Contents: 1. Canadian Awards 2. Canadian Regional Awards 3. International Awards
This document focuses primarily on awards for adult literature. A comprehensive list of children’s book awards (both Canadian and international) is available from this infrequently-updated University of Calgary website compiled by David K. Brown: http://wiki.ucalgary.ca/page/ChildrensLiteratureWebGuide or from the Amazon sponsored site: http://www.canlitawards.com/cankids.html.
Arthur Ellis Award http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/awards/arthur-ellis-awards/current-contest Awards for Canadian crime and mystery fiction, administered by the Crime Writers of Canada. The awards are named after the nom de travail of Canada's official hangmen. Awards are presented in six categories for works in the crime genre published for the first time in the previous year by authors living in Canada, regardless of their nationality, or by Canadian writers living outside of Canada. For past winners see: http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/awards/arthur-ellis- awards/past-winners
Canada Reads http://www.cbc.ca/canadareads/ Canada Reads is a CBC Radio program about books that's designed to appeal to both avid and occasional readers. Five celebrity panelists each champion a work of Canadian fiction they'd love us all to read and, in a game of ―literary survivor,‖ whittle down that list of books to one, the book Canada Reads.
Canadian Authors’ Association Awards http://www.canauthors.org/awards/winners.html These awards annually recognize Canadian literary excellence in adult literature, poetry, Canadian history, drama, and television.
Canadian Science Writers' Association Awards http://www.sciencewriters.ca/awards/index.html The Canadian Science Writers' Association offers print, radio, and television awards annually to honour outstanding Canadian science journalism in short and long format catagories.
Canadian Writer’s Contest Calendar You can purchase a copy of a listing of the latest Canadian awards and competitions: http://www.cwj.ca/cwcc-updates.htm
CBC Literary Awards http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/index.html The CBC Literary Awards competition is the only literary competition that celebrates original, unpublished works, in Canada’s two official languages. There are three categories—short story, poetry, and creative nonfiction—and $60,000 of prize money courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts. In addition, winning entries are published in Air Canada’s enRoute magazine and visibility is offered to the winners and their winning entries by CBC.
Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction http://www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/ The Prize will be awarded to the author whose book best combines a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception. The Prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author as well as promotional support.
The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction https://www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=2529&p=11279 Established in 1991 to encourage and recognize the Canadian writer of a first or second published book. The book must have a Canadian locale or a particular Canadian significance. Creative non-fiction is literary rather than journalistic.
Pat Lowther and Gerald Lampert Memorial Awards http://poets.ca/wordpress/contests-awards The awards recognize the best first book of poetry published by a Canadian in the preceding year. The awards each carry a prize of $1,000 and are sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets.
The Giller Prize http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/ The award recognized excellence in Canadian fiction – long format or short stories – and endows a large cash prize annually to Canadian writers.
2 Governor General’s Literary Awards http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/ggla/ One of the most prestigious awards in Canada administered and supported by The Canada Council. Includes awards in both English and French for fiction, poetry, drama, non-fiction, children’s literature (separate text and illustration), and translation.
Griffin Poetry Prize http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/ The Griffin Trust was created to serve and encourage excellence in poetry written in English anywhere in the world. There are two prizes: one goes to a living Canadian poet, the other to a living poet from any other country, which may include Canada.
The Journey Prize http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards.aspx The Journey Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary magazine. The award was endowed by James A. Michener, who donated the Canadian royalty earnings from his 1988 novel Journey.
The Kobzar Literary Awards http://www.kobzarliteraryaward.com/ The Kobzar Literary Award is a biannual award, recognizing an outstanding contribution to Canadian literature through the author's representation of a Ukrainian-Canadian theme. Awards are given for literary non-fiction, fiction, young people’s literature, poetry, and plays, screenplays, and musicals.
The Engel/Findley Award http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/Writers--Trust-Notable-Author-Award/Prize- History.aspx Administered by the Writer’s Trust of Canada, this award is presented once a year to a Canadian writer, not for a single book, but for a body of work and in anticipation of future contributions to Canadian literature.
Quebec Writers’ Federation Awards http://www.qwf.org/awards/ Awarded annually to writers in English by the Quebec Writers’ Federation. Includes the following awards: Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction, Mavis Gallant Prize for Non- Fiction, A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry, McAuslan First Book Prize, QWF Translation Prize (French and English, with target language alternating each year).
The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour http://www.leacock.ca/ The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal has been awarded every year since 1947, with the exception of 1959. This award is presented to the best work of humorous literature written in English by a Canadian.
3 The Vicky Metcalf Award http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/Vicky-Metcalf-Award-for-Children-s- Literature.aspx Administered by the Writer’s Trust of Canada, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature is awarded to the author of a body of work in children's literature that, in the opinion of the judges, demonstrates the highest literary standards.
The Writers' Trust of Canada's Matt Cohen Prize - In Celebration of a Writing Life http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/Matt-Cohen-Award--In-Celebration-of-a-Writing- Life.aspx Established in 2001 by the Writers' Trust of Canada and a group of anonymous donors, the Matt Cohen Award recognizes a lifetime of distinguished work by a Canadian writer, working in either poetry or prose in either French or English.
The Writer’s Trust of Canada Roger’s Writer’s Trust Fiction Prize http://www.writerstrust.com/Awards/Rogers-Writers--Trust-Fiction-Prize.aspx Administered by the Writer’s Trust of Canada and established in 1997, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize recognizes Canadian writers of exceptional talent for the year's best novel or short-story collection.
AB: Alberta Literary Awards www.writersguild.ab.ca/Alberta-Literary-Awards.asp Administered by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, awards are given annually for fiction, short fiction, drama, essays, children’s literature, poetry, and non-fiction.
AB: Grant MacEwan Literary Awards The Grant MacEwan Literary Awards were created by the Government of Alberta in the summer of 2000 to honour Dr. MacEwan's achievements and to create a literacy legacy in his name. Not currently being accepted and no past lists of winners are available online.
AB: The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize http://www.writersguild.ab.ca/CityBookAwardFinalists.asp The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize recognizes literary achievement by Calgary authors. The $2000 prize is awarded annually for an outstanding book of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, children’s literature or drama published in the preceding year.
AB: The Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize http://www.writersguild.ab.ca/CityBookAwardFinalists.asp#Edmonton The $2000 City of Edmonton Book Prize is awarded annually to recognize literary achievement. Entries must be written by an Edmonton author or deal with some aspect of the city of Edmonton: history, geography, current affairs, its arts or its people. Entries may be fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama written for adults or children, written in the preceding year.
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AB: Isabel Miller Young Writers Award http://www.writersguild.ab.ca/IsabelMillerFinalists.asp Isabel Miller Young Writers Award (Poetry or Fiction) for writers aged 12-18 years, was established in memory of Isabel Miller, a school teacher and writer who was active in Celebration of Women in the Arts, the Stroll of Poets and the Writers Guild of Alberta.
BC: BC Book Prize http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/winners/previous The BC Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers. The seven Prizes, plus The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence, are presented annually at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prize Gala in April.
MN: The Manitoba Book Awards http://www.mbwriter.mb.ca/mwapa/mwapa.html Brave New Words: The Manitoba Writing and Publishing Awards is co-produced by the Manitoba Writers’ Guild and the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers awards prizes in 13 categories.
NL: Winterset Award http://www.nlac.ca/awards/winterset_winners.htm Administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council and awarded to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. Three prizes are awarded annually to an outstanding literary work in any writing genre (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, published drama), regardless of the subject matter.
NL: Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards http://wanl.ca/pastNLawards.html Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador administers the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards, the Heritage and History Award, and the Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers.
NS: Dartmouth Book Awards http://www.halifax.ca/bookawards/ The Dartmouth Book Awards honour Nova Scotian literature and recognize the valuable contribution writers make to our cultural heritage. Two prizes of $1500 each are awarded - one for fiction and one for non-fiction.
NB: Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick Literary Awards http://www.wfnb.ca/ Awards given annually for poetry, fiction, and children’s writing.
NS: Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia Awards
5 http://www.writers.ns.ca/wfnsbookprizes.html Awards granted annually for poetry, non-fiction, fiction, children’s literature, and unpublished manuscripts. The non-fiction award is open to residents of Nova Scotia; the rest are open to residents of Atlantic Canada. (note: the links to winner lists are very faint.)
Atlantic Book Awards http://www.atlanticbookawards.ca/Content/Home The Atlantic Book Awards Society (ABAS) is a registered non-profit organization with the mandate "to promote and acknowledge excellence in Atlantic Canadian writing and book publishing through an annual awards ceremony and related events."
ON: Trillium Book Award http://www.omdc.on.ca/Page6018.aspx Awarded annually in English and French to Ontario writers by the Ontario Provincial Government. The Trillium Award is open to books in any genre: fiction, non-fiction, drama, children’s books, and poetry.
SK: Saskatchewan Book Awards http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/ The 14 awards are an annual joint effort of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, Saskatchewan Publishers Group and Saskatchewan Library Association.
A growing list of international and country-by-country literary awards is available from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_literary_awards
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/culturediversity/writersprize/ To encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin, the Commonwealth Foundation established the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1987.
The Man Booker Prize (Booker Prize) http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/archive One of the world’s most prestigious literary awards. Awarded annually for contemporary adult fiction to a citizen of the Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland. Winner receives £50,000.
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature
6 http://www.ou.edu/worldlit/neustadt-prize.html This prize is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, World Literature Today. Like the Nobel Prize in Literature, it is awarded for a body of work, not a single work.
Nobel Prize in Literature http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/index.html Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words of Alfred Nobel, produced "the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency" (original Swedish: den som inom litteraturen har producerat det utmärktaste i idealisk riktning).
Orange Prize for Fiction http://www.orangeprize.co.uk/ The Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, awarded annually for the best original full-length novel by a female author of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK in the preceding year.
Premio Miguel de Cervantes (the Miguel de Cervantes Prize) List of winners: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes_Prize http://www.epdlp.com/premios.php?premio=Cervantes (in Spanish) This prize is awarded annually to honor the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. It is regarded as a type of Nobel Prize in Literature in the Spanish language. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.
Updated Nov. 2011 NLLS Public Services
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