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Encouraging the future of Canadian literature

RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers

Highlights

GuidelinesPrize History

Prize

  • Winners $10,000
  • Finalists $2,500

2025 Important Dates

  • Winners announced June 2, 2025

Eligibility

  • Canadian citizen or permanent resident
  • Published in a literary magazine or anthology
  • Unpublished in book form

Questions?

Please contact:
Devon Jackson, Senior Program Manager
djackson@writerstrust.com

About the Award

Established in memory of writer Bronwen Wallace, this award has a proven track record of helping talented developing authors secure their first book deal. Three $10,000 prizes will be given for outstanding works of unpublished poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Finalists are invited to attend networking events in Toronto and have their nominated writing published in print and digital formats. All applicants are given access to webinars on the business and craft of writing. The award is sponsored by RBC. 

2025 Winner
Short Fiction

Jess Goldman

Tombstone of a Tsaddik

Jury Citation

“Observed by an intelligent, original narrator and told with wry humour, ‘Tombstone of a Tsaddik’ evokes a world that is rich, complicated, and alive. The narrative sparkles with freshness, strangeness, and precision, immersing readers in an unforgettable depiction of a small Jewish religious community whose faith in God is shaken. Jess Goldman’s risk-taking prose transcends to the level of magic, leading to an ending that defies both expectations and easy explanations.”—2025 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award short fiction jury (Jean Marc Ah-Sen, Baharan Baniahmadi, and Shashi Bhat)

2025 Winner
Creative Nonfiction

Phillip Dwight Morgan

White Trucks and Mergansers

Jury Citation

“Phillip Dwight Morgan renders the landscape of Point Pelee National Park both ‘striking and perilous’ with deft skill and an uncompromising eye. Through rigorous research and outstanding literary craft, he reveals a legacy of racialized violence, cross-species intimacies, and a symphony of migratory birds that refute borders. ‘White Trucks and Mergansers’ establishes Morgan as a vital voice in the urgent work of witness and truth-telling today.”—2025 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award creative nonfiction jury (Omar Mouallem, Alessandra Naccarato, and Lindsay Wong) 

2025 Winner
Poetry

Dora Prieto

Loose Threads

Jury Citation

“Stitch by monostich, Loose Threads pulls at the warp and weft of culture, history, and language to show us where identity and poetry are formed. Dora Prieto tests the integrity of poetry to hold what it promises against the gales of migration, gender, race, climate change, and the nation. Through thrilling leaps of association and rhetoric, Prieto’s lines move like light through fibre-optic cables, connecting family and memory, belonging and alienation, violence and joy. These poems are borderless, wry, and yet deadly serious.”—2025 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award poetry jury (Dallas Hunt, Matt Rader, and Sanna Wani) 

2025 Finalists - Poetry

2025 Finalists - Short Fiction

2025 Finalists - Creative Nonfiction

Jury

Poetry (2025)
A jury composed of Dallas Hunt, Matt Rader, and Sanna Wani read 143 submissions to select finalists in the poetry category.

Jury

Short Fiction (2025)
A jury composed of Jean Marc Ah-Sen, Baharan Baniahmadi, and Shashi Bhat read 172 submissions to select finalists in the short fiction category.

Jury

Creative Nonfiction (2025)
A jury composed of Omar Mouallem, Alessandra Naccarato, and Lindsay Wong read 108 submissions to select the finalists in the creative nonfiction category. 

2024 Event Photos

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Publishing can be a confusing and tough industry to navigate, and I am truly grateful that the Bronwen Wallace Award has been like a foot on the gas pedal for my career.

— Teya Hollier

About Bronwen Wallace

Bronwen Wallace (1945–1989) was a poet, short story writer, essayist, and mentor to many aspiring authors as a creative writing instructor at Queen’s University and St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario. This prize was established in her honour in 1994 by a group of friends and colleagues. Wallace felt that writers should have more opportunities for recognition early in their careers. This annual award will be presented to three writers — one each in the categories of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction — who have been published in literary journals or anthologies but have yet to publish in book form. Past winners include Michael Crummey, Alissa York, Sonnet L’Abbé, Alison Pick, Noor Naga, Maria Reva, and John Elizabeth Stintzi.  

Sponsor

RBC aims to support the careers and development of emerging Canadian creatives through skills development, mentorship programs, education, and access and exposure to new audiences.