The winners of the 1998 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced by Jean-Louis Roux, Chairman, and Shirley L. Thomson, Director of the Canada Council for the Arts on November 17 in Ottawa.[1] Each winner received a cheque for $10,000.[2]
English
| Category | Winner | Nominated | 
| Fiction |  Diane Schoemperlen, Forms of Devotion |  | 
| Non-fiction |  David Adams Richards, Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi | Wayne Grady, The Quiet Limit of the World: A Journey to the North Pole to Investigate Global WarmingCharlotte Gray, Mrs. King: The Life and Times of Isabel Mackenzie KingJudy Schultz, Mamie's Children: Three Generations of Prairie WomenRudy Wiebe and Yvonne Johnson, Stolen Life: The Journey of a Cree Woman
 | 
| Poetry |  Stephanie Bolster, White Stone: The Alice Poems |  | 
| Drama |  Djanet Sears, Harlem Duet | Bruce McManus, Selkirk AvenueRichard Sanger, Not SpainSandra Shamas, Sandra Shamas: A Trilogy of PerformancesDavid Young, Inexpressible Island
 | 
| Children's literature |  Janet Lunn, The Hollow Tree |  | 
| Children's illustration |  Kady MacDonald Denton, A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes | Victor Bosson, The Fox's KettleHarvey Chan, Music for the Tsar of the SeaZhong-Yang Huang, The Great RaceStéphane Jorisch, The Village of a Hundred Smiles and Other Stories
 | 
| French to English translation |  Sheila Fischman, Bambi and Me |  | 
French
| Category | Winner | Nominated | 
| Fiction |  Christiane Frenette, La Terre ferme |  | 
| Non-fiction |  Pierre Nepveu, Intérieurs du Nouveau Monde : Essais sur les littératures du Québec et des Amériques | Chantal Bouchard, La Langue et le Nombril : Histoire d'une obsession québécoiseMarcel Olscamp, Le Fils du notaire Jacques Ferron 1921-1949 : Genèse intellectuelle d'un écrivainRégine Robin, Le Golem de l'écriture : De l'autofiction au CybersoiPatricia Smart, Les Femmes du Refus global
 | 
| Poetry |  Suzanne Jacob, La Part de feu preceded by Le Deuil de la rancune |  | 
| Drama |  François Archambault, 15 secondes |  | 
| Children's literature |  Angèle Delaunois, Variations sur un même «t'aime» | Guy Dessureault, Lettre de ChineDaniel Mativat, Terreur sur la WindigoDanielle Rochette, La Fugue d'AntoineHélène Vachon, Le Cinéma de Somerset
 | 
| Children's illustration |  Pierre Pratt, Monsieur Ilétaitunefois | Stéphane Poulin, Petit ziziAlain Reno, Un tartare pour le bonhomme Sept HeuresYayo, Le Chasseur d'arc-en-ciel
 | 
| English to French translation |  Charlotte Melançon, Les Sources du moi : La Formation de l'identité moderne | Paule Noyart, Leonard Cohen : Le Canadien errantHélène Rioux, Self
 | 
References
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| English-language awards |  | 
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| French-language awards |  | 
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| Awards by year |  | 
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