2023 Book Awards Longlists

The League of Canadian Poets is thrilled to announce the 2023 Book Awards longlists for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award,  Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and the Raymond Souster Award.

Please join us in celebrating the incredible poetry of 2022!

April 6: Longlists Announcement
April 20: Shortlists Announcement
May 4: Winners Announcement

2023 GERALD LAMPERT MEMORIAL AWARD LONGLIST

Awarded annually since 1981, the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is given in the memory of Gerald Lampert, an arts administrator who organized author tours and took a particular interest in the work of new writers. The award recognizes a first book of poetry published by a Canadian writer in the preceding year. The award carries a $2000 prize and is sponsored by the LCP.

Thank you to the jurors of the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award: Jannie Edwards, Alvy Carragher and Greg Santos!

MONUMENT by Manahil Bandukwala (Brick Books)

Pronounced/Workable by Canadace de Taeye (Mansfield Press)

Surrender & Resistance by Katie Fewster-Yan (Gaspereau Press)

Transcribing Moonlight by Skylar Kay (Frontenac House)

Streams that Lead Somewhere by Fareh Malik (Mawenzi House)

Allodynia by Nisa Malli (Palimpsest Press)

Another Way to Split Water by Alycia Pirmohamed (Birlinn)

The Big Melt by Emily Riddle (Nightwood Editions)

Orion Sweeping by Anne Marie Todkill (Brick Books)

Shapeshifters by Délani Valin (Nightwood Editions)

My Grief, the Sun by Sanna Wani (House of Anansi)

Whitemud Walking by Matthew James Weigel (Coach House Books)


2023 PAT LOWTHER MEMORIAL AWARD LONGLIST

The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is given for a book of poetry by a woman in Canada, and is in memory of the late Pat Lowther, whose career was cut short by her untimely death in 1975.  The award carries a $2,000 prize.

This award is inclusive of trans women and non-binary individuals who feel comfortable being recognized by a women’s prize.

Thank you to the jurors of the Pat Lowther Memorial Award: Jaclyn Desforges, Elee Kraljii Gardiner and Jody Chan!

But the sun, and the ships, and the fish, and the waves by Conyer Clayton (Anvil Press)

Tender by Sylvia D. Hamilton (Gaspereau Press)

Abolitionist Intimacies by El Jones (Fernwood Publishing)

Shadow Blight by Annick MacAskill (Gaspereau Press)

Allodynia by Nisa Malli (Palimpsest Press)

HARROWINGS by Cecily Nicholson (TalonBooks)

A Is for Acholi by Otoniya J. Okot Bitek (Wolsak & Wynn)

Boat by Lisa Robertson (Coach House Books)

Quiet Night Think by Gillian Sze (ECW Press)

From the Shoreline by Steffi Tad-y (Gordon Hill Press)

My Grief, the Sun by Sanna Wani (House of Anansi)

Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee (Arsenal Pulp)


2023 RAYMOND SOUSTER LONGLIST

The Raymond Souster Award is given for a book of poetry by a League of Canadian Poets member. The award honours Raymond Souster, an early founder of the League of Canadian Poets. The award carries a $2,000 prize.

Thank you to the 2022-23 jurors of the Raymond Souster Award: MLA Chernoff, Marjorie Bruhmuller and Evan J!

But the sun, and the ships, and the fish, and the waves by Conyer Clayton (Anvil Press)

Vox Humana by Adebe DeRango-Adem (Book*hug Press)

The Day-Breakers by Michael Fraser (Biblioasis)

Shifting Baseline Syndrome by Aaron Kreuter (University of Regina Press)

After Beowulf by Nicole Markotić (Coach House Books)

How Beautiful People Are by Ayaz Pirani (Gordon Hill Press)

Another Way to Split Water by Alycia Pirmohamed (Birlinn)

Hurricane Watch: New and Collected Poems by Olive Senior (Carcanet Press)

How to Hold a Pebble by Jaspreet Singh (NeWest Press)

Grappling Hook by Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang (Palimpsest Press)

The End Is in the Middle by Daniel Scott Tysdal (Goose Lane)

Whitemud Walking by Matthew James Weigel (Coach House Books)


2022-2023 Jurors 

Thank you to our jurors, for all your hard work and careful reading of the incredible poetry released last year! Learn more about our 2022-23 jurors


On May 4, 2023, the League of Canadian Poets announced the annual winners of the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and the Raymond Souster Award. Learn more about the 2023 awards and celebrate the poetry of 2022: