everyone is welcome to join this free event.
Since 1985, the Ottawa Book Awards have been shining a spotlight on the very best books published in English and French. With categories in both fiction and non-fiction, the awards celebrate the voices that make our literary community so vibrant.
More than just prizes, the Ottawa Book Awards are a celebration of creativity and storytelling. They honour local authors—past and present—whose words have not only shaped our community but also earned recognition on the international stage.
This year’s winners will be announced at a public ceremony on November 15th at 7:00pm at Les Lye Studio, Meridian Theatres (101 Centrepointe Dr.).
The evening will begin with a keynote address by eminent writer and past Ottawa Book Awards winner, Charlotte Gray. Charlotte will speak about the importance of awards, and the vulnerability of writers in the age of AI.
The event will be hosted by Hugues Beaudoin-Dumouchel with a reception to follow.
Our friends from The Spaniel’s Tale and Le coin du livre will be on hand to sell the finalists’ books.
Join us and celebrate the talent and creativity of our local authors past and present and applaud their remarkable achievements on the literary stage.
For more information on this year’s finalists: Meet the 2025 Ottawa Book Awards Finalists!
Ottawa Public Library is committed to ensuring that all programs are accessible to everyone. If you need assistance registering for this program or require specific accommodations to participate, please contact us.
About our Keynote speaker: Charlotte Gray
Charlotte Gray is one of Canada’s best-known writers of non-fiction. Born in England, and a graduate of Oxford University and the London School of Economics, Charlotte moved to Canada in 1978 but has also lived in Tokyo, Boston and New York City. She worked as a political commentator, book reviewer and magazine columnist before she turned to biography and popular history.
Charlotte’s books have been shortlisted for the City of Ottawa Non-fiction book award 8 times, and she has won the award twice. Her twelve bestsellers include Sisters in the Wilderness; The Massey Murder; Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention; and Gold Diggers, Striking It Rich in the Klondike. Her most recent book is Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt.
An adjunct research professor at Carleton University, in Ottawa, she holds five honorary degrees, and is a member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She writes frequently in the Globe and Mail, and she is a regular book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal.