Finalists to be honoured evening of November 13 at Cabaret Lion d’Or
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 (Montreal, QC) — The Quebec Writers’ Federation has announced the shortlists for the six book prizes of the 25th QWF Literary Awards: the Concordia University First Book Prize, the Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction, the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry, the Cole Foundation Prize for Translation, and the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction.
The winners of these six prestigious prizes will be announced at the QWF Literary Awards Gala on Monday, November 13 at Cabaret Lion d’Or (1676 Ontario St. E.). The ceremony begins at 8:00 p.m., preceded by a cocktail reception from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Each book award comes with a purse of $3,000.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of QWF and the QWF Literary Awards, a milestone commemorated by QWF’s ongoing campaign called Writing Matters, highlighting writers’ contributions to not only our culture but also our economy.
Building off the theme of the campaign, the theme for the gala is “Hats Off to QWF: Celebrating 25 Years of Writing Matters.” Attendees are invited to get in the spirit of the theme by wearing their fanciest (or wackiest) piece of headgear, be it a beret, fedora, or top hat.
The 2023 QWF Book Award Finalists
2023 Concordia University First Book Prize
Sheima Benembarek
Halal Sex: The Intimate Lives of Muslim Women in North America
Viking Canada
Photo: Daniel Neuhaus
Tanya Standish McIntyre
The House You Were Born In
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Andrew Stobo Sniderman & Douglas Sanderson
Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation
HarperCollins Publishers
Photos: Dudley Reed, V. Tony Hauser
Michelle Syba
End Times
Freehand Books
Photo: Alex Tran
2023 Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Sophie Escabasse
Witches of Brooklyn: S’More Magic
Random House Graphic
Photo: Pauline Vermare
Jennifer A. Irwin
Captain Skidmark Dances with Destiny
Charlesbridge
Photo: Alexandra Mazzella
Edeet Ravel
A Boy Is Not a Ghost
Groundwood Books
Photo: Agatha Lesnik
2023 Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction
Alex Manley
The New Masculinity: A Roadmap for a 21st-Century Definition of Manhood
ECW Press
Photo: Blair Elliott
Julian Sher
The North Star: Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln
Knopf Canada
Photo: John Mahoney
Andrew Stobo Sniderman & Douglas Sanderson
Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation
HarperCollins Publishers
Photos: Dudley Reed, V. Tony Hauser
Debra Thompson
The Long Road Home: On Blackness and Belonging
Simon & Schuster Canada
Photo: Alannah Morrison
2023 A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry
Sponsored by Byron Rempel
River Halen
Dream Rooms
Book*hug Press
Photo: Justine Latour
T. Liem
Slows: Twice
Coach House Books
Photo: Surah Field-Green
Erin Robinsong
Wet Dream
Brick Books
Photo: Andréa de Keijzer
2023 Cole Foundation Prize for Translation
Katia Grubisic
To See Out the Night
QC Fiction/Baraka Books
Translation of David Clerson, Dormir sans tête (Éditions Héliotrope)
Photo: J Parr
Aleshia Jensen & Bronwyn Haslam
This is How I Disappear
Drawn & Quarterly
Translation of Mirion Malle, C’est comme ça que je disparais (Éditions Pow Pow)
Photos: Justine Latour, Dean Garlick
Alex Manley
Made-Up: A True Story of Beauty Culture under Late Capitalism
Coach House Books
Translation of Daphné B., Maquillée (Éditions Marchand de feuilles)
Photo: Blair Elliott
Peter McCambridge
Rosa’s Very Own Personal Revolution
QC Fiction/Baraka Books
Translation of Eric Dupont, La Logeuse (Éditions Marchand de feuilles)
2023 Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction
Sponsored by Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore
David C.C. Bourgeois
Full Fadom Five
Baraka Books
Photo: David Bourgeois
Ann-Marie MacDonald
Fayne
Knopf Canada
Photo: Lora MacDonald-Palmer
Sean Michaels
Do You Remember Being Born?
Random House Canada
Photo: Julie Artacho
Vanessa R. Sasson
The Gathering
Equinox PublishingBooks
Photo: Louis Yoon
Caroline Vu
Catinat Boulevard
Guernica Editions
Photo: Marc-Antoine Zouéki
Other Awards
The 2023 QWF Literary Awards Gala will also unveil the winners of the 2023 QWF Spoken Word Prize, the College Writers Award, the carte blanche Prize, and the Judy Mappin Community Award.
The finalists for the 2023 QWF Spoken Word Prize were announced on Tuesday, October 10.
The College Writers Award, which is supported by Champlain, Dawson, Heritage, John Abbott, Marianopolis, and Vanier Colleges, will go to the best English-language poem, short story, or work of non-fiction submitted by a student from one of the sponsoring colleges. The award includes a prize of $1,000 and publication in QWF’s online literary journal, carte blanche. The finalists will be announced later this month.
Also announced at the gala will be the winner the winner of the carte blanche Prize, sponsored by Mark Gallop. The winner will receive a prize of $350 and a one-of-a-kind trophy, the “Lori,” created by Montreal sculptor Glen LeMesurier. First and second runners-up will receive $200 and $150, respectively.
Finally, the honorary Judy Mappin Community Award will be bestowed upon a person who has contributed to the advancement of Quebec’s English-language literary community.
Attending the QWF Literary Awards Gala
The QWF Literary Awards Gala takes place on Monday, November 13 at Cabaret Lion d’Or (1676 Ontario St. E.). A catered cocktail reception, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., will precede the ceremony, which begins at 8:00 p.m. The event will be hosted by QWF co-founder and documentary filmmaker Guy Rex Rodgers.
The public is invited to a cocktail reception with the finalists preceding the Gala from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the reception are $60 ($40 for full-time students) and include two glasses of wine, beer, or non-alcoholic drink and admission to the awards ceremony, which begins at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets for the ceremony alone are $25 ($10 for full-time students). Doors open to the public at 7:30 p.m.
All tickets can be purchased online via Eventbrite. Tickets can also be purchased through the QWF office by appointment (514-933-0878, [email protected], 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3).
For more information about the event, visit the Eventbrite page or email riley@qwf.org.
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