Literary Prize News: Talented Authors Honoured in History, Poetry, LGBTQ Writing & More!

It's prize season in Canada, and a handful of incredible books have recently been honoured by a number of organizations. You'll want to check out the winners below when you're putting together your summer reading lists! Whether you're looking for great poetry, prose, history writing, or you just want to be amongst the first to discover great new emerging authors, the hard working jurors for these prizes have made it easy to find great Canadian writing.

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The Danuta Gleed Literary Award, Presented by the Writers' Union of Canada ($10,000)

Awarded to a debut collection of short fiction published in Canada in the previous year

Winner: Heather O’Neill for Daydreams of Angels
Runners-up: Andrew Forbes for What You Need and Kevin Hardcastle for Debris

The Writers' Union of Canada Short Prose Competition($2,500)

Awarded to a piece of short fiction under 2,500 words

Winner: Deepam Wadds for "Tender Fruit"

The Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction

Winner: Nino Ricci for Sleep (Doubleday Canada)

The Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry

Winner: Joe Denham for Regeneration Machine (Nightwood Editions)

The Canadian Authors Association Emerging Writer Award

Winner: Kayla Czaga, nominated by Nightwood Editions

The Canadian Authors Association Award for Canadian History

Winner: Debra Komer for The Bastard of Fort Stikine: The Hudson's Bay Company and the Murder of John McLoughlin Jr (Goose Lane Editions)

The Canadian Authors Association Fred Kerner Book Award

Awarded to a Canadian Authors Association member who has the best overall book published in the previous calendar year

Winner: Caroline Vu for Palawan Story (Deux Voiliers Publishing)

The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, Presented by the League of Canadian Poets

Awarded to a first book of poetry published by a Canadian writer in the preceding year

Winner: Ben Ladouceur for Otter (Coach House Books)

The Pat Lowther Memorial Award, Presented by the League of Canadian Poets

Awarded to a book of poetry published in the preceding year

Winner: Lorna Crozier for The Wrong Cat (McClelland & Stewart)

The Raymond Souster Award, Presented by the League of Canadian Poets

Awarded to a book of poetry by a League of Canadian Poets member (all levels) published in the preceding year

Winner: Lorna Crozier for The Wrong Cat (McClelland & Stewart)

The Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award, Presented by the League of Canadian Poets

Awarded to a Canadian spoken word artist who has made a substantial contribution to the development of spoken word

Winner: RC Weslowski

The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT Emerging Writers, Presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada ($4,000)

Awarded to an emerging LBGTQ author who demonstrates great literary potential

Winner: Leah Horlick
Honour of Distinction recipients: Gwen Benaway and jia qing wilson-yang

The Aboriginal History Book Prize, presented by the Canadian Historical Association

Awarded to a scholarly book concerning the history of Aboriginal peoples

Winner:Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ron Derrickson for Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call (Between the Lines Books)

The Ontario Clio Prize, presented by the Canadian Historical Association

Awarded to a meritorious publication or for exceptional contributions to regional history

Winner: Craig Heron for Lunch-Bucket Lives: Remaking the Workers’ City (Between the Lines Books)

The Gertrude J. Robinson Book Prize, presented by the Canadian Communication Association

Awarded to a book that contributes to the discipline of communication in Canada and around the world

Winner: Nick Dyer-Witheford for Cyber-Proletariat: Global Labour in the Digital Vortex (Between the Lines Books)

The Freedom to Read Award, Presented by the Writers' Union of Canada

Awarded to a person fighting for intellectual freedom and the right to read and write freely

Winner: Mohamed Fahmy