Writers' Trust of Canada set to hand out eight book awards, more than $400K in cash

This composite image shows the covers of Writers' Trust of Canada literary awards finalists: "My Person" by Tea Mutonji; "Fancy Gap" by Zak Jones; "Riverwork" by Lisa Robertson; "Treat Them as Buffalo" by Blair Palmer Yoxall; and "Seven Heavens Away" by Ashraf Zaghal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Writers' Trust of Canada (Mandatory credit)

TORONTO — The Writers’ Trust of Canada is set to hand out eight literary awards and more than $400,000 in prize money at its annual awards ceremony tonight.

The prizes include best fiction and non-fiction books of the year, an outstanding debut book by an LGBTQ+ emerging writer and a new non-fiction editing award.

Téa Mutonji and Zak Jones are among the authors shortlisted for the $70,000 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize.

Mutonji is nominated for her first novel “My Person,” about two friends navigating a breakup. The Toronto-based writer was previously nominated for the award in 2019 for her short story collection.

Jones is on the short list for his debut novel “Fancy Gap,” about three estranged family members in Appalachia struggling with loss and poverty. The Canadian-American author won a Writers’ Trust award for emerging writers in 2023.

The award ceremony is set to be held at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio and hosted by Canadian poet and artist Moez Surani.

Also among the finalists are Blair Palmer Yoxall for his historical-fiction novel “Treat Them as Buffalo,” and Palestinian-Canadian writer Ashraf Zaghal is up for his coming-of-age novel “Seven Heavens Away.”

Toronto-born poet and writer Lisa Robertson is nominated for her novel “Riverwork,” about a working-class woman who researches an ancient river buried underneath Paris.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2026.

Kaitlyn McGrath, The Canadian Press