Kai Thomas is a Canadian writer from Ottawa, Ontario, [1] whose debut novel In the Upper Country was the winner of the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. [2]
The novel is a historical fiction about the Underground Railroad, centring on a journalist for an abolitionist newspaper in rural Ontario who is interviewing a woman in jail for killing a bounty hunter who was trying to capture fugitive slaves. [3] It was also a shortlisted finalist for the 2023 Amazon.ca First Novel Award, [4] the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2023 Governor General's Awards [5] and the 2024 Walter Scott Prize. [6]
Margaret Eleanor Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, two graphic novels, and a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General's Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television.
Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson was a Canadian novelist. He was a Member of the Order of Canada (1992), a Senior Fellow of Massey College and one of the organizers of the Writers Union of Canada. He was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community.
The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers. Alongside the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction and the Giller Prize, it is considered one of the three main awards for Canadian fiction in English. Its eligibility criteria allow for it to garland collections of short stories as well as novels; works that were originally written and published in French are also eligible for the award when they appear in English translation.
Steven Heighton was a Canadian fiction writer, poet, and singer-songwriter. He is the author of eighteen books, including three short story collections, four novels, and seven poetry collections. His last work was Selected Poems 1983-2020 and an album, The Devil's Share.
The Writers' Trust of Canada is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers.
The Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best work of non-fiction by a Canadian writer.
The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each for creators of English- and French-language books. The awards was created by the Canadian Authors Association in partnership with Lord Tweedsmuir in 1936. In 1959, the award became part of the Governor General's Awards program at the Canada Council for the Arts in 1959. The age requirement is 18 and up.
This is a list of recipients and nominees of the Governor General's Awards award for English-language poetry. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama was divided.
Helen Humphreys is a Canadian poet and novelist.
Thomas Wharton is a Canadian writer from Edmonton, Alberta.
Laisha Rosnau is a Canadian novelist and poet.
Anosh Irani is an Indo-Canadian novelist and playwright, born and raised in Mumbai.
Rivka Galchen is a Canadian-American writer. Her first novel, Atmospheric Disturbances, was published in 2008 and was awarded the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. She is the author of five books and a contributor of journalism and essays to The New Yorker magazine.
The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Originally presented as a general career achievement award for emerging writers that considered their overall body of work, since 2022 it has been presented to honor debut books.
Alix Ohlin is a Canadian novelist and short-story writer. She was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, and lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is a recipient of the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Literature for her short story collection, We Want What We Want.
The Latner Griffin Writers' Trust Poetry Prize is a Canadian literary award. Presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada and the Latner Family Foundation, the award presents $60,000 annually to a Canadian poet who has published at least three collections, to honour their body of work.
Téa Mutonji is a Canadian writer and poet, whose debut short story collection Shut Up You're Pretty was published in 2019.
Michelle Good is a Cree writer, poet, and lawyer from Canada, most noted for her debut novel Five Little Indians. She is a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Good has an MFA and a law degree from the University of British Columbia and, as a lawyer, advocated for residential-school survivors.
Anuja Varghese is a Canadian writer from Hamilton, Ontario, whose debut short story collection Chrysalis was published in 2023.
Howard Scott is a Canadian literary translator. He is most noted as co-winner with Phyllis Aronoff of the Governor General's Award for French to English translation at the 2018 Governor General's Awards for Descent Into Night, their translation of Edem Awumey's novel Explication de la nuit.