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Writers' Trust of Canada Awards 2009

The 2009 Writers' Trust of Canada Awards went to The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Fiction), Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life by Brian Brett (Nonfiction) and Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000 by John English (Political Writing). 15 books were finalists across 3 categories.

Winners

Fiction

  1. The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyonsource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life by Brian Brettsource (opens in a new tab)

Political Writing

  1. Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000 by John Englishsource (opens in a new tab)

Finalists

Fiction

  1. Eva’s Threepenny Theatre by Andrew Steinmetzsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Fences in Breathing by Nicole Brossardsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Generation A by Douglas Couplandsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munrosource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Grass, Sky, Song: Promise and Peril in the World of Grassland Birds by Trevor Herriotsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece by Eric Siblinsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Dog by the Cradle, the Serpent Beneath: Some Paradoxes of Human-Animal Relationships by Erika Rittersource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade Davissource (opens in a new tab)

Political Writing

  1. Murder Without Borders: Dying For the Story in the World’s Most Dangerous Places by Terry Gouldsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. René Lévesque by Daniel Poliquinsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Six Months in Sudan: A Young Doctor in a War-torn Village by James Maskalyksource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Who We Are: A Citizen’s Manifesto by Rudyard Griffithssource (opens in a new tab)

About the Writers' Trust of Canada Awards

Winners and finalists of four Writers' Trust of Canada book prizes, from the official prize history pages at writerstrust.com/writers-books/awards. No fallback sources were needed. The Writers' Trust does not publish longlists for these prizes, so there are no Longlist rows. Fiction is the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, renamed the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize in 2019. Nonfiction is the Writers' Trust Nonfiction Prize, named the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction from 2011. Public Policy is the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy, first awarded in 2021. Political Writing is the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Year is the year the history pages give each prize. For Fiction, Nonfiction and Public Policy that is the award year. For Political Writing the pages give the book's year through 2019 (the prize was handed out the next spring) and the award year from 2021, so 2020 has no Political Writing entry. The pages list four books for Nonfiction 2007 and Public Policy 2021, 2024 and 2025. The Dayne Ogilvie Prize, the Latner Griffin Poetry Prize, the Nancy Flight editing prize and other career or person awards are left out. Translators are credited when the page credits them. Books that won one prize and were finalists for another appear in each category.

Organization: Writers' Trust of Canada. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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