Nine writers have been named finalists for the 2026 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers.

The award, established in 1994 and administered by the Writers’ Trust of Canada, grants $10,000 annually to a writer of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.

Three writers have been shortlisted in each category, with the winners to be named at a ceremony in Toronto on June 1. Category finalists will each receive $2,500.

The poetry finalists were chosen from 143 submissions by a jury comprised of Jeff Latosik, Zehra Naqvi, and Chuqiao Yang. The finalists are:

• Jeremy Audet for “EARTH GIGANTIC”
• Renato Gandia for “Psalmody for the Estranged”
• Rachel Robb for “Bugonia, Bugonia & Other Poems’”

The short fiction finalists were chosen from 172 submissions by a jury comprised of Jamaluddin Aram, Jen Neale, and Nathan Whitlock. The finalists are:

• Julia Cottrelle for “The Old Turtle Climb”
• Rebecca Peng for “The Department of Unjust Histories”
• Dilan Qadir for “Interpreter of Afflictions”

The creative nonfiction finalists were chosen from 108 submissions by a jury comprised of Alison Calder, Robert McGill, and Padma Viswanathan. The finalists are:

• Katie Lawrence for “Paint Job”
• Graham Slaughter for “The Perfect Home For Your Child”
• Erin Soros for “You Have to Live Long and Be Happy”

The Bronwen Wallace Award is supported by RBC, which has supported the award since 2007.