Each winner of the 1989 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $5000 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada. The winners and nominees were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.
English language
Fiction
Winner:
Other Finalists:
- Ann Copeland, The Golden Thread
- Helen Weinzweig, A View from the Roof
Poetry
Winner:
- Heather Spears, The Word for Sand
Other Finalists:
- Tim Lilburn, Tourist to Ecstasy
- Stephen Scobie, Dunino
Drama
Winner:
- Judith Thompson, The Other Side of the Dark
Other Finalists:
Non-fiction
Winner:
- Robert Calder, Willie-The Life of W. Somerset Maugham
Other Finalists:
- Janice Boddy, Wombs and Alien Spirits
- Robert MacNeil, Wordstruck
- Dale A. Russell, An Odyssey in Time: The Dinosaurs of North America
Children's literature – text
Winner:
- Diana Wieler, Bad Boy
Other Finalists:
- Kit Pearson, The Sky is Falling
- Eliane Corbeil Roe, Circle of Light
Children's literature – illustration
Winner:
- Robin Muller, The Magic Paintbrush
Other Finalists:
- Michèle Lemieux, A Gift from Saint Francis
- Jan Thornhill, The Wildlife 123
Translation (French to English)
Winner:
- Wayne Grady, On the Eighth Day
Other Finalists:
- Arlette Francière, Kaleidoscope
- Donald Winkler, Rose and Thorn
French language
Fiction
Winner:
- Louis Hamelin, La Rage
Other Finalists:
- Robert Lalonde, Le Diable en personne
- Jacques Poulin, Le Vieux Chagrin
Poetry
Winner:
- Pierre DesRuisseaux, Monème
Other Finalists:
- Christiane Frenette, Cérémonie mémoire
- Élise Turcotte, La Terre est ici
Drama
Winner:
- Michel Garneau, Mademoiselle Rouge
Other Finalists:
- Michel Marc Bouchard, Les Muses orphelines
- Robert Claing, La Femme d'intérieur
Non-fiction
Winner:
- Lise Noël, L'Intolérance : une problématique générale
Other Finalists:
- Jean Éthier-Blais, Fragments d'une enfance
- Pierre Morency, L'Oeil américain
Children's literature – text
Winner:
- Charles Montpetit, Temps mort
Other Finalists:
- Jacques Lazure, Le Domaine des Sans Yeux
- Joceline Sanschagrin, La Fille aux cheveux rouges
Children's literature – illustration
Winner:
- Stéphane Poulin, Benjamin et la saga des oreillers
Other Finalists:
- Frédéric Back, L'Homme qui plantait des arbres
- Philippe Béha, Mais que font les fées avec toutes ces dents?
Translation (English to French)
Winner:
- Jean Antonin Billard, Les Âges de l'amour
Other Finalists:
- Ronald Guévremont, Comme un vent chaud de Chine
- Christine Klein-Lataud, Un Oiseau dans la maison