Finalists to be honoured evening of November 9 at Cabaret Lion d’Or
The Quebec Writers’ Federation is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2026 QWF College Writers Award!
The College Writers Award is given to one college student in recognition of outstanding literary achievement, be it in the form of a poem, short story, or short piece of non-fiction. Known as the QWF Prize for Young Writers from 2017 to 2020, the award is open to students enrolled at one of the prize’s sponsor colleges (Champlain, Dawson, Heritage, John Abbott, Marianopolis, and Vanier) during the academic year of the competition. It includes a cash prize of $1,000 and publication in QWF’s online literary journal carte blanche.
The winner will be announced at the 2026 QWF Literary Awards Gala on Monday, November 9, at Cabaret Lion d’Or. The ceremony will begin at 8:00 p.m., preceded by a cocktail reception from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The 2026 College Writers Award Finalists
Simone Comtois
“1)Snhirling Whow”
Dawson College
Simone Comtois is a student at Dawson College in Commerce. She feels very lucky and honoured to have been picked as a finalist. She hopes her poem will bring readers some peace of mind.
Aryan Narayanswamy
“Like Fields, Like Snow”
Dawson College
Aryan Narayanswamy is 19 years old and lives in Montreal, QC. He is studying English secondary education at McGill University and plans to become an English teacher. Other than reading and writing, his hobbies include drawing, playing bass, and crocheting.
Hailey Racine
“Fishhook”
Dawson College
Hailey Racine is a physics student at McGill University. She writes to express her care for the world that surrounds her and to share the stories that have shaped her. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking or watching zombie apocalypse movies.
Zahra Yagoub
“Ferraris and Farm Roads: How Performance Shapes Our Paths”
John Abbott College
Though Zahra Yagoub is studying Animal Health and Disease at McGill after graduating from John Abbott College, she has always loved the art of storytelling. She is passionate about education, the outdoors, and animal conservation, using writing to explore and connect with the world around her.
The 2026 QWF Awards Gala
The winner of the 2026 College Writers Award will be announced at the 2026 QWF Awards Gala on Monday, November 9.
The gala will also unveil the winners of the 2026 carte blanche Prize and the 2026 QWF Literary Awards in fiction, non-fiction, first book, translation, poetry, playwriting, spoken word, and children’s and young adult literature. The recipient of the 2026 Judy Mappin Community Award will also be honoured at the gala.
The gala is open to the public A cocktail reception will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 8 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. Tickets for the ceremony alone are $25 ($10 for full-time students).
Tickets are currently sold out, but we expect to be able to release more tickets in the coming weeks. To get notified as soon as more tickets go on sale, join the waiting list.
Media Inquiries:
John Wickham, Communications Manager
(819) 319-9210
john@qwf.org