Each winner of the 1990 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10000 and a specially bound edition of his or her book. The winners were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.
English Language
Fiction
Winner:
Other Finalists:
- Sky Lee, Disappearing Moon Café
- Alice Munro, Friend of My Youth
- Leslie Hall Pinder, On Double Tracks
- Diane Schoemperlen, Man of My Dreams
Poetry
Winner:
- Margaret Avison, No Time
Other Finalists:
- Dionne Brand, No Language Is Neutral
- Patrick Lane, Winter
Drama
Winner:
Other Finalists:
- Audrey Butler, Black Friday?
- John Mighton, Scientific Americans
- George F. Walker, Love and Anger
Non-fiction
Winner:
- Stephen Clarkson & Christina McCall, Trudeau and Our Times
Other Finalists:
- Timothy Findley, Inside Memory: Pages from a Writer's Workbook
- Eugene Forsey, A Life on the Fringe: The Memoirs of Eugene Forsey
- Ron Graham, God's Dominion: A Sceptic's Quest
- James King, The Last Modern: A Life of Herbert Read
Children's Literature – Text
Winner:
- Michael Bedard, Redwork
Other Finalists:
- Jan Andrews, The Auction
- Brian Doyle, Covered Bridge
- Welwyn Wilton Katz, Whale Singer
Children's Literature – Illustration
Winner:
- Paul Morin, The Orphan Boy
Other Finalists:
- Warabé Aska, Seasons
- Frances Tyrrell, The Huron Carol
Translation (from French to English)
Winner:
- Jane Brierley, Yellow-Wolf and Other Tales of the Saint Lawrence
Other Finalists:
- Patricia Claxton, Letters to Bernadette
- Sheila Fischman, Benito
- Anthony Martin-Sperry, Charlevoix: Two Centuries at Murray Bay
- Susan Usher, Community Care and Participatory Research
French Language
Fiction
Winner:
- Gérald Tougas, La Mauvaise foi
Other Finalists:
- Louis Lefebvre, Le Collier d'Hurracan
- Michèle Mailhot, Le Passé composé
- Jean Marcel, Jérôme ou de la traduction
- France Vézina, Osther, le chat criblé d'étoiles
Poetry
Winner:
- Jean-Paul Daoust, Les Cendres bleues
Other Finalists:
- Geneviève Amyot, Corps d'atelier
- André Brochu, Dans les chances de l'air
- Denise Desautels, Leçons de Venise
- Joël Des Rosiers, Tribu
Drama
Winner:
- Jovette Marchessault, Le Voyage magnifique d'Emily Carr
Other Finalists:
- René-Daniel Dubois, Le Troisième fils du professeur Yourolov
- Anne Hébert, L'Île de la Demoiselle
Non-fiction
Winner:
- Jean-François Lisée, Dans l'oeil de l'aigle
Other Finalists:
- Gérard Bergeron, Petit traité de l'État de France'
- Martin Blais, L'Autre Thomas d'Aquin
- Daniel Latouche, Le Bazar
- Laurent-Michel Vacher, L'Empire du moderne
Children's Literature – Text
Winner:
- Christiane Duchesne, La Vraie histoire du chien de Clara Vic
Other Finalists:
- José Fréchette, L'Automne à 15 ans
- Philippe Gauthier, L'Héritage de Qader
- Johanne Massé, Le Passé en péril
Children's Literature – Illustration
Winner:
- Pierre Pratt, Les Fantaisies de l'oncle Henri
Other Finalists:
- Mireille Levert, Jérémie et Mme Ming,
- Stéphane Poulin, Les Amours de ma mère,
Translation (from English to French)
Winner:
- Charlotte et Robert Melançon, Le Second rouleau
Other Finalists:
- Claire Dupond, Lettres à un ami québécois
- Ivan Steenhout, Onyx John