Five finalists have been chosen from more than 2200 entries from across the country
The Grand Prize winner, announced Nov. 24, will receive a $6000 cash prize from the Canada Council for the Arts and a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
CBC Books, CBC’s online home for literary content, together with its partners the Canada Council for the Arts and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, have announced the finalists for the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize.
The finalists are:
- From the Mouth by Rachel Lachmansingh (Toronto)
- To the Astronaut Who Hopes Life on Another Planet Will Be More Bearable by Brad Aaron Modlin (Guelph, Ont.)
- Mouth Prayers by Luka Poljak (Vancouver)
- Grief white by Kerry Ryan (Winnipeg)
- Spell World Backwards by Bren Simmers (Charlottetown)
The poems were selected from more than 2,200 entries received from across Canada. The public can read the shortlisted stories on cbcbooks.ca. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on Thursday, November 24.
The 2022 CBC Poetry Prize jurors are Armand Garnet Ruffo, Megan Gail Coles and Hoa Nguyen.
Armand Garnet Ruffo is an Ojibway filmmaker, writer and poet. His most recent poetry collection Treaty #, published in 2019, was a finalist for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry. His other books include Grey Owl, Norval Morrisseau and The Thunderbird Poems. In 2016, he received a lifetime achievement award from the League of Canadian Poets. Ruffo lives in Kingston, Ont., and is a professor of creative writing at Queen's University.
Megan Gail Coles is a poet, playwright and author originally from Savage Cove, N.L. Her debut book of poetry, Satched, was published in 2021. Her other books include Squawk, Eating Habits of the Chronically Lonesome and the novel Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, which was on the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist and championed by social media creator Alayna Fender on Canada Reads 2020. Coles is a two-time winner of the BMO Winterset award and is the artistic director of Poverty Cove Theatre Company and executive director of Riddle Fence Publishing in St. John's.
Hoa Nguyen is a poet and educator currently living in Toronto. Born in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, she was raised and educated in the United States. She has lived in Canada since 2011. She is the author of several books of poetry, including As Long As Trees Last and Violet Energy Ingots, which was a finalist for the 2017 Griffin Poetry Prize. Her latest book of poetry, A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure, was on the shortlist for the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry and the 2021 National Book Awards. Since 2017, Nguyen has served as associated faculty of the University of Guelph's creative writing MFA program.
In addition to a cash prize of $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Grand Prize winner will receive a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and will be published on the CBC Books website. The four other finalists will each receive $1000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and will be published on CBC Books.
Visit cbcbooks.ca for the complete CBC Poetry Prize longlist or for more information on the CBC Literary Prizes.
-30-
About CBC Books
Home to Canada Reads, Writers & Company with Eleanor Wachtel, The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers, Canada Writes and the CBC Literary Prizes, CBC Books connects Canadians with books, encouraging a shared love of reading and writing. For book news, writing challenges, reading lists, book recommendations and more, visit cbc.ca/books.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada's trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to "foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts."
The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments contribute to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene and support its presence across Canada and abroad. The Council’s investments foster greater engagement in the arts among Canadians and international audiences.
The Council’s Public Lending Right (PLR) program makes annual payments to creators whose works are held in Canadian public libraries.
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach.
For further information, contact:
Astoria Luzzi
CBC PR
416-779-6612
Diane Hargrave
DHPR Communications Inc.
416-467-9954
