Seven Major Prizes and More Than $375,000 Awarded at an Inspiring Writers’ Trust Celebration

The annual Writers’ Trust Awards lit up Toronto this week with a full evening of literary celebration. With seven major prizes presented and more than $375,000 invested directly into the hands of Canadian authors, the event reaffirmed its reputation as one of the biggest nights in the country’s literary calendar. Held at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio and hosted by Mattea Roach of CBC’s Bookends with Mattea Roach, the ceremony brought together emerging talent, established voices, and supporters from across the publishing community.

The night’s top book prizes went to Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Maria Reva, who each took home major honours for standout works released this year. Simpson won the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction for Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead, published by Alchemy by Knopf Canada. Reva earned the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for her novel Endling, published by Knopf Canada, capping a year that saw both her book and the prize itself gain widespread attention. Roza Nozari was also up on stage as the winner of the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers for the memoir All the Parts We Exile, also published by Knopf Canada.

The event also paid tribute to writers whose careers have helped shape the landscape of Canadian literature. Bren Simmers received the Latner Griffin Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize, honouring a powerful and growing body of work. Sheree Fitch was celebrated with the Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life, recognizing decades of creativity, advocacy, and joy in children’s literature and beyond. Julie Flett received the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, a prize that highlights exceptional contributions to literature for young readers. The Writers’ Trust Engel Findley Award was presented to Kim Thúy for her acclaimed body of fiction.

Funding for the Writers’ Trust Awards comes from an essential network of foundations, donors, and partners, including The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation, the Balsillie Family Foundation, the Latner and Griffin families, the Metcalf Foundation, the Estate of Timothy Findley, and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage. Media partner The Globe and Mail provided further support.

Full jury citations, finalist lists, and details about the prizes can be found at writerstrust.com/WTAwards. CELA will make accessible editions available for readers with print disabilities through celalibrary.ca/awards.

The Writers’ Trust Awards continue to highlight the strength and range of Canadian writing, celebrating a community that shapes how stories are told across the country.

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About Writers’ Trust of Canada   

Writers’ Trust of Canada is a charitable organization that seeks to support and celebrate Canadian writers and writing through a portfolio of programs including 11 literary awards, financial grants, career development initiatives for emerging writers, and a writers’ retreat. 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.