RELEASE: Finalists announced for 2024 BMO Winterset Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Finalists announced for 2024 BMO Winterset Award

March 24, 2025 (St. John’s, NL) – ArtsNL is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2024 BMO Winterset Award, celebrating excellence in Newfoundland and Labrador writing.

Readings by the finalists will take place at The Rooms Theatre on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. The winner will be announced on April 10, 2025, at an awards ceremony at Government House.

The four finalists (in no particular order) are:

• Sara Power, Art of Camouflage (Freehand Books), AB
• Lisa Moore & Jack Whalen, Invisible Prisons (Knopf Canada), ON
• Ashleigh Matthews, Otherwise Grossly Unremarkable (Breakwater Books Ltd.), NL
• Susie Taylor, Vigil (Breakwater Books Ltd.), NL

To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of this most prestigious award, a one-time prize of $12,500 for non-fiction was added this year to honour the literary legacies of the award’s late founder, Richard Gwyn, O.C., and his late wife, Sandra Fraser Gwyn, O.C., both of whom were acclaimed non-fiction writers. This year, there will be four prizes: a $12,500 award for fiction, a $12,500 award for non-fiction, and two finalist awards of $3,000 each.

A total of 30 entries were submitted by publishers from across the country. All genres were represented by Newfoundland and Labrador authors (native-born or resident), including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s books.

The BMO Winterset Award honours the memory of Sandra Fraser Gwyn O.C.—St. John’s-born social historian, prize-winning author, and passionate promoter of Newfoundland and Labrador arts. Named for the historic house on Winter Avenue in St. John’s where Sandra grew up, the BMO Winterset Award was established in 2000 by her late husband, journalist and author, Richard Gwyn O.C.

This year’s jury members were authors Holly Hogan, Donna Morrissey, and William Ping.

“Being on this jury has been an incredible honour. We were invited into many beautifully crafted worlds, created and explored with so much depth. It’s hard to make these choices when you’re dealing with as much talent as we have in this province. Newfoundland and Labrador writers continue to punch above their weight, and the strength and diversity of their voices are to be applauded.”
—2024/25 BMO Winterset Jury

“BMO is committed to supporting local arts and culture and to growing stronger communities for a thriving economy,” said Dean Holloway, Regional Vice President, Personal Banking, Newfoundland and Labrador. “BMO is proud to celebrate the immense talent of emerging and established writers in our local communities, aligned with our Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. Congratulations to this year’s BMO Winterset Award finalists.”

The BMO Winterset Award is managed by ArtsNL and is made possible through the generous support from BMO, in partnership with the Sandra Fraser Gwyn Foundation.

BMO Gives. Good grows here.
Helping communities thrive by supporting the organizations that sustain them and encouraging employee giving and volunteerism is at the heart of BMO’s Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life.

In 2024, we directed more than $108 million to drive progress for communities, which included $101 million in philanthropic contributions to hundreds of charities and nonprofit organizations across North America.

Our colleagues spent over 54,000 hours volunteering in the community and contributed more than $39 million of donations through employee-driven giving in our annual campaigns.

For more information, please visit BMO.com.

Media enquiries:
Charlene Jackson
Communications Officer, ArtsNL
(709) 726-2212 ext. 3
charlene@artsnl.ca

The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (ArtsNL) is a non-profit Crown agency created in 1980 by The Arts Council Act. Its mission is to foster and promote the creation and enjoyment of the arts for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The Council is governed by a volunteer board of no fewer than 9 and no more than 11 members appointed by government. At least 7 members must be artists or arts administrators, and one member is appointed to represent the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation (non-voting). ArtsNL receives an annual allocation of $5.3 million from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to support a variety of granting programs, program delivery, office administration, and communications. It also seeks support from the public and private sectors. It supports the following artistic disciplines: dance, film and video, literary arts, multidisciplinary arts, music and sound, theatre and performing arts, and visual arts.

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