THE EIGHTH ANNUAL INDIGENOUS VOICES (ENGLISH)AWARDS IS OPEN FOR SUBISSIONS!
The Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs) celebrate emerging Indigenous writers and foster wider readership and publication. Since its inception, the IVAs have showcased over 130 Indigenous writers, introducing their compelling voices to global audiences.
Les Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs) célèbrent les écrivains indigènes émergents et favorisent l'élargissement du lectorat et de la publication. Depuis leur création, les IVA ont mis en lumière plus de 130 écrivains indigènes, présentant leurs voix captivantes au public mondial.
In 2025, the Indigenous Voices Awards English prizes will be administered by three co-chairs: SFU professors and literary scholars Deanna Reder (Cree-Métis) and Sophie McCall (settler) and poet and UBC professor Billy-Ray Belcourt (Cree).
Prizes
This year, two $5,000 prizes will be awarded: one for Published Prose in English and one for Published Poetry in English. Two $2,000 prizes will be given for Unpublished Prose and Poetry, with the prize money divided equally among all finalists in these categories.
Jurors
We are thankful to this year’s jurors for the English prizes: Cody Caetano, Camille Georgeson-Usher, Liz Howard, Jessica Johns, Conor Kerr, Jónina Kirton, Cecily Nicholson, and Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek. Please see our Jurors 2025 tab for more information about these wonderful humans.
Dates
Applications (English) are NOW open
Entries close on February 14, 2025.
Shortlisted finalists for the English prizes will be announced in May, and recipients will be announced on June 21, Indigenous Peoples Day. All eligible IVAs applicants will be invited to participate in mentorship initiatives designed to cultivate relationships among emerging and established Indigenous writers and provide career and creative support.
The IVAs and Kwahiatonhk! to collaborate on French-language prizes
New this year, to better support and represent the French-speaking Indigenous literary community, the administration of the IVAs French-language prizes will be a collaborative effort between the IVAs and Kwahiatonhk!, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing, promoting and disseminating Indigenous literature.
With the support of Université Laval’s Chaire de leadership en enseignement sur les littératures autochtones au Québec (Maurice-Lemire), and IVAs co-chairs and Francophone scholars Marie-Eve Bradette and Sarah Henzi, the French prizes will be awarded in June during the Kwe! festival. New conditions and details will be available via the Kwahiatonhk! Website and Facebook page.
*The French Prizes competition will open in late January.
Our Impact
Founded in 2017 with a crowd-funded purse of just over $115,000, the IVAs have awarded $206,000 to emerging Indigenous writers working in various genres and languages.
The IVAs have provided $20,000 in prize money over the past five years to honour established Indigenous writers working in both English and French through the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival in Montreal.
Past IVAs Recipients
Brandi Bird, Maya Cousineau Mollen, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Tanya Tagaq, Émilie Monnet, and jaye simpson are among the mentorship and prize money recipients!
Previous IVAs finalists in unpublished categories who went on to publish their work include Francine Cunningham, Marie-Andrée Gill, Elaine McArthur, Smokii Sumac, Francine Merasty, Amanda Peters, and Cody Caetano.
Over 50 works from IVAs writers can also be found in Carving Space: The Indigenous Voices Awards Anthology, published by McClelland & Stewart (2023), co-edited by Jordan Abel, Carleigh Baker, and Madeleine Reddon.
Our Supporters
The Indigenous Voices Awards is grateful to acknowledge support from the Canada Council for the Arts (2024-2027). The IVAs also receive generous support from Penguin Random House Canada, the Pamela Dillon & Family Gift Fund, the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA), and Scholastic Canada.
The IVAs co-chairs gratefully acknowledge support from Douglas & McIntyre for its donation of a portion of its sales of Richard Wagamese’s What Comes From Spirit and royalties from the republished version of Days of Augusta by Mary Augusta Tappage Evans.
IVAs co-chairs thank the countless supporters who have donated to the IVAs crowd-sourced fund over the years.
The Ontario Arts Foundation generously accepts donations on behalf of the IVAs.
Connect and Share:
Facebook @IndigenousVoicesAwards
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X @IndigenousVAs
For images, interviews or more information contact:
Katie Saunoris | KSPR
katiesaunoris@gmail.com
The IVAs logo is designed by Lou-ann Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw).