Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize

The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize recognizes Canadian writers of exceptional talent for the year's best novel or short-story collection. It has become one of the country's principal fiction prizes, comparable in prestige to the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General's Literary Awards.

The winner is selected by a three-member, independent judging panel of writers. The prize winner is announced annually at the Writers' Trust Awards event. The current prize value is $25 000 and finalists receive $2500 each.

To be eligible for the prize books must be English-language, first-edition trade books written by Canadian citizens or permanent residents that are published during the eligibility period set for that year. Translations from other languages into English are eligible and are considered in the year in which the English translation is published. All books must have an ISBN number and be available in Canadian bookstores. Self-published and ghostwritten books are not eligible.

Rogers Communications, a leading provider of wireless, cable television, high speed internet and home telephone services to consumer residences and businesses in Canada, has generously sponsored this award since it was created in 1997. At that time the prize value was $10 000 and each finalist received $1 000. Finalists that year included Elizabeth Hay, Brian Moore, Mordecai Richler, and Jane Urquhart. Austin Clarke won the inaugural prize for The Origin of Waves.

Since its inception the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize has rewarded some of Canada's finest writers. Notable recipients have included Alice Munro for Runaway, Joseph Boyden for Three Day Road, Lawrence Hill for The Book of Negroes, Miriam Toews for The Flying Troutmans, and Annabel Lyon for The Golden Mean.