Shortlist Announced for the Ninth Annual Indigenous Voices Awards
Eight Finalists Shortlisted for Published Work include Tracey Lindberg, jaye simpson, and Colin Wolf
Eight Writers Honoured for Outstanding Unpublished Work
Recipients include Kieran Kalls Rice, Michelle Poirier Brown, Odette Auger, & Cooper Skjeie
May 7, 2026: The Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs), the only major literary prize to celebrate creativity and excellence for work by emerging Indigenous writers, have surpassed a quarter of a million dollars in awarded prize money to date, with today’s announcement of prize recipients for outstanding unpublished work.
Eight writers have received $500 each from the Indigenous Voices Awards: Kieran Kalls Rice, kit-xgwélemc kennedy, Michelle Poirier Brown, and Kennedy Willier for unpublished poetry; and Odette Auger, Dawn Dionne, Daly Quintal, and Cooper Skjeie for unpublished prose. As this year’s jury notes in their recipient feedback, these are up-and-coming writers to watch.
Finalists were also announced today for this year’s awards recognizing exceptional published work by emerging Indigenous authors: Tracey Lindberg, reuben quinn, Danica Roache, and Colin Wolf are finalists for published prose; and Tawahum Bige, Melinda Burns, Melissa Powless Day, and jaye simpson are finalists for published poetry.
Recipients of these awards will be announced on June 21.
“The IVAs help create a sovereign space for Indigenous authors to hold each other up, to recognize each other, to create room for our stories, and to build a collective shared understanding. And to celebrate each other—all the time.”
—Cody Caetano (Anishinaabe), IVAs award recipient (2022, 2023) and juror (2025)
Citations provided by the 2026 IVAs jurors.
2026 IVAs RECIPIENTS - UNPUBLISHED POETRY
Kieran Kalls Rice, “Clem Clem”
Snuneymuxw First Nation
“‘Clem Clem’ is an unforgettable journey through relation, identity, family, tradition, history, and place-making. This is glorious poetry.”
kit-xgwélemc kennedy, “nightingale” and other poems
Member of the St'uxwtéws (Bonaparte First Nation) Secwépemc
“Infused with a sharp, sly humour and rhythm crafted for the human voice, kit-xgwélemc’s poetry invites the reader into a space of quiet observation. It is both watchful and deeply reflective, grounded in an unwavering spirit of critical love and acceptance.”
Michelle Poirier Brown, “What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?”
Manitoba Métis Federation
“Moving through the