It’s literary award season! Here is where you can find your next great read.
The months of April, May and June is literary awards season in Canada and around the world. The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Forest of Reading Festival, the Trillium Book Awards, the Dublin Literary Award, le Combat national des livres and the Women's Prize for Fiction are only some prizes being awarded this season.
Why do literary prizes matter?
Writing prizes serve to recognize writers’ talent, creativity, and expertise. Writers who win prizes may receive a monetary award. They may also be given opportunities to advance their career, like writing residencies or opportunities to speak at book events. Awards may also give writers more visibility and make their books known to a larger audience.
Find your next great read from the best of the best! Here are some of the awards being handed out:
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing shortlist was announced April 1, and the winner of prize will be announced on September 24. This prize is awarded to a book of literary nonfiction about a political subject that is relevant to Canadian readers.
The Forest of Reading Festival awards prizes to Canadian children’s books writers of many genres, in English and in French. This festival takes place in Toronto every month of May and it is where the winners of the prizes are announced. The winners are chosen by young readers and older readers alike.
The Dublin Literary Award is awarded to writers from around the world, and it will be announced on May 22.
The Griffin Poetry Prize is a poetry award that is awarded to poets from around the world. The shortlist was announced on April 23 and the prize will be awarded on June 4. The Griffin Poetry Prize will also be awarding a Lifetime Recognition Award Recipient and a Canadian First Book Prize in May. Check out some of the shortlist titles from the list below.
The Trillium Book Awards is presented in June by a jury of members of the literary community to writers from Ontario. Prizes are awarded to English and French language books of any genre.
Le Combat national des livres is a French language prize organized by Radio-Canada to honour books from Canada. You can follow the debates on Radio-Canada from June 9 to 12 and even vote for your favorite book among those nominated on their website.
As the name implies, the Women’s Prize for Fiction is awarded to women writers from around the world who publish in the UK. The shortlist of books has been announced April 2 and the winner will be announced June 12.
Congratulations to the finalists and the winners! Check out some of the books nominated for these prizes on our Awards page and from the list below!