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Writers' Trust of Canada · award year

Writers' Trust of Canada Awards 2023

The 2023 Writers' Trust of Canada Awards went to In The Upper Country by Kai Thomas (Fiction), Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe (Nonfiction) and How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World by Chris Turner (Political Writing), with winners in 1 more category. 20 books were finalists across 4 categories.

Winners

Fiction

  1. In The Upper Country by Kai Thomassource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpesource (opens in a new tab)

Political Writing

  1. How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World by Chris Turnersource (opens in a new tab)

Public Policy

  1. Our Tribal Future: How to Channel Our Foundational Human Instincts into a Force for Good by David R. Samsonsource (opens in a new tab)

Finalists

Fiction

  1. A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Portersource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Learned By Heart by Emma Donoghuesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peterssource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Book of Rain by Thomas Whartonsource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast by John Vaillantsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. My Road from Damascus: A Memoir by Jamal Saeed, translated by Catherine Cobhamsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Ordinary Wonder Tales: Essays by Emily Urquhartsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls by Angela Sterrittsource (opens in a new tab)

Political Writing

  1. From Left to Right: Saskatchewan’s Political and Economic Transformation by Dale Eislersource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Kinauvit?: What’s Your Name? The Eskimo Disc System and a Daughter’s Search for her Grandmother by Norma Dunningsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy by Josh O’Kanesource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii)source (opens in a new tab)

Public Policy

  1. Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada’s Quest for Interprovincial Free Trade by Ryan Manuchasource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarbsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Compassionate Imagination: How the Arts Are Central to a Functioning Democracy by Max Wymansource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Goodsource (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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