News & Resources

Please note that most of the resources on this page are not monitored regularly; links may be out of date, or not provided. If you have an addition or correction for this page, email [email protected]

Recent announcements

Canada's Poets Laureate

Marie-Célie Agnant // 2023

Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer // 2021-2023

Georgette LeBlanc // 2018 – 2020

George Elliott Clarke // 2016 – 2018

Michael Pleau // 2014 – 2016

Fred Wah // 2011 – 2013

Pierre DesRuisseaux // 2009 – 2011

John Steffler // 2006 – 2008

Pauline Michel // 2004 – 2006

George Bowering // 2002 – 2004

Comox Valley:

Lawrence J.W. Cooper // 2019 – 2021

Natalie Nickerson // 2017 – 2019

Kevin Flesher // 2015 – 2017

Nanaimo:

Kamal Parmar // 2021-2023

Valina Zanetti // Youth Poet Laureate // 2019 – 2021

Tina Biello // 2017 – 2020

Kailey DeFehr // Youth Poet Laureate // 2017 – 2018

Naomi Beth Wakan // 2013 – 2016

New Westiminster:

Elliott Slin // 2021 – Present

Alan Hill // 2017 – 2020

Candice James // 2010 – 2016

Don Benson // 1999 – 2007

Edna Anderson // 1998 – 1999

Surrey:

Renée Sarojini Saklikar // 2015 – 2018

Tofino:

Heather Hendry // 2022-2024

Christine Lowther // 2020-2022

Joanna Streetly // 2018 – 2020

Vancouver:

Fiona Tinwei Lam // 2022 – Present

Miss Christie Lee (Christie Charles) // 2018-2021

Rachel Rose // 2014 – 2017

Evelyn Lau // 2011 – 2014

Brad Cran // 2009 – 2011

George McWhirter // 2007 – 2009

Victoria:

John Barton // 2019 – 2022

Yvonne Blomer // 2015 – 2018

Argatu Ali // Youth Poet Laureate // 2018 – 2019

Maita Cienska // Youth Poet Laureate // 2017 – 2018

Ann-Bernice Thomas // Youth Poet Laureate // 2016 – 2017

Janet Marie Rogers // 2012 – 2014

Linda Rogers // 2009 – 2011

Carla Funk // 2006 – 2008

Banff:

Derek Beaulieu // 2022 – 2023

Steven Ross Smith // 2019-2020

Amelie Patternson // 2017-2018

Calgary:

Wakefield Brewster // 2022 – 2024

Natalie Meisner // 2020 – 2022

Sheri-D Wilson // 2018-2020

Micheline Maylor // 2016 – 2018

derek beaulieu // 2014 – 2016

Kris Demeanor // 2012 – 2014

Edmonton:

Titilope Sonuga // 2021 – 2023

Nisha Patel // 2019 – 2021

Ahmed “Knowmadic” Ali // 2017-2019

Pierrette Requier // 2015 – 2017

Mary Pinkoski// 2013 – 2015

Anna Marie Sewell // 2011 – 2012

Roland Pemberton // 2006 – 2011

E.D. Blodgett // 2007 – 2009

Alice Major // 2005 – 2007

Saskatchewan Provincial Poet Laureate:

dee Hobsbawn-Smith // 2023 – 2025

Lauren (Lo) Klassen // Youth Poet Laureate // 2022 – 2024

Carol Rose GoldenEagle // 2021 – 2023

Warsha Kashan // Youth Poet Laureate // 2021 – 2022

Peace Akintade // Youth Poet Laureate // 2020 – 2021

Bruce Rice // 2019 – 2021

Alasdair Rees // Youth Poet Laureate // 2019 – 2020

Brenda Schmidt // 2017-2018

Gerald Hill // 2016 – 2017

Judith Krause // 2014 – 2015

Donald Kerr // 2011 – 2013

Robert Currie // 2007 – 2010

Lousie B. Halfe – Sky Dancer // 2005 – 2006

Glen Sorestad // 2000 – 2004

Moose Jaw

Robert Currie & Gary Hyland // Lifetime Poets Laureate

Winnipeg:

Chimwemwe Undi // 2023 – 2024

Duncan Mercredi // 2020 – 2022

Di Brandt // 2017 – 2019

Provincial Poet Laureate

Randall Adjei // 2021 – 2023

Barrie:

Tyneisha Ternent // 2022 – Present

Victoria Butler // 2018 – 2022

Damian Lopes // 2014 –2028

Bruce Meyer // 2010-2014

Brantford:

John B Lee //granted in 2005 in perpetuity

Cobalt:
Ann Margetson

Cobourg:

Jessica Outram // 2019 – 2022

Ted Amsden // 2011 – 2018

Jill Battson // 2009 – 2011

Eric Winter // 1997 – 2009

Dufferin County:

Harry Posner // 2017-present

Emery:

Laurence Hutchman // 2018 – present

Kingston:

Jason Heroux // 2019 – present

Helen Humphreys // 2015 –  2019

Eric Folsom // 2011 – 2015

London:

Tom Cull // 2016 – present

Penn Kemp // 2011 – 2013

Mississauga:

Ayomide Bayowa // 2021 – 2024

Lisa Shen // Youth Poet Laureate // 2023 – 2025

Paul Edward Costa // 2019 – 2021

Pujita Verma // Youth Poet Laureate // 2018 – 2020

Wali Shah // 2017 – 2019

Rebecca Zseder // Youth Poet Laureate // 2016 – 2018

Anna Yin // 2015 – 2017

Norfolk County

John B. Lee // granted in 2011 in perpetuity

Ottawa:

Albert Dumont (English) & Gilles Latour (French) // 2021 – 2022

Margaret Michèle Cook (French) & Diana Young (English) // 2019 – 2021

Andrée Lacelle (French) & Jamaal Jackson Rogers (English) // 2017 – 2019

Patrick White // 1987-1990

Cyril Dabydeen // 1984-1987

Catherine Ahearn // 1981-1984

Owen Sound:

Richard-Yves Sitoski // 2019 – 2022

Lauren Best // 2017-2019

Rob Rolfe & Larry Jensen // 2015 – 2017

Terry Burns // 2013 – 2014

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm // 2011 – 2012

Kristan Anderson // 2008 – 2010

Liz Zetlin // 2007 – 2008

Sudbury:

Kyla Heming // 2022 – Present

Vera Constantineau (2020-2022)

Chloé LaDuchesse // 2018 – 2020

Kim Fahner // 2016 – 2018

Thomas Leduc // 2014 – 2015

Daniel Aubin // 2012 – 2013

Roger Nash // 2010 – 2011

Toronto:

Lillian Allen // 2023 – Present

A. F. Moritz // 2019 – 2023

Anne Michaels // 2016 – 2019

George Elliott Clarke // 2012 – 2015

Dionne Brand // 2009 – 2012

Pier Giorgio Di Cicco // 2004 – 2009

Dennis Lee // 2001 – 2004

Windsor:

Mary Ann Mulhern // 2019 – 2022

Samantha Badaoa (Youth Poet Laureate) // 2019 – 2020

Marty Gervais // 2011 – 2019, Poet Laureate Emeritus

Woodstock:

Barry C. Butson // in perpetuity

Montreal

Bertrand Laverdure // 2015 – 2017

Fredericton:

Jordan Trethewey // 2021 – 2024

Jenna Lyn Albert // 2019 – 2021

Ian Letourneau // 2016 – 2018

Moncton:

Kayla Geitzler (Anglophone) // 2019 – 2022

Jean-Philippe Raiche (Francophone) // 2019 – 2022

Sackville:

Laura K. Watson // 2021 – Present

Shoshanna Wingate // 2019 – 2021

Marilyn Lerch // 2013 – 2017

Douglas Lochead // 2002 – 2011

PEI Provincial Poet Laureate:

Julie Pellissier-Lush // 2019 – present

Deidre Kessler // 2016 – 2019

Diane Hicks Morrow // 2013 – 2016

Hugh MacDonald // 2009 – 2013

David Helwig // 2008 – 2009

Frank Ledwell // 2004 – 2007

John Smith // 2002 – 2004

Cape Breton:  

Rita Joe // 1932 – 2007 // Lifetime “Poet Laureate of the Mi’kmaq people”

Halifax:

Sue Goyette // 2020 – 2024

Asiah Sparks // Youth Poet Laureate // 2023 – 2024

Damini Awoyiga // Youth Poet Laureate // 2023 – 2024

Dr. Afua Cooper // 2018 – 2020

Rebecca Thomas // 2016 – 2018

El Jones // 2013 – 2015

Tanya Davis // 2011 – 2012

Shauntay Grant // 2009 – 2011

Lorri Neilsen Glenn // 2005 – 2009

Sue MacLeod // 2001 – 2005

St. John’s:

Mark Callanan // 2023 – Present

Mary Dalton // 2019 – 2023

George Murray // 2014 – 2017

Tom Dawe // 2010 – 2013

Agnes Walsh // 2006 – 2009

Yukon Provincial Poet Laureate:
pj johnson // 1994 – present

If you have a correction or would like to add a Poet Laureate, please email [email protected]

Resource for educators

External resources for educators

More resources

Poetry contests, prizes, and awards in Canada

If you have a correction or annual prize you’d like us to add to the list, please contact [email protected]. The National Magazine Awards website has great seasonal roundups of magazine-run prizes, and Literistic is a subscription service that will send you calls for submissions and contests a month before their deadline. We recommend checking out these resources to supplement our list!

Please note this resource is not monitored regularly.

Arts Councils and organizations for writers

If you have a correction or an organization you'd like us to add to this resource, please contact [email protected].

Please note this resource is not monitored regularly.

Canadian and worldwide literary festivals

If you have a correction or a festival you'd like to add to this list, please contact [email protected].

Please note that links are not included, as this resource is not monitored regularly.

Elephant Mountain Literary Festival: Nelson, BC

Galiano Island Literary Festival: Galiano Island, BC

North Shore Writers Festival: Vancouver, BC

Words on the Water: Campbell River, BC

Denman Island Readers & Writers Festival: Denman Island, BC

Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts: Sechelt, BC

Vancouver Writers Fest: Vancouver, BC

Edmonton Poetry Festival: Edmonton, Alberta

When Words Collide: Calgary, Alberta

Wordfest: Calgary, Alberta

Saskatchewan Festival of Words: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Talking Fresh: Regina, Saskatchewan

Writing North: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Cathedral Village Arts Festival: Cathedral, Saskatchewan

Winnipeg International Writers Festival: Winnipeg, Manitoba

BookFest Windsor: Windsor, Ontario

Kingston Writers’ Festival: Kingston, Ontario

Spring Pulse Poetry Festival: Cobalt, Ontario

VERSeFest: Ottawa, Ontario

The Lakefield Literary Festival: Lakefield, Ontario

gritLIT: Hamilton, Ontario

The Festival of Literary Diversity: Brampton, Ontario

Salon du livre: Sudbury, Ontario

Elora Writers’ Festival: Elora, Ontario

Eden Mills Writers’ Festival: Eden Mills, Ontario

Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival: Sudbury, Ontario

The Word on the Street: Toronto, Ontario

Festival de la poésie de Montréal: Montreal, Quebec

Festival international de la poesie (Trois-rivières)

Mile End Poets’ Festival: Montreal, Quebec

Blue Met: Montreal Quebec

Wakefield Writers’ Festival: Wakefield, Quebec

New Book Bash: Nova Scotia

WordSpring: New Brunswick

The Frye Festival: Greater Moncton, New Brunswick

Writers at Woody Point: Bonne Bay, Newfoundland

Cabot Trails Writers Festival: St Ann’s Bay, Nova Scotia

Writer’s Block Festival: Whitehorse, Yukon

Young Authors’ Conference and Yukon Writers’ Festival: Whitehorse, Yukon

Jack London Festival: Dawson City, Yukon

Northern Lights Writers’ Conference: Whitehorse, Yukon

Arts in the Park: Whitehorse, Yukon

NorthWords: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Palm Beach Poetry Festival: Delray Beach, Florida

Beall Poetry Festival: Waco, Texas

Austin International Poetry Festival: Austin, Texas

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books: Los Angeles, California

Tucson Poetry Festival: Tucson, Arizona

The Skagit River Poetry Festival: La Conner, Washington

Cascadia Poetry Festival: Seattle, Washington

Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival: New Jersey, New York

Connecticut Children’s Book Fair: Storrs, Connecticut

The Independent Bath Literature Festival: Bath, UK

London Word Festival: London, UK

Ways with Words Festival of Words and Ideas: Keswick, Cumbria, UK

Essex Book Festival: Essex, UK

Leeds Trinity University Annual Writers’ Festival Day: Leeds, UK

Harrow Literature Festival: Horrow, UK

 Kings Lynn Literary Festival: Kings Lynn, UK

 Oundle Festival of Literature: Northamptonshire, UK

Huddersfield Literature Festival: Huddersfield, UK

 York Literature Festival: York, UK

Runnymede International Literary Festival: Runnymede, UK

Cambridge Wordfest: Cambridge, UK

Wenlock Poetry Festival: Much Wenlock, Shropshire, UK

 Redbridge Literary Festival: London, UK

 Metamorphosis Festival: Norfolk, UK

 The Text Festival: Bury, UK

 Writing on the Wall Festival: Liverpool, UK

Brighton Literary Festival: Brighton, UK

 Humber Mouth Literature Festival: Hull, UK

The Sheffield Poetry Festival: Sheffield, UK

Bridlington Poetry Festival: Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, UK

Charles Causley Festival: Launceston, UK

Festival at the Edge (Storytelling): Stokes Barn, Much Wenlock, Shropshire, UK

T S Eliot Festival: Little Gidding, UK

Ledbury Poetry Festival: Ledbury, UK

Wordplay: Shetland, UK

Blenheim Palace Literary Festival: Woodstock, UK

The Yeovil Literary Festival: Yeovil, South Somerset, UK

 Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival: Devon, UK

Ilkley Literature Festival: Ilkley, West Yorkshire, UK

Warwick Words Festival of Literature and Spoken Word: Warwick, UK

Richmond Literature Festival: London, UK

Derwent Poetry Festival: Derbyshire, UK

Woodstock Poetry Festival: Woodstock, UK

 Stanza: Scotland’s International Poetry Festival: St Andrews, Scotland

Edinburgh International Book Festival: Edinburgh, Scotland

New Words Festival: Aberdeen, Scotland

Dublin Writers Festival: Dublin, Ireland

Listowel Writers’ Week Festival: Listowel, Ireland

West Cork Literary Festival: West Cork, Ireland

The Gerard Manley Hopkins International Literary Festival: Co. Kildare, Ireland

Stokestown International Poetry Festival: Stokestown, Ireland

FRANCE, HOLLAND, SWEDEN, FINLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC

 

Paris Book Festival: Paris, France

Salon du Livre: Paris, France

Poetry International Rotterdam: Rotterdam, Holland

Göteborg Book Fair: Göteborg, Sweden

Annikki Poetry Festival: Tampere, Finland

Book World: Prague, Czech Republic

 

INDIA, SRI LANKA, NEPAL, SINGAPORE, CHINA

 

Delhi Poetry Festival: New Delhi, India

Jaipur Literary Festival: Jaipur, India

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival: Ubud, India

Bangalore Literature Festival: Electronics City, Bangalore, India

Galle Literary Festival: Galle, Sri Lanka

Ncell Nepal Literature Festival: Kathmandu, Nepal

Singapore Writers’ Festival: Singapore

Hong Kong International Literary Festival: Hong Kong, China

Sydney Writers’ Festival: Sydney, Australia

Williamstown Literary Festival: Williamstown, Australia

Western Australia Spring Poetry Festival: Perth, Australia

Queensland Poetry Festival: Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia

Brisbane Writers’ Festival: South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

The Press Christchurch Writers Festival: Christchurch, New Zealand

Nelson Arts Festival Readers’ and Writers’ Week: Nelson, New Zealand

Auckland Writers & Readers Festival: Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand