news | Thursday November 6, 2025

2025 Governor General's Literary Award for Translation Winner!

We couldn’t be happier to share that Uiesh / Somewhere by Joséphine Bacon, translated by Jessica Moore has won the 2025 Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation!

Uiesh / Somewhere is a dual-language poetry collection in Innu-aimun and English. The poems in Uiesh / Somewhere are rooted in Innu Elder Joséphine Bacon’s experiences of moving between the nomadic ways of her Ancestors in the northern wilderness of Nitassinan and the clamour of the city. Wherever she is, Bacon is attentive to the smallest details of her environment, from the moon and the stars, the Northern Lights, and the falling snow, to the sirens of fire engines and the noise of a busy bar night. From her quiet centre, she listens to the voices of the Old Ones, whose stories are alive within her, and reflects on the beauty and the pain of her long life.

The peer assessment committee, comprised of Bilal Hashmi and Dimitri Nasrallah says of Uiesh / Somewhere: “Jessica Moore leans into Innu Elder Joséphine Bacon’s Uiesh/Quelque part with humility, admirable care and sensitivity to space. Through this timely dual-language edition, Moore charts a path for the interpretation of poetry and sharing of wisdom across generations. This is translation at its highest calling—an opening for a wider audience to discover a poet’s life and work.”

A huge congratulations to Joséphine and to Jessica, and to all of this year’s winners! Uiesh / Somewhere is an incredibly special book and we are so pleased that Bacon and Moore’s outstanding work is being celebrated and honoured. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, pick up your copy here.