The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is pleased to announce that poet and courageous presenter Bänoo Zan is the recipient of the 2025 Freedom to Read Award. The award is presented annually by TWUC in recognition of work that is passionately supportive of access to books and the freedom to read. Past recipients include journalist Brandi Morin, authors David A. Robertson, Ivan Coyote, Jael Richardson, Mohamed Fahmy, and Lawrence Hill, and booksellers and community-builders Anjula Gogia and Janine Fuller.
Bänoo Zan is a poet, translator, essayist, and poetry curator, with over 300 published pieces and three books including Songs of Exile and Letters to My Father. She is the founder of Shab-e Sher (Poetry Night), Canada’s most diverse and brave poetry open mic. Bänoo is the co-editor of the international poetry anthology: Woman, Life, Freedom: Poems for the Iranian Revolution, published by Guernica Editions in 2025. Her work as a host and presenter has been featured on the CBC.
Zan was nominated for the Freedom to Read Award by a fellow Canadian author. The nomination reads (in part):
Bänoo Zan has demonstrated her commitment to enriching the lives of others and the communities in which they live, by creating brave spaces for freedom of expression. Her dedication and many contributions to ensuring diverse voices are heard (in verbal and written form) is outstanding.
February 23 to March 1, 2025, is Freedom to Read Week in Canada: a national annual celebration that encourages Canadians to think deeply about and value access to print materials, and their rights to read, write, and publish freely on all topics and subject matter. The week has become a regular feature of the annual programming of schools, libraries, and literary groups across Canada. Freedom to Read Week is a joint project of Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, the Ontario Library Association, and the Book and Periodical Council. TWUC is a proud supporter of Freedom to Read Week. For more information, please visit freedomtoread.ca.
The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers. Now over 2,800 members strong, TWUC advocates on behalf of writers’ collective interests, and delivers value to members through advocacy, community, and information. TWUC believes in a thriving, diverse Canadian culture that values and supports writers.
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For additional information:
John Degen, Chief Executive Officer
The Writers’ Union of Canada
jdegen@writersunion.ca
DATE: February 27, 2025
