Quebec Writers' Federation Awards

The Quebec Writers' Federation Awards are a series of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Quebec Writers' Federation to the best works of literature in English by writers from Quebec. They were known from 1988 to 1998 as the QSPELL Awards.

Categories[]

They are currently presented in seven literary categories:

Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction,
Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction
A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry
Concordia University First Book Prize
QWF Prize for Children's & Young Adult Literature
Cole Foundation Prize for Translation (French and English, with target language alternating each year)
3Macs Carte Blanche Prize for the best work published in the QWF's online literary journal Carte Blanche.

A Community Award is also frequently presented to a person who has played a significant role in building and supporting Quebec's anglophone writing community.

The awards have been presented annually since 1988.

Winners by year[]

1988[]

Fiction: Hugh Hood, The Motor Boys in Ottawa^[1]
Non-fiction: Witold Rybczynski, Home: A Short History of an Idea^[1]
Poetry: David Solway, Modern Marriage^[1]

1989[]

Fiction: Kenneth Radu, Distant Relations^[2]
Non-fiction: Witold Rybczynski, The Most Beautiful House in the World^[2]
Poetry: D. G. Jones, Balthazar and Other Poems^[2]

1990[]

Fiction: Mordecai Richler, Solomon Gursky Was Here^[3]
Non-fiction: David Solway, Education Lost: Reflections on Contemporary Pedogogical Practice^[3]
Poetry: Erín Moure, WSW (West South West) and Bruce Taylor, Cold Rubber Feet^[3]

1991[]

Fiction: Kenneth Radu, A Private Performance^[4]
Non-fiction: , Flight from Famine^[4]
Poetry: Eric Ormsby, Bavarian Shrine and Other Poems^[4]

1992[]

Fiction: , A Night at the Opera^[5]
Non-fiction: Mary Meigs, In the Company of Strangers^[5]
Poetry: , Reasons for Winter^[5]

1993[]

Fiction: , Missing Fred Astaire^[6]
Non-fiction: , Foxspirit: A Woman in Mao's China^[6]
Poetry: Ralph Gustafson, Configurations at Midnight^[6]

1994[]

Fiction: Ann Diamond, Evil Eye^[7]
Non-fiction: , E.K. Brown: A Study in Conflict^[7]
Poetry: Julie Bruck, The Woman Downstairs and Raymond Filip, Flowers in Magnetic Fields^[7]

1995[]

Fiction: George Szanto, Friends & Marriages^[8]
Non-fiction: Charles Foran, The Last House of Ulster: A Family in Belfast^[8]
Poetry: D. G. Jones, The Floating Garden^[8]
Community: Judith Mappin^[8]

1996[]

Fiction: Trevor Ferguson, The Time Keeper
Non-fiction: T. F. Rigelhof, A Blue Boy in a Black Dress: A Memoir
Poetry: Anne Carson, Glass, Irony and God
First Book: , Shame and Humiliation: Presidential Decision Making on Vietnam
Community:

1997[]

Fiction: Charles Foran, Butterfly Lovers^[9]
Non-fiction: William Weintraub, City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the 40s and 50s^[9]
Poetry: Ralph Gustafson, Visions Fugitive^[9]
First Book: , Picking Up Pearls^[9]
Community: ^[9]

1998[]

Fiction: Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version^[10]
Non-fiction: David Manicom, Progeny of Ghosts: Travels in Russia and the Old Empire^[10]
Poetry: Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red^[10]
First Book: , Fuzzy Logic: Dispatches from the Information Revolution^[10]
Translation: Hélène Rioux, Self (Yann Martel)^[10]
Community: and ^[10]

1999[]

Fiction: Elyse Gasco, Can You Wave Bye-Bye, Baby?^[11]
Non-fiction: Elaine Kalman Naves, Putting Down Roots^[11]
Poetry: Bruce Taylor, Facts^[11]
First Book: Elyse Gasco, Can You Wave Bye-Bye, Baby?^[11]
Translation: Sheila Fischman, These Festive Nights (Marie-Claire Blais)^[11]
Community: ^[11]

