Jury Announced and Call for Submissions Issued for the 27th Annual Danuta Gleed Literary Award

Nov 8, 2023

The Writers’ Union of Canada and the Gleed family are pleased to announce the jury for the $10,000 Danuta Gleed Literary Award, Canada’s pre-eminent award for the best first Canadian collection of short fiction in the English language, now celebrating its 27th year. This… Read More

In Memoriam — Thomas McCavour (1930–2022)

Oct 25, 2023

Thomas McCavour passed away peacefully on July 5, a day before his 92nd birthday. When he was in his teens, Tom met the love of his life, Shirley Hedch. They were married for 71 years, and theirs was indeed an inspirational love story. Tom was a renaissance man. He was an… Read More

In Memoriam — Teresa Healy (1962–2022)

Oct 25, 2023

Born in England, Teresa Healy was an Irish and Canadian citizen who spent most of her life in Ontario. She died peacefully at age 60 in her home in Brattleboro, Vermont, after five years of living with cancer. Teresa had called Vermont home since 2016. She was an immigrant three… Read More

In Memoriam — Madeline Coopsammy (1939–2023)

Oct 25, 2023

Madeline Coopsammy was born in Trinidad. Her joie-de-vivre and curiosity would hold her in good stead throughout her life as a teacher, writer, volunteer, and parent. People were always drawn to her. She won a scholarship to study at Delhi University, India, where she would… Read More

In Memoriam — Rana Bose (1950–2023)

Oct 25, 2023

Rana Bose was a novelist, playwright, poet, dramaturge, professional engineer, and founding editor of Montréal Serai — a nonprofit arts and culture online magazine, which began as a local theatre and arts collective. (It now offers an annual Rana Bose Memorial Grant for writers… Read More

In Memoriam — Jen Powley (1977–2023)

Oct 25, 2023

Jen Powley served as Regional Representative for TWUC’s Atlantic Region with dedication and focus for both her region and for all writers living with disabilities. This remembrance of Jen was written by Suzanne Rent; a longer version was first published in the Halifax… Read More

Searchable Database Containing Book Titles Used to Train Artificial Intelligence

Sep 28, 2023

  This week, the US publication The Atlantic published a searchable database containing the titles of books used to train a number of US-based artificial intelligence projects. Many of those titles are by Canadian authors. You can see this database, and search for your… Read More

Canada’s School Libraries Require Serious Investment

Sep 28, 2023

  The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) notes with growing concern the trend in Canada of challenges to specific books in schools and libraries across the country. Very often those with a focus on LGBTQIA2s+ perspectives and stories are the target of coordinated… Read More

Le communiqué de la FCAB contient des erreurs préjudiciables

Sep 6, 2023

  Le 14 août, la Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (FCAB) a publié un communiqué sur son site Web intitulé « Don’t Blame Copyright for Declining Revenue. It Won’t Help Authors. » (Inutile d’attribuer la baisse de revenus au droit d’auteur. Cela… Read More

CFLA Statement Contains Damaging Inaccuracies

Sep 5, 2023

  On August 14, the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) published a statement on their website entitled Don’t Blame Copyright for Declining Revenue. It Won’t Help Authors. The statement contains a litany of inaccurate assertions about copyright law and the… Read More