The Canadian Authors Association is Canada's oldest association for writers and authors. [1] The organization has published several periodicals, organized local chapters and events for Canadian writers, and sponsors writing awards, including the Governor General's Awards.
The Canadian Authors Association was founded in 1921. The founding organizers included John Murray Gibbon, Bernard Keble Sandwell, Stephen Leacock, and Pelham Edgar. [2] By the end of its first year the organization had more than 700 members. [3]
In its early years the association was known for its conservative views on literature and its support of traditional writing genres, [4] including colourful idealized stories in quaint local settings. [5] Local chapters of the CAA organized activities to encourage and develop the skills of Canadian writers, including study groups, readings, and workshops. [6]
In 1919, the CAA founded a magazine, Canadian Bookman. [7] [8] In 1936, the association founded Canadian Poetry, edited by E. J. Pratt. [9]
The Canadian Authors Association discussed the idea of awards with Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir (1935-1940) who approved the use of the name of his office in the establishment of the Governor General's Awards in 1936, the first ones being awarded in 1937. They remain Canada's highest literary award, as well as the Canadian Authors Association Awards. [10] [1]
The Canadian Authors Awards, originally known as Canadian Authors Association or CAA Awards and now occasionally called Literary Awards, were created in 1975 to fill in for the Governor General’s medals, as these were overtaken by the Canada Council for the Arts, and were presented in multiple categories to authors who are Canadian born or permanent residents. [1] The following is an incomplete list of winners of the award, originally given out in three categories (fiction, poetry and drama), before the category Canadian History and the Emerging Writer Award were added in 1997 and 2006. After 2017 all categories were discontinued and replaced by the Canadian Authors Fred Kerner Award, which had already been accoladed the first time in 2016. [13] [14]
David Adams Richards is a Canadian writer and member of the Canadian Senate.
Canadian literature is written in several languages including English, French, and to some degree various Indigenous languages. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in the literary traditions of France and Britain, respectively. The earliest Canadian narratives were of travel and exploration.
Gary Barwin is a Canadian poet, writer, composer, multimedia artist, performer and educator who lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He writes in a range of genres including poetry, fiction, visual poetry, music for live performers and computers, text and sound works, and writing for children and young adults. His music and writing have been presented in Canada, the US, Japan, and Europe.
Raymond Fraser was a Canadian biographer, editor, essayist, memoirist, novelist, poet and short story writer. Fraser published fourteen books of fiction, three of non-fiction, and eight poetry collections. Fraser's writings received positive comments from literary figures Farley Mowat, Irving Layton, Louis Dudek, Alden Nowlan, Sheila Watson, Leonard Cohen, Hugh Garner, and Michael Cook.
Lorna Crozier, is a Canadian poet, author, and former chair of the Writing Department at the University of Victoria. She is the author of twenty-five books and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 as one of Canada's pre-eminent poets and for her teaching. Crozier is credited as Lorna Uher on some of her earlier works.
Robert Hilles is a Canadian poet and novelist.
Bruce Hunter is a Canadian poet, fiction and non-fiction author.
David George Joseph Malouf is an Australian poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and librettist. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2008, Malouf has lectured at both the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney. He also delivered the 1998 Boyer Lectures.
Laura Goodman Salverson was a Canadian author. Her work reflected her Icelandic heritage. Two of her books won Governor General's awards for literature.
Bruce Meyer is a Canadian poet, broadcaster, and educator. He has authored more than 64 books of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, and literary journalism. He is a professor of Writing and Communications at Georgian College in Barrie and a Visiting Associate at Victoria College at the University of Toronto, where he has taught Poetry, Non-Fiction, and Comparative Literature.
Stuart Ross is a Canadian fiction writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor.
Joseph Boyden is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. He is best known for writing about First Nations culture. Three Day Road, a novel about two Cree soldiers serving in the Canadian military during World War I, was inspired by Ojibwa Francis Pegahmagabow, the legendary First World War sniper. Joseph Boyden's second novel, Through Black Spruce, follows the story of Will, son of one of the characters in Three Day Road. The third novel in the Bird family trilogy was published in 2013 as The Orenda.
Elizabeth Grace Hay is a Canadian novelist and short story writer.
Frederick James Wah, OC, is a Canadian poet, novelist, scholar and former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate.
Rosemary Sullivan is a Canadian poet, biographer, and anthologist. She is also a professor emerita at University of Toronto.
Mark Abley is a Canadian poet, journalist, editor and nonfiction writer. Both his poetry and several of his nonfiction books express his interest in endangered languages. In November 2022 Abley was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the University of Saskatchewan for his writing career and for his services to Canadian literature.
Fitzhenry & Whiteside is a Canadian book publishing and distribution company, located in Leaside, Ontario. It publishes trade titles in children's and young adult fiction, textbooks, reference, history, biography, photography, sports and poetry.
Gail Sidonie Sobat is a Canadian writer, educator, singer and performer. She is the founder and coordinator of YouthWrite, a writing camp for children, a non-profit and charitable society. Her poetry and fiction, for adults and young adults, are known for her controversial themes. For 2015, Sobat was one of two writers in residence with the Metro Edmonton Federation of Libraries. She is also the founder of the Spoken Word Youth Choir in Edmonton.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2014.
The Alberta Literary Awards (ALA), administered by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, have been awarded annually since 1982 to recognize outstanding writing by Alberta authors. The awards honour fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, children's literature. At the first public ALA Gala in 1994, the inaugural Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award was given to W. O. Mitchell.