Grad's first novel named finalist for Governor General's Award

When the finalists for the 2025 Governor General’s Literary Awards were posted online last week, Vancouver writer Léa Taranto, a 2020 graduate of the Writer’s Studio, could hardly believe her eyes. Her debut novel, A Drop in the Ocean, had been named a finalist in the category of young people’s literature—text.

For Taranto, the national recognition has been a dream come true. “In elementary school, I devoured books,” she says. “Some, like Kit Pearson’s Awake and Dreaming, had stickers, Governor General’s Award shortlisters and winners. One day, I promised myself, a book I wrote would get one of those stickers too.”

But Taranto’s path to literary success had been far from assured. As she shared in our earlier article, she spent her adolescent years institutionalized for obsessive-compulsive and comorbid disorders—dashing her hopes of becoming a brilliant teen novelist. Yet, years later, this turbulent time in Taranto’s life would form the heart of her first novel. Published this past spring by Arsenal Pulp Press, A Drop in the Ocean shares the experience of a teenager diagnosed with OCD and anorexia who enters a residential treatment centre.

“The advice to write what you know felt impossible,” she recalls, “because stigma and internalized ableism had me convinced that I was a freak. I was also still coming to terms with my past, yet aware of my luck to have received treatment in the first place. Time and the support of community helped me heal enough to own who I am.”

Of course, being shortlisted for a prestigious prize like the Governor General’s Literary Award should give any writer a shot of confidence—and pride.

“While writing A Drop in the Ocean helped me have grace for the desperate, hurting teen I’d been, this recognition feels like a hand extended to my middle-grade self,” says Taranto. “List or no list, it’s okay to have big dreams and to be proud within reason of your hard work.”

The Governor General’s Literary Award winners will be announced on November 6.