Awards /The Gala

2020 Awards Gala


The 2020 QWF Awards Gala took place online on Wednesday, November 4, 2020

As you know, this past year has presented many challenges. We worked hard to make The 2020 QWF Awards special even though we weren’t able to gather and celebrate together at the Lion d’Or.
Instead, the seven short lists were announced by video one day at a time, according to the following schedule:
  • October 13, 11:00 a.m. – The Concordia University First Book Prize
  • October 14,11:00 a.m. – The QWF Prize for Children’s & Young Adult Literature
  • October 15,11:00 a.m. – Le prix de Traduction de la Fondation Cole
  • October 16,11:00 a.m. – The QWF Prize for Playwriting
  • October 17,11:00 a.m. – The A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry
  • October 18,11:00 a.m. – The Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction
  • October 19,11:00 a.m. – The Paragraphe  Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction
On November 4, at 7:00 p.m., we aired a pre-recorded “Gala” video, live from the Atwater Library, to announce the winners of those seven prizes, along with the 3Macscarte blanche Prize and the Judy Mappin Community Award. The Gala was hosted by the talented Montreal poet and performerDeanna Smith.
In addition, between the October finalists announcements and the “Gala” video, we shared videos of all of the finalists reading from their work at regular intervals.Click here for a YouTube playlist of all the finalists’ readings.
If you’d like to know more about the winning authors, we conducted interviews between each winning author and a member of the jury for their corresponding prize category.Click here for the playlist of the winning authors’ interviews.
Thank you for joining us online—from near and far—to watch as the finalists and winners were announced!
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Award winners

Le Prix de traduction de la Fondation Cole / The Cole Foundation Prize for Translation

Sponsored by the Cole Foundation

Winner

Éclipse électrique(Éditions du Boréal)by  Benoît Laflamme
Translation of

Jury

Charles Bender
Samuel Mercier
Chantal Ringuet

The A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry

Winner

shortlisted

POP(Coach House Books)by  Simina Banu
The Headless Man(Anvil Press)by  Peter Dubé
rushes from the river disappointment(McGill-Queen’s University Press)by  stephanie roberts

Jury

Katia Grubisic
Ben Ladouceur
Hoa Nguyen

The Concordia University First Book Prize

Sponsored by Concordia University

Winner

The Danger Model(McGill-Queen's University Press)by  Madelaine Caritas Longman

shortlisted

ZOM-FAM(Metonymy Press)by  Kama La Mackerel
Pluviophile(Nightwood Editions)by  Yusuf Saadi

Jury

Hasan Namir
Naomi Steinberg
RM Vaughan

The Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature

Sponsored in memory of Janet Savage Blachford

Winner

The Three Brothers(Groundwood Books)by  Marie-Louise Gay

shortlisted

Pokko and the Drum(Paula Wiseman Books – Simon & Schuster Canada)by  Matthew Forsythe
Fern and Horn(Groundwood Books)by  Marie-Louise Gay

Jury

Alan Cumyn
Shauntay Grant
Deanna Smith

The Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction

Sponsored by Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore

Winner

Dominoes at the Crossroads(Véhicule Press/Esplanade Book)by  Kaie Kellough

shortlisted

Home Game(Signature Editions)by  Endre Farkas
The Wagers(Random House Canada)by  Sean Michaels

Jury

Douglas Babington
Amanda Leduc
Peter Behrens

The QWF Prize for Playwriting

Sponsored by Gabriel Safdie in conjunction with Infinithéâtre

Winner

Albumen(Arts Court Theatre)by  Mishka Lavigne

shortlisted

Sania the Destroyer(Theatre New Brunswick)by  Mona’a Malik
Instant(Playwrights Canada Press)by  Erin Shields

Jury

Pablo Felices-Luna
Jackie Maxwell
Djanet Sears

Judy Mappin Community Award

Winner

Jan Jorgensenfor her hard work, leadership, and longstanding personal commitment to community in all its forms

carte blanche Prize

Sponsored by 3Macs/Raymond James

Winner

First Prize: “It’s a Slow Ride”(Issue 39)by  Alexei Perry Cox
Second Prize: “Thin”(Issue 39)by  Kelly Norah Drukker
Third Prize: “Emote: A Time Capsule”(Issue 39)by  Tong Wang

Jury

Greg Santos
Zoe Shaw

Awards

Attention aux éditeurs / Attention Publishers

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