Writers' Trust Announces 2022 Dayne Ogilvie Nominees

Today the Writers' Trust of Canada announced the three finalists for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers, one of the only literary awards in the country dedicated to celebrating queer writers. The list of past winners and finalists is a star-studded one despite the prize being only 15 years old, with writers like Zoe Whittall, Mariko Tamaki, Vivek Shraya, and Joshua Whitehead amongst the past honourees. 

The prize, which celebrates an emerging queer writer living in Canada, has shifted slightly this year in moving from being a body of work award to a debut book award, meaning that writers are now nominated for their debut book length work rather than for their general work to date as writers. 

The 2022 Finalists for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers:

• Bilal Baig for Acha Bacha (Playwrights Canada Press)
• francesca ekwuyasi for Butter Honey Pig Bread (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Matthew James Weigel for Whitemud Walking (Coach House Books)

It's an exciting list, with Baig, creator of the acclaimed television series Sort Of; Ekwuyasi, whose novel was also nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Governor General's Literary Award, Amazon First Novel Award, Lambda Literary Award, and more; and Weigel, a decorated poet who recently served as a writer in residence here at Open Book. 

The winner of the 2022 prize will be announced at the Writers' Trust Awards evening this fall, which is set to return to an in-person event for 2022. Jurors Billy-Ray Belcourt, Samra Habib, and Zoey Peterson will select the winner of the $10,000 prize, with the remaining finalists each receiving $1,000.