23rd Annual Writing Contest Judges

Short Fiction

Photo credit for Madeleine Thien Rawi Hage

Emily St. John Mandel

​St. John’s my middle name. The books go under M.
Emily St. John Mandel’s fifth novel, The Glass Hotel, was recently published in Canada and the US, and is forthcoming in the UK. Her previous novels include Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award among other honours, and has been translated into 33 languages. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Poetry

Sheri-D   Wilson

​Sheri-D Wilson, aka Mama of Dada, is the award-winning author and creator of 13 books, 4 short films, and 4 albums which combine music and poetry. Known as the High Priestess of Spoken Word in Canada, she is an international artist known for her electric performance-style, making her a favorite of festivals around the world. 
Her tenth collection of poetry, Open Letter: Woman against Violence against Women; was short-listed for the Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award & CanLit. In 2019 Sheri-D was appointed one of the country’s highest honours, The Order of Canada, for her contributions as a Spoken Word Poet and her leadership in the community. In 2017, she received her Doctor of Letters—Honoris Causa from Kwantlen University. In 2019 her play, A Love Letter to Emily C, was produced in Calgary to rave reviews, and was published in book form by Frontenac House.
Other Honours: 2015 City of Calgary Arts Award * 2013 CBC Top 10 Poets in Canada * 2009 Ted Talk * 2006 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry * 2005 SpoCan Poet of Honour * People's Choice * 2006 Woman of Vision * 5 Rosies * 2003 USA Heavyweight Title * Her 1991 jazz-play, Confessions, received 5 Vancouver Jessie Nominations * Ace Award. 
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Haiku

KJ Munro

​Originally from Vancouver, BC, KJ Munro moved to the Yukon Territory in 1991. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada & a member of the League of Canadian Poets, the Federation of BC Writers, the Haiku Society of America & Haiku Canada. In 2014, she founded ‘solstice haiku,’ a monthly haiku discussion group in Whitehorse that she continues to facilitate. Since January 2018, she has curated a weekly blog feature for The Haiku Foundation, now managed with guest editors. Her work placed first in The League of Canadian Poets 'Very Small Verse Contest' in 2019 & her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019). Find her at:  kjmunro1560.wordpress.com
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Creative Nonfiction

​Niigaanwewiedam  James Sinclair

​Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe (St. Peter’s/Little Peguis) and an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba. He is an award-winning writer, editor and activist who was named one of Monocle Magazine‘s “Canada’s Top 20 Most Influential People” and he won the 2018 Canadian columnist of the year at the National Newspaper Awards for his bi-weekly columns in The Winnipeg Free Press. In 2019 he won Peace Educator of the Year from the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is an international media commentator as a part of the "Power Panel" on CBC's Power & Politics and National Affairs panel on CBC's The Current. He is also a former secondary school teacher who has trained educators and students across Canada.  

 

Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose (Fiction)
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Waubgeshig Rice

​Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation on Georgian Bay. He has written three fiction titles, and his short stories and essays have been published in numerous anthologies. His most recent novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, was published in 2018 and became a national bestseller. He graduated from Ryerson University’s journalism program in 2002, and spent most of his journalism career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a video journalist and radio host. He left CBC in 2020 to focus on his literary career. He lives in Sudbury, Ontario with his wife and two sons.