League of Canadian Poets Announces First Ever Longlists for Book Prizes

In honour of World Poetry Day and the 20th anniversary of Poetry Month in Canada, The League of Canadian Poets has announced, for the first time, longlists for their 2018 Poetry Awards, including the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and the Raymond Souster Award.

Sarah de Leeuw, President of the League of Canadian Poets’ National Council, announced the addition of longlists to the prize process saying, "We receive so many spectacular submissions each and every year and longlists give us yet another opportunity to share more incredible poetry with our community."

Congratulations to all of the finalists, jurors, and publishers for their fine work. The shortlists for all categories, including the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for Spoken Word, will be revealed on Monday, April 30, 2018. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Toronto at the Canadian Writers’ Summit in Toronto on Saturday, June 16, 2018. 

Gerald Lampert Memorial Award:

Established 1981, $1000. Awarded to a debut book of poetry. 2018 Jury: Laura McRae, Sandra Ridley, Clea Roberts

2018 Longlist:

• This Wound is a World by Billy-Ray Belcourt (Frontenac House)
• Iolaire by Karen Clavelle (Turnstone Press)
• Faunics by Jack Davis (Pedlar Press)
• Thin Air of the Knowable by Wendy Donowa (Brick Books)
• Voodoo Hypothesis by Canisia Lubrin (Wolsak & Wynn)
• The Divining Pool by Amanda Merritt (Wundor Editions)
• Otolith by Emily Nilsen (Goose Lane Editions)
• The Panic Room by Rebecca Păpucaru (Nightwood Editions) 
•  The Rules of the Kingdom by Julie Paul (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
• Better Nature by Fenn Stewart (BookThug)
• Admission Requirements by Phoebe Wang (McClelland and Stewart)
• Fragments, Desire by Onjana Yawnghwe (Oolichan Books)

Pat Lowther Memorial Award

Established 1981 in honour of the late Pat Lowther, $1000. Awarded to a book of poetry by a female-identifying author. 2018 Jury: Bruce Meyer, Cheryl Antao-Xavier, Julie Cameron Gray

2018 Longlist:

• Indianland by Lesley Belleau (ARP Books)
• Feel Happier in Nine Seconds by Linda Besner (Coach House Books)
• The Corpses of the Future by Lynn Crosbie (House of Anansi Press)
• Bicycle Thieves by Mary di Michele (ECW Press)
• Museum of Kindness by Susan Elmslie (Brick Books)
• Breathing at Dusk by Beth Goobie (Coteau Books)
• Penelope by Sue Goyette (Gaspereau Press)
• Linger Still by Aislinn Hunter (Gaspereau Press)
• Siren by Kateri Lanthier (Vehicule Press)
• Voodoo Hypothesis by Canisia Lubrin (Wolsak & Wynn)
• Little Wildheart by Micheline Maylor (University of Alberta Press)
• All We Saw by Anne Michaels (McClelland and Stewart)
• Otolith by Emily Nilsen (Goose Lane Editions)
• Dear Ghost by Catherine Owen (Wolsak & Wynn)
• Thing Is by Suzannah Showler (McClelland and Stewart)
• Admission Requirements by Phoebe Wang (McClelland and Stewart)

Raymond Souster Award

Established 2013, $1000. Awarded to a book of poetry by a League of Canadian Poets member. 2018 Jury: Hendrik Slegtenhorst, Almeda Miller, Jimmy McInnes

2018 Longlist:

• This Wound is a World by Billy-Ray Belcourt (Frontenac House)
• Late Style by Barry Dempster (Pedlar Press)
• Thin Air of the Knowable by Wendy Donowa (Brick Books)
• The Better Monsters by Puneet Dutt (Mansfield Press)
• Cloud Physics by Karen Enns (University of Regina Press)
• Slow War by Benjamin Hertwig (McGill-Queen's University Press)
• Trailer Park Elegy by Cornelia Hoogland (Harbour Publishing)
• Beautiful Children with Pet Foxes by Jennifer LoveGrove (BookThug)
• Voodoo Hypothesis by Canisia Lubrin (Wolsak & Wynn)
• Little Wildheart by Micheline Maylor (University of Alberta Press)
• This Real by Concetta Principe (Pedlar Press)
• Dead White Men by Shane Rhodes (Coach House Books)
• Mischief by John Terpstra (Gaspereau Press)

For more information about the award and the League of Canada Poets, please visit their website. And for more information on World Poetry Day, check out the UN website.