Barry Dempster (photo courtesy League of Canadian Poets).

The League of Canadian Poets and the estate of Barry Dempster have announced the creation of the Barry Dempster Phoenix Memorial Award.

The $2,000 award will support “a poet or poetry organizer” in the pursuit of an “innovative poetry project.”

The program “prioritizes poets and poetry organizers pursuing innovative, developmental, community-engaged, or career-expanding work.”

Dempster, who died on Nov. 27, 2025 at the age of 73, was the acclaimed author of two novels, a children’s book, three short-story collections, and 18 collections of poetry. He mentored writers across Canada throughout his career through the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and also taught internationally. He was poetry and reviews editor for Poetry Canada. for seven years and worked for many years as senior acquisitions editor at Brick Books.

Submissions for this year’s prize open on Sept. 8 and will close Dec. 1. Eligibility and submission guidelines are available online.