Writers’ Trust launches $60,000 prize for public-policy writing
The Writers’ Trust of Canada has launched a new $60,000 prize for public-policy writing as part of tech entrepreneur Jim Balsillie’s $3 million commitment to the non-profit. The prize and the endowment were announced by the Writers’ Trust today. The Balsillie Prize for Public Policy is now open for submissions, with finalists to be chosen by a jury of writers and experts.
According to an announcement made by the Writers’ Trust, The Balsillie Prize will be awarded to “a nonfiction book that advances and influences policy debates on social, political, economic, and/or cultural topics relevant to Canadians.” While Balsillie was not available to comment, he said in a statement, “My hope is that we can spur the commissioning of books that engage the general public and have potential to influence the work of the country’s top policymakers.”
Margaret Atwood says book prize honours late partner Graeme Gibson, champion for Canadian writers
The Testaments author speaks with Carol Off about a new Writers Trust prize named for her and late partner, Graeme Gibson, and about a half century of advocacy around writing.
Social Sharing
CBC Radio ·
Posted: Jan 27, 2021 5:16 PM ET | Last Updated: January 27
Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson attend the National Book Critics Circle awards ceremony in New York in 2017. (Julie Jacobson/The Associated Press)
The name change comes with a $10,000 increase in prize money, with future winners set to receive $60,000.
Atwood and Gibson, who were partners for more than a half-century until Gibson s death in 2019, were among the wordsmiths who co-founded the Writers Trust in 1976.
In a statement, playwright and fellow co-founder David Young says the prize is a perfect way to honour their commitment to Canada s literary culture.
Since 1997, the Writers Trust Fiction Prize has been handed out to the author of the year s best novel or short story collection.
Previous winners include Andre Alexis, Emma Donoghue, Lawrence Hill, Alice Munro and Austin Clarke.
Writers Trust renames fiction prize after co-founders and couple Atwood and Gibson
Margaret Atwood arrives on the red carpet for the 2019 Giller Prize before the gala ceremony in Toronto on November 18, 2019. The Writers Trust of Canada is renaming its annual fiction award after co-founders and literary power couple Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson. In a news release Wednesday, organizers announced that the prestigious honour will now be known as the Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Fiction Prize. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young January 27, 2021 - 3:32 AM
The Writers Trust of Canada is renaming its annual fiction award after co-founders and literary power couple Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson.