Writers' Trust

The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award has been supported by @RBC since 2007. It aims to advance the careers and development of emerging Canadian creatives through skills development, mentorship programs, education, and access and exposure to new audiences.

Poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction by the 2026 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award finalists is now online! Read and download e-books at writerstrust.com/BronwenWallace & explore this year’s finalists and previous nominees on @AppleBooks: apple.co/bronwenwallace #WT50

Another enlightening conversation with Canadian authors Marcello Di Cintio, Jenny Heijun Wills, and Guy Vanderhaeghe! 🍁 Our Calgary Conversations in Trust event was presented with the support of PwC, Wordfest, Owl's Nest Books, and The Globe and Mail. #WT50

“Siavash Saadlou’s realism, intricately layered, has the authenticity of lived experience rendered with the acuity of an historian and the virtuosic skill of a born storyteller.” —Rawi Hage on 2026 #WTRisingStar Siavash Saadlou writerstrust.com/RisingStars

The program is generously supported by presenting sponsor @BMO and program benefactors Clair Duff in memory of Catherine Shepard, Deb MacLeod and Ward Sellers, John Terry and Lisa Rochon.

Congratulations to the 2026 #WTRisingStars! Aaron Chan, selected by Paul Seesequasis Curtis John McRae, selected by Michael Winter Cassandra Myers, selected by Amber Dawn Vinh Nguyen, selected by Sarah Cox Siavash Saadlou, selected by Rawi Hage writerstrust.com/RisingStars

“Vinh Nguyen’s writing is magical even when it’s heartbreaking, with exquisite storytelling that lingers long past the last word.” —Sarah Cox on 2026 #WTRisingStar Vinh Nguyen writerstrust.com/RisingStars

“I was drawn to Myers’ work for its ability to defy digestibility & instead advance nuance and vital complexity. I look forward to the evolution of their writing & the impact they will continue to have. ” — Amber Dawn on 2026 #WTRisingStar Cassandra Myers writerstrust.com/RisingStars

“His writing got my attention for being... blocked with unpredictable dialogue, laced through with reflections on prior events, and the feeling constantly that something is about to change.” — Michael Winter on 2026 #WTRisingStar Curtis John McRae writerstrust.com/RisingStars

“Aaron Chan writes with a fierce candour about navigating the layered complexities of coming out and negotiating Vancouver’s Cantonese and gay communities.”— @SeesequasisPaul on 2026 #WTRisingStar Aaron Chan writerstrust.com/RisingStars

Warm congratulations to all 2026 #ShaughnessyCohen Prize finalists and winner, Maggie Helwig. Watch a series of tribute videos celebrating their work, with many thanks to video sponsor @Rogers for production support. The prize is sponsored by @CNRailway. bit.ly/4ndguUI

“You do have power and you do have choices about how you use that power. Government does not exist to turn a profit, but to meet human need.” From Rev. Canon Maggie Helwig’s 2026 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize acceptance speech. Listen in full at writerstrust.com/ShaughnessyCoh…

'You people can change this,' priest tells Ottawa elite as she wins award for book on homelessness - 2026 Shaugnessy Cohen winner Maggie Helwig for her book Encampment thecanadianpressnews.ca/entertainment/…

CBC Ottawa Morning interview with Reverend Canon Maggie Helwig, winner of the 2026 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing cbc.ca/listen/live-ra…

On April 29, five non-fiction writers will gather at Ottawa’s Fairmont Château Laurier for Politics and the Pen: the annual black-tie fundraiser that brings together politicians, writers, diplomats, reporters, lobbyists, and business leaders hilltimes.com/2026/04/27/pol…

Maggie Helwig wins Shaughnessy Cohen Prize “Helwig never lets compassion impede lucidity, and her book avoids both cynicism and battle fatigue." Read the full story here: bit.ly/4tQG7NO

Congratulations to #ShaughnessyCohen Prize winner "Encampment" and author Maggie Helwig. @policy_mag #BookReviews, @SenatorWanda Thomas Bernard's must-read review: "The Dismantling of Myths on a Path Toward Hope" bit.ly/4eG1koF #cdnpoli @writerstrust

Congratulations to Maggie Helwig, whose book Encampment was named the winner of the 2026 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize at Politics and the Pen! #cdnpoli #polpen @writerstrust

Sponsored by @CNRailway, the prize was awarded at the @polipenottawa fundraiser in support of WT. A total of $460,000 was raised at the event in direct support of Canadian authors. Encampment is published by @coachhousebooks writerstrust.com/ShaughnessyCoh…

JUST ANNOUNCED: Maggie Helwig wins 2026 #ShaughnessyCohen Prize for Political Writing! Helwig’s book, Encampment, “succeeds where much of political handwringing and wishful thinking around housing and poverty consistently fail.” More on the winner at writerstrust.com/ShaughnessyCoh…