RELEASE: Finalists announced for 2025 BMO Winterset Award
Mar 13, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Finalists announced for 2025 BMO Winterset Award
March 13, 2026 (St. John’s, NL) – ArtsNL is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2025 BMO Winterset Award, celebrating excellence in Newfoundland and Labrador writing.
Readings by the finalists will take place at The Rooms on Wednesday, April 8, at 7:00 p.m. The recipient will be announced on Thursday, April 9, at an awards ceremony at Government House.
The three finalists are:
- Angela Antle, The Saltbox Olive (Breakwater Books), NL
- Debbie McGee, Cautiously Pessimistic (Breakwater Books), NL
- Mackenzie Nolan, Veal (ECW Press), ON
A total of 37 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 Robert Chafe, Sara Power, and Susie Taylor.
“The jury was struck by the remarkable range of genres represented this year, from literary fiction, memoir, and history to poetry, graphic novels, and playwrights. Each work illuminated a different facet of our province’s cultural and emotional landscape. Together, the books captured the resilience, humour, and complexity that lie at the heart of Newfoundland and Labrador. This year’s finalists demonstrate the enduring power of our province’s storytelling to resonate far beyond its shores.”
—2025/26 BMO Winterset Award Jury
Media enquiries:
Charlene Jackson
Communications Officer
(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, Indigenous arts and practices, literary arts, multidisciplinary arts, music and sound, theatre and performing arts, visual arts, and other similar creative and interpretative works or activities.
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