Exploring Canada’s Contemporary Writing Talent

Canada is a land of literary talent, and the recent Writers’ Trust Award Ceremony has proved that in a compelling way. In the article below, we will tell you more about the most recent winners – Katherena Vermette and Tomson Highway. We will also discuss their work and its significance in the Canadian literary world.

What Is the Writers’ Trust?

The Writers’ Trust of Canada was founded in 1976 by famous authors Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young. It started as a charitable organization and today it celebrates the work of the country’s fiction and non-fiction writers. It claims to be a unique organization worldwide. The Writers’ Trust website says no other country has a charity that supports its authors on such a largescale basis.

The Trust has numerous initiatives directed to incentivize authors. It administers ten annual literary awards. In addition, it organizes many initiatives to support literature each year. Some of these include writers’ retreats, fellowships, and even an emergency fund for writers in crisis.

Financial Assistance

Helping authors financially is a primary goal of the Writers’ Trust. Writing is a type of art that generally develops within a long time span. Therefore, authors are often in the need of financial support to withstand the challenges that may befall them on their way to completing their work. The Writers’ Trust of Canada is a firm believer that the world needs to learn what the country’s literary talents have to say. Therefore, the organization is dedicated to nurturing them throughout the entire process of creating their work.

The Writers’ Trust Awards

The Writers’ Trust Awards are a yearly happening dedicated to celebrating the best Canadian literary works for the past twelve months. The most recent edition, the 2021 Writers’ Trust Literary Awards, took place entirely online because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thanks to the generosity of the organization’s numerous supporters, the Writers’ Trust was able to give away six awards at the total value of over C$330,000. You can see more of the 2021 edition of the awards here:

The Winners

In this article, we will meet you with two of the Writers’ Trust Awards winners – Katherena Vermette and Tomson Highway. Vermette won the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in the amount of $60,000 for her novel The Strangers. Highway was awarded the $60,000 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction for his memoir Permanent Astonishment.

Katherena Vermette

Katherena Vermette is a Métis author, who wrote The Strangers as a sort of follow-up to her best-selling debut novel The Break. The book tells the compelling story of a mother – Elsie, and her two daughters – Phoenix and Cedar.

Elsie is battling with addiction and is fighting to turn her life around, so she could be a good role model for her daughters. Cedar has just left foster care and has moved with her estranged father in an attempt to open a new chapter in her life. However, she poignantly misses her mother and sister. Phoenix gives birth to a baby she will never raise and grapples with her own grief and guilt. In short, these are the Strangers, whose heartbreaking story you will find inside the novel. The grandmother, Elsie’s mom – also makes an appearance, thus adding to the narrative. The book is beautifully written and captivates with the vividness of the characters. The plot is intricate but easy to follow. The novel also tackles issues like racism and other dysfunctions in modern society.

Vermette is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory. Coming from an area that is considered to be the heart of the Métis Nation, Vermette has shown a diverse literary talent. She has written poetry, novels, children’s literature, and has worked for film.

Her work has brought her numerous accolades. The author received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry for her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses’ Company). Her debut novel, The Break (House of Anansi) turned out to be a bestseller in Canada and won several awards including the Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

Vermette has also been widely successful in film. She has won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Short with her National Film Board documentary, This River. Vermette holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia.

Tomson Highway

Tomson Highway is an indigenous Canadian children’s books author, playwright, and novelist. Born in 1951 in Northwestern Manitoba, he is the son of famous caribou hunter and dogsled racer Joe Highway and Balazee Highway, who was also an artist.

Highway was raised in the Cree tradition, and Cree was his first language. At the age of 6, he was taken from his family and placed into a residential school. Unlike many of the children that attended such schools, Highway claims to have been very happy with his experience. He says he is grateful for having learned to write in English and play the piano.

His award-winning memoir, Permanent Astonishment, describes his early childhood and teenage years, where he talks a lot about his stay at the residential school. The author also describes the beauty of Northerwestern Canada and the unique union between his mother and father.

Other Finalists

The list with the other finalists for the 28th Writers’ Trust Awards includes:

• Fight Night by Miriam Toews
• What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
• The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia
• The Listeners by Jordan Tannahill
• Glorious Frazzled Beings by Angélique Lalonde.