2000[]

Fiction: Julie Keith, The Devil Out There^[12]
Non-fiction: Taras Grescoe, Sacré Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec^[12]
Poetry: Rachel Rose, Giving My Body to Science^[12]
First Book: Taras Grescoe, Sacré Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec^[12]
Translation: Claire Dé, Montréal barbare (Robert Majzels)^[12]
Community: ^[12]

2001[]

Fiction: Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Non-fiction: Jack Todd, A Taste of Metal: A Deserter's Story
Poetry: Anne Carson, The Beauty of the Husband
First Book: Jack Todd, A Taste of Metal: A Deserter's Story
Translation: and , The Great Peace of Montreal of 1701: French-Native Diplomacy in the Seventeenth Century ()
Community:

2002[]

Fiction: Neil Bissoondath, Doing the Heart Good
Non-fiction: , The Rescue of Jerusalem
Poetry: , Girls and Handsome Dogs
First Book: , Blues from the Malabar Coast
Translation: Pan Bouyoucas, Dans l'ombre de Maggie ()
Community:

2003[]

Fiction: David Homel, The Speaking Cure^[13]
Non-fiction: Elaine Kalman Naves, Shoshanna's Story^[13]
Poetry: Susan Gillis, Volta^[13]
First Book: , One Day Even Trevi Will Crumble^[13]
Translation: Fred A. Reed and David Homel, The Heart Is an Involuntary Muscle (Monique Proulx)^[13]
Community: Linda Leith^[13]

2004[]

Fiction: Edeet Ravel, Look for Me
Non-fiction: Joel Yanofsky, Mordecai and Me: An Appreciation of a Kind
Poetry: Carmine Starnino, With English Subtitles
First Book: Jaspreet Singh, Seventeen Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir
Translation: Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné, Un baume pour le cœur (Neil Bissoondath)
Community: and

2005[]

Fiction: Neil Bissoondath, The Unyielding Clamour of the Night
Non-fiction: Fred Bruemmer, Survival: A Refugee Life
Poetry: Erín Moure, Little Theatres
First Book: , The Far Away Home and , Blackbodying
Translation: Fred A. Reed, Truth or Death: The Quest for Immortality in the Western Narrative Tradition (Thierry Hentsch)
Community: Guy Rodgers

2006[]

Fiction: Rawi Hage, De Niro's Game
Non-fiction: Sherry Simon, Translating Montreal: Episodes in the Life of a Divided City
Poetry: Susan Elmslie, I, Nadja and Other Poems
First Book: Rawi Hage, De Niro's Game
Translation: Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné, La Clameur des ténèbres (Neil Bissoondath)
Community: Julie Keith

2007[]

Fiction: Heather O'Neill, Lullabies for Little Criminals
Non-fiction: Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau, The Story of French
Poetry: David Solway, Reaching for Clear: The Poetry of Rhys Savarin
First Book: Neil Smith, Bang Crunch
Translation: Lazer Lederhendler, The Immaculate Conception (Gaétan Soucy)
Community:

2008[]

Fiction: Rawi Hage, Cockroach
Non-fiction: Taras Grescoe, Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood
Poetry: , Sympathy for the Couriers
First Book: Adam Leith Gollner, The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession
Translation: Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné, Big Bang (Neil Smith)
Children's Literature: , Orphan Ahwak
Community: Mary Soderstrom
Carte Blanche Prize: J. R. Carpenter, "Wyoming is Haunted"

2009[]

Fiction: Colin McAdam, Fall
Non-fiction: Eric Siblin, The Cello Suites
Poetry: Carmine Starnino, This Way Out
First Book: Eric Siblin, The Cello Suites
Translation: Lazer Lederhendler, Nikolski (Nicolas Dickner)
Children's and Young Adult Literature: Monique Polak, What World is Left
Community: Luci and Adrian King-Edwards
Carte Blanche Prize: Julie Mahfood, Changing Winter Tires

2010[]

Fiction: Miguel Syjuco, Illustrado
Non-fiction: Cleo Paskal, Global Warring: How Environmental, Economic, and Political Crises Will Redraw the World Map
Poetry: Kate Hall, The Certainty Dream
First Book: Sean Mills, The Empire Within: Postcolonial Thought and Political Activism in Sixties Montreal
Translation: Paule Champoux, Québec, ville du patrimoine mondial (David Mendel, Quebec, World Heritage City)
Children's and Young Adult Literature: Caryl Cude Mullin, Rough Magic
Community: Ilona Martonfi
Carte Blanche Prize: Mark Paterson, Something Important and Delicate

2011[]

Fiction: Dimitri Nasrallah, Niko
Non-fiction: Joel Yanofsky, Bad Animals: A Father's Accidental Education in Autism
Poetry: Gabe Foreman, A Complete Encyclopedia of Different Types of People
First Book: Ann Scowcroft, The Truth of Houses
Translation: Lazer Lederhendler, Apocalypse for Beginners (Nicolas Dickner, Tarmac)
Children's and Young Adult Literature: Alan Silberberg, Milo
Community: Endre Farkas
Carte Blanche Prize: Gillian Sze, Like This Together

2012[]

Fiction: Rawi Hage, Carnival
Non-fiction: Taras Grescoe, Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile
Poetry: Oana Avasilichioaei, We, Beasts
First Book: Alice Petersen, All The Voices Cry
Translation: Éric Fontaine, T'es con, point (Doug Harris, YOU Comma Idiot)
Children's and Young Adult Literature: Catherine Austen, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6
Community: Steve Luxton
Carte Blanche Prize: Heather Davis, Aria

2013[]

Fiction: Saleema Nawaz, Bone and Bread
Non-fiction: Adam Leith Gollner, The Book of Immortality
Poetry: Ken Howe, The Civic-Mindedness of Trees
First Book: Andrew Szymanski, The Barista and I
Translation: Donald Winkler, The Major Verbs
Children's and Young Adult Literature: Paul Blackwell, Undercurrent
Carte Blanche Prize: , Bluefooted

2014[]

Fiction: Sean Michaels, Us Conductors
Non-fiction: Chantal Hébert, The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day that Almost Was
Poetry: Sina Queyras, MxT
First Book: Anna Leventhal, Sweet Affliction
Children's and Young Adult Literature: Monique Polak, Hate Mail
Carte Blanche Prize: Elaine Kennedy and Sheryl Curtis, It’s Late, Doctor Schweitzer (Didier Leclair)

2015[]

Fiction: Neil Smith, Boo
Non-fiction: Carlos Fraenkel, Teaching Plato in Palestine: Philosophy in a Divided World
Poetry: David McGimpsey, Asbestos Heights
First Book: Anita Anand, Swing in the House and Other Stories
Translation: Debbie Blythe, Turkey and the Armenian Ghost: On the Trail of the Genocide
Carte Blanche Prize: Deborah Van Slet, Self-Serve

2016[]

Fiction: Liam Durcan, The Measure of Darkness
Non-fiction: Daniel J. Levitin, A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age
Poetry: , Small Fires
First Book: , Small Fires
Translation: Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné, Solomon Gursky (Mordecai Richler, Solomon Gursky Was Here)
Children's Literature: , Oscar Lives Next Door
Carte Blanche Prize: , Rabbits with Red Eyes

2017[]

Fiction: Heather O'Neill, The Lonely Hearts Hotel
Non-fiction: Sandra Perron, Out Standing in the Field: A Memoir by Canada's First Female Infantry Officer
Poetry: , Rag Cosmology
First Book: Jocelyn Parr, Uncertain Weights and Measures
Translation: Peter Feldstein, The Pauper's Freedom: Crime and Poverty in Nineteenth-Century Quebec (, La liberté pauvre)
Children's Literature: , Subject to Change
Carte Blanche Prize: , Ferrante in the Cellar: A Vulgar Appreciation

2018[]

Fiction: Eliza Robertson, Demi-Gods
Non-fiction: Judi Rever, In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front
Poetry: Sina Queyras, My Ariel
First Book: Paige Cooper, Zolitude
Translation: Dominique Fortier, Hotel Lonely Hearts (Heather O'Neill, The Lonely Hearts Hotel)
Children's Literature: Anne Renaud, Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament
Carte Blanche Prize: , "loss of (her)self"
Playwriting: Erin Shields, Paradise Lost

2019[]

Fiction: David Homel, The Teardown^[14]
Non-Fiction: Susan Doherty, The Ghost Garden^[14]
Poetry: Tess Liem, Obits^[14]
First Book: Lindsay Nixon, nîtisânak^[14]
Children's Literature: Raquel Rivera, Yipee's Gold Mountain^[14]
Carte Blanche Prize: Eliza Robertson, Aquanauts^[14]
Translation: Oana Avasilichioaei, The Faerie Devouring (Catherine Lalonde, La dévoration des fées)^[14]

2020[]

Fiction: Kaie Kellough, Dominoes at the Crossroads^[15]
Non-Fiction: Taras Grescoe, Possess the Air: Love, Heroism, and the Battle for the Soul of Mussolini's Rome^[15]
Poetry: , A Common Name for Everything^[15]
First Book: , The Danger Model^[15]
Children's Literature: Marie-Louise Gay, The Three Brothers^[15]
Carte Blanche Prize: , "It's a Slow Ride"^[15]
Translation: , Éclipse électrique (, The Knockoff Eclipse)^[15]
Playwriting: Mishka Lavigne, Albumen^[15]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Montrealers win English Quebec literary awards". Montreal Gazette, November 5, 1988.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Three writers win QSPELL prizes". Montreal Gazette, November 4, 1989.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mark Abley, "Richler wins QSPELL award for epic novel". Montreal Gazette, November 17, 1990.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bryan Demchinsky, "Kenneth Radu wins MacLennan Prize; Look at suburban family life wins QSPELL's fiction award". Montreal Gazette, November 16, 1991.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Women win two of three QSPELLs: Naomi Guttman takes the poetry award". The Globe and Mail, November 30, 1992.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bryan Demchinsky, "Vehicule Press wins 2 QSPELL awards; Ralph Gustafson, 84, wins poetry prize from writers' group". Montreal Gazette, November 27, 1993.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Anglophone authors honoured in Quebec". The Globe and Mail, November 16, 1994.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bryan Demchinsky, "Second time lucky for non-fiction writer Foran at QSPELL awards". Montreal Gazette, November 18, 1995.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ray Conlogue, "Quebec honours anglo writers: Charles Foran, William Weintraub snag top QSPELL prizes". The Globe and Mail, December 6, 1997.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Barney bags another prize for Richler". Montreal Gazette, December 4, 1998.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Bryan Demchinsky, "Book-end prizes for Bye Bye: Doubting author Gasco scores double honours". Montreal Gazette, November 30, 1999.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Grescoe a double-winner at Quebec writers' awards: Distinct-society analysis gets two English-language book prizes". Montreal Gazette, December 1, 2000.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Pat Donnelly, "Homel's novel wins at writers' gala". Montreal Gazette, November 27, 2003.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Brendan Kelly, "Quebec Writers' Federation awards reflect booming local literary scene; Homel's The Teardown, Nixon's nîtisânak among work recognized at annual event". Montreal Gazette, November 6, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Ryan Porter, "Kaie Kellough wins Quebec Writers’ Federation’s fiction prize". Quill & Quire, November 5, 2020.

External links[]