In Memoriam — Barry Dempster (1952–2025)
Mar 4, 2026
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Barry Dempster, who left us peacefully on November 27, 2025, while living in Owen Sound. Barry took autonomy over his long battle with Parkinson’s and chose to part this world on his terms with the help of MAID. Barry was born… Read More
Canadian Publishers, Authors, and Booksellers Call for Nova Scotia to Reinstate Funding for Publishers
Mar 4, 2026
Canada’s book sector stands with Nova Scotia’s arts community ahead of province-wide rallies against budget cuts to cultural programs.Organizations representing Canada’s publishing, writing, and bookselling sectors stand in solidarity with artists, cultural workers, and arts… Read More
Nova Scotia Arts Funding Cuts Threaten Cultural Sovereignty
Feb 27, 2026
The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) joins with industry colleagues throughout the Canadian arts sector in condemning the drastic and destabilizing cuts to cultural organizations and programs by the government of Nova Scotia. With the cancellation of Writers in Schools funding… Read More
Author and Professor Ira Wells Wins Freedom to Read Award
Feb 27, 2026
The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is pleased to announce the 2026 Freedom to Read Award has been conferred to Ira Wells, associate professor of literature and humanities at the University of Toronto and author of 2025’s On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus… Read More
In Memoriam — Sandy Shreve (1950–2026)
Feb 25, 2026
A dear friend, respected poet, artist, well-loved Vancouver and most recently, Pender Island community member and all-round extraordinary human being, Sandra Gail (Sandy to most of us) Shreve died on Sunday, February 8 at a friend’s house in Saanichton. She was interred in a… Read More
Reading Event at Calgary Legion Cancelled During Freedom to Read Week
Feb 19, 2026
The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and the Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) are shocked and disappointed to have had a joint Freedom to Read Week event discussing censorship and book-banning cancelled by… Read More
Writers’ Union Condemns Alberta Book Removals
Feb 2, 2026
The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) calls once again for immediate policy change in Alberta to reverse the prejudicial directive targeting published work for removal from school libraries. Since the provincial policy (Ministerial Order M.O.… Read More
Industry News – January 2026
Jan 27, 2026
The Latest on Writing and Publishing in Canada ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | CENSORSHIP | LIBRARIES | PRIZES | FESTIVALS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HarperCollins/Harlequin France Criticized for AI DecisionThe French Literary Translators Association and the… Read More
TWUC Invites Submissions for Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers
Dec 9, 2025
The Writers’ Union of Canada invites submissions to its 33rd annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers. Unpublished works of fiction and nonfiction up to 2,500 words in English are eligible, and writers may submit multiple entries. A $2,500 prize will be… Read More
AI is Making Publishing Scams More Sophisticated
Nov 17, 2025
TWUC is grateful to the Australian Society of Authors for originally publishing this detailed notice on avoiding AI scams. This statement has been republished with permission from the ASA.It’s an upsetting reality that there are those who wish to exploit the passion of authors,… Read More
