The Writers' Trust of Canada () is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers.
Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young; the Writers' Trust celebrates and rewards the talents and achievements of Canada's novelists, short story writers, poets, biographers, and other fiction and nonfiction writers through funding various awards, events and financial aid. It was registered as a charitable organization on March 3, 1976.
The organization funds and administers a number of Canadian literary awards; including the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.
The organization funds programs and events to help emerging Canadian writers such as the annual Margaret Laurence Lecture, given by a noted Canadian writer; writers' residencies at Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon; and the Woodcock Fund, which provides emergency financial assistance to Canadian writers, named in memory of the Canadian poet George Woodcock. Annual fundraisers include the Writers' Trust Gala in Toronto and ‘Politics and the Pen’ in Ottawa. Money raised to finance the charitable activities of the Writers' Trust is drawn almost exclusively from the private sector."The Writers' Trust of Canada" . Canadian Encyclopedia, 2012.
Management The Writers' Trust of Canada is run by a board of directors composed of volunteers from the arts and business communities, and counseled by an Authors' Advisory Group composed of writers from across the country. Staff members see to the day-to-day operations out of a downtown Toronto office shared with the Writers' Union of Canada.
Juries are composed of writers based on recommendations by the Authors' Advisory Group; invitations are issued by the staff.
Awards Prize winners are announced at the annual Writers' Trust Awards with the following exceptions: The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is handed out at Politics and the Pen in Ottawa. The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers winner is announced separately in the spring. The Weston International Award is announced in spring with a feature event each Autumn.
All awards are open to citizens and permanent residents of Canada. Winners are decided by an independent jury, usually consisting of three writers.
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing was established in honour of Shaughnessy Cohen (1948–1998), an outspoken and popular Member of Parliament from Windsor, Ontario; she died after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in the House of Commons of Canada just seconds after standing to address her peers.
A prize of is given annually to a book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence thinking on contemporary Canadian political life. The winning work must combine compelling new insights with depth of research and significant literary merit. All finalist works should ideally demonstrate a distinctive voice, as well as a persuasive and compelling command of tone, narrative, style, and analysis. The prize particularly values books which provide the general reader with an informed, unique perspective on the practice of Canadian politics, its players, or its principles. The jurors shortlist between three and five titles. Prizes of will be awarded to each of the finalists.
Past winners include Jane Jacobs for Dark Age Ahead and James Orbinski for An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the Twenty-first Century.
RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers was established by author Carolyn Smart and honours the memory of Bronwen Wallace (1945 - 1989), a Canadian poet and short story writer who died of cancer at the age of 44.
Two awards are given each year to emerging writers of any age in the genres of short fiction and poetry. Two finalists in each category receive . Past winners include Michael Crummey and Alison Pick.
The Royal Bank of Canada Foundation sponsors the award as part of their RBC Emerging Artists Project, which works to support talented young adults in their development of professional careers in the arts. In 2008, the prize presentation was moved from the fall to the spring, creating the absence of 2007's award. In 2020, the age limit was removed, opening the award up to Canadian emerging writers of any age.
Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction Consisting of a grand prize and for each finalist, the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is the most lucrative for Canadian nonfiction literature. The prize is awarded for literary excellence in the category of nonfiction, which includes, among other forms: personal or journalistic essays, memoirs, commentary, both social and political criticism, history, and biography. Finalist works should demonstrate, in the opinion of the jury, a distinctive voice, as well as a persuasive and compelling command of tone, narrative, style, and technique. The jury is free to interpret the definition of literary nonfiction as they see fit and finalist works are not required to encapsulate every aspect of the definition.
First established in 1997, the award's original corporate sponsor was Viacom. Pearson Canada, an educational book publishing company, took over the award in 1999, and Nereus Financial, a stock brokerage firm, became the sponsor from 2006 to 2008. From 2008 until 2011, the award had no corporate sponsor. In 2011, philanthropist and former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Hon. Hilary M. Weston, was announced as the award's new sponsor. Prior to Weston's patronage of the award, the prize was for the winner and for the finalists.
Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, worth , is awarded to the novel or short story collection that, in the opinion of the judges, is the year's best book of fiction. Prizes of are also given to between three and five finalists. The winner, selected by a three-member, independent judging panel, is announced at the annual Writers' Trust Awards.
Formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, the award was renamed in January 2021 in honour of writer Margaret Atwood and her late husband Graeme Gibson."Writers' Trust renames fiction prize after co-founders and couple Atwood and Gibson" . CTV News, January 27, 2021. Rogers Communications sponsored the award from 1997-2019, when it was a prize. Canadian businessman and philanthropist Jim Balsillie was announced as the new sponsor in 2021, bringing the top prize up to . Past prize winners include Alice Munro (2004), Lawrence Hill (2007), and David Chariandy (2017).
Writers' Trust Engel Findley Award The Writers' Trust Engel Findley Award is given to a writer in mid-career for a body of work, and in anticipation of future contribution to Canadian literature. It was created in 2008 from two separate awards formerly known as the Marian Engel Award for female writers and the Timothy Findley Award for male writers. Marian Engel (1933–1985) was an award-winning Canadian novelist and passionate activist for the national and international writer's cause; Timothy Findley (1930–2002) was an influential Canadian novelist and playwright.
All Canadian and permanent resident writers in mid-career are considered and no age restrictions apply. For the purposes of this award, mid-career is defined as having published, in Canada, at least 3 books of literary merit which are predominantly fiction. The prize is worth ; the winner is selected by a three-member, independent judging panel and announced annually at the Writers' Trust Awards. There is no submission process. Past winners include Miriam Toews and Nino Ricci.
Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life
Matt Cohen (1942–1999), winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction in 1999, was a celebrated and prolific writer who died from lung cancer at the age of 56. The Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life was established by a group of anonymous donors in his memory.
This prize is presented annually to a Canadian or permanent resident whose life has been dedicated to writing, in honour of distinguished work in poetry or prose in either English or French. All Canadians and permanent residents dedicated to writing as a primary pursuit are considered. An independent jury selects the winner, and there is no submission process; the winner of the prize is announced at the annual Writers' Trust Awards. Past winners include Jean Little and Mavis Gallant.
Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People Vicky Metcalf, a noted children's author and wife of George Cedric Metcalf, created this award in 1963 to stimulate the writing of literature for young Canadians. She held a passion for storytelling and published several children's books.
The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People is worth and is limited to works written by Canadian citizens or permanent residents. In contrast to other Writers' Trust literary prizes, qualifying authors published with a non-Canadian publisher are not excluded. An independent jury selects the winner and there is no submission process. The prize is announced annually at the Writers' Trust Awards. Past winners include Robert Munsch and Kenneth Oppel.
The award was known as the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature until a name change in 2013. It has been administered by the Writers' Trust since 2002 and was previously awarded by the Metcalf Foundation, which strives "to enhance the effectiveness of people and organizations working together to help Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy and creative society". The Metcalf Foundation continues to sponsor the annual award.
Writers' Trust McClelland and Stewart Journey Prize The Writers' Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize is made possible by James A. Michener's donation of his Canadian royalty earnings from his novel Journey, published by McClelland & Stewart in 1988.
The Journey Prize is a award given annually to a new and developing writer of distinction for a short story published in a Canadian literary publication; there is no age restriction. The journal that published the winning entry also receives . A three-member, independent jury announces the winner at the annual Writers' Trust Awards. The longlist, chosen by the jury, is compiled each year to form the Journey Prize Stories anthology. Past winners include Timothy Taylor, Yann Martel, and Yasuko Thanh.
Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers Originally established as a grant in 2007, the Dayne Ogilvie Prize was founded in memory of Dayne Ogilvie by his friend, Robin Pacific. Ogilvie was a freelance book editor, writer, and manager. He died in October 2006.
The prize has been presented to a Canadian writer who is part of the LGBTQ community and demonstrates great promise through a body of work of exceptional quality. It is the only prize of its kind in Canada serving the LGBTQ community; any self-identifying writer is eligible. While no age restriction exists, the prize is intended for those who are still developing their writing career. To qualify, writers must have published at least one book of fiction. The winner is selected by a three-member, independent jury and announced annually during Toronto's Pride Week; there is no submission process. Past winners include Nancy Jo Cullen and Farzana Doctor.
Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize Created in 2014 in conjunction with the Latner Family Foundation, the Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize presents $25,000 to a Canadian poet who has published at least three collections of poetry, to honour their body of work."New prize to award $25,000 annually to Canadian poets" . National Post, April 22, 2014.
Balsillie Prize for Public Policy