The Writers' Trust Announces Their Rising Stars of 2024

Yesterday, The Writers’ Trust of Canada announced its 2024 Writers’ Trust Rising Stars, which is awarded to emerging Canadian authors who show exceptional promise and potential, many of whom go on to make a significant impact on the CanLit scene. These honourees work in many genres, including speculative fiction, poetry, journalism, and creative nonfiction.

The WT Rising Stars program is designed to develop the careers of these authors, with the guidance of an established mentor. Each year, a seasoned group of writers chooses from these candidates and commits to working with them at this pivotal part of their artistic career. In addition to the mentorship opportunity, each Rising Star receives $5,000 and a two-week, self-directed residency at Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts on the Toronto Islands.

The program is generously supported by presenting sponsor BMO, program benefactor Clair Duff in memory of Catherine Shepard, Deb MacLeod and Ward Sellers, and John Terry and Lisa Rochon. WT Rising Stars has also been sustained by Margaret Atwood, Balsillie Family Foundation, and Kari Cullen and William Bonnell.

Congratulations to all of the 2024 winners, who we're sure to see make massive waves in the literary world in the coming years!

The 2024 Writers’ Trust Rising Stars are: 

EC Dorgan (Edmonton) - Mentored by Hiromi Goto 

EC Dorgan writes dark fiction and monster stories on Treaty 6 Territory in the Edmonton area. Her work has been has published in literary journals including Augur Magazine, The Dread Machine, The Ex-Puritan, Metaphorosis, and Novus Monstrum. She has stories forthcoming in Prairie Fire and Northern Nights, an anthology of Canadian speculative fiction. Dorgan is currently at work on her first novel. She is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. 

Paola Ferrante (Toronto) - Mentored by Richard Van Camp 

Paola Ferrante’s debut short fiction collection, Her Body Among Animals, is a 2023 Foreword INDIES finalist and was featured on the 2023 CBC Books fall reading list. It is forthcoming in August 2024 in the UK from Influx Press. Her poetry collection, What to Wear When Surviving A Lion Attack, was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. She won The New Quarterly’s Peter Hinchcliffe Prize, Room Magazine’s fiction contest, and Grain’s poetry contest. Ferrante is currently working on a science fiction inspired novel that satirically explores the concept of living your best life. She lives in Toronto. 

Daysha Loppie (Toronto) - Mentored by John Lorinc 

Daysha Loppie is a journalist based in Toronto. Her work has been published by The Local, Toronto Star, West End Phoenix, and ByBlacks. She was the recipient of the Len Coates Memorial Award recognizing academic achievement for two consecutive years at Toronto Metropolitan University and is graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism and a minor in Black Studies. Loppie’s current work-in-progress is a long form investigative feature on the fight to find lost Black burial grounds in Western Ontario.

Aubrianna Snow (Edmonton) - Mentored by Monique Gray Smith

Aubrianna Snow is a feminist writer and educator of mixed Mi’kmaw and settler descent living as a guest in Treaty 6 Territory (Edmonton). She has been published in Ghost Girls Zine, Chatelaine, and Muskrat Magazine. Snow’s background in journalism informs her work on issues related to gender-based violence; her writing explores themes of healing from interpersonal and systemic violence as well as relation to the land. Snow is currently working on two manuscripts — a work of literary fiction titled Waterborn as well as a collection of poetry. 

Karianne Trudeau Beaunoyer (Montreal) - Mentored by Élise Turcotte  

Karianne Trudeau Beaunoyer writes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in Montreal. Her debut poetry collection, Je suis l’ennemie, received the Émile-Nelligan prize in 2020 and was shortlisted for the Alain-Grandbois prize in 2021. Her writing has appeared in magazines including Estuaire, Les écrits, and Liberté. Her essay about anorexia, neoliberalism, and ghosts, “J’entends la rumeur entêtée d’un silence de mort,” received a 2023 SODEP’s Excellence Award. Trudeau Beaunoyer has served on the editorial board of Mœbius magazine and was literary director of a poetry collection from Triptyque Editions. She is currently working on a novel about restoration, an essay combining urban legends and personal narrative, and a poetry collection. 

________________________________________

About the Program 

Launched in 2019, the Writers’ Trust Rising Stars program annually recognizes five talented authors in the early stages of their careers and highlights their work with an endorsement from an established Canadian author. Each WT Rising Star receives $5,000, a flexible mentorship, and a two-week self-directed writing residency. Mentorships are tailored to each pair of writers and can take many forms, including manuscript review, in-depth conversations on the craft of writing, concept consultation on works in development, and important introductions to agents and editors. Writers’ Trust’s residency partner is Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts. For more information about the program visit writerstrust.com/RisingStars.

About Writers’ Trust 

Writers’ Trust of Canada is a charitable organization that seeks to support and celebrate Canadian writers and writing through a portfolio of programs including 12 literary awards, financial grants, career development initiatives for emerging writers, and a writers’ residency. Writers’ Trust programming is designed to champion excellence in Canadian writing, to improve the status of writers, and to create connections between writers and readers.