The Canada Council for the Arts announced its latest round of prizewinners on July 12‚ which included organizations‚ scholars‚ and artists in a variety of disciplines.

Prolific Quebec novelist‚ playwright‚ and poet Marie-Claire Blais was awarded one of two $50‚000 Molson Prizes‚ intended to honour individuals who have made an impact on Canada’s cultural heritage with their work in either the arts or social sciences and humanities. Blais’s oeuvre includes more than 20 novels‚ six plays‚ and a number of poetry collections available in both French and English.

Saskatchewan-born poet Karen Solie received a Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award‚ a $15‚000 prize granted to mid-career artists in seven disciplines for outstanding achievement in the writing and publishing category. Solie is a past recipient of the esteemed Griffin Poetry Prize‚ the League of Canadian Poets’ Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and the Trillium Book Award for Poetry, and was shortlisted for a Trillium Book Award for her most recent title‚ 2015’s The Road In Is Not the Same Road Out.

John McGarry‚ UN senior adviser on governance and power-sharing and Queen’s University political studies research chair‚ received the second Molson Prize‚ awarding him $50‚000 for his research in conflict resolution. His work has included 13 books and 75 articles and book chapters that McGarry has authored‚ co-authored‚ or edited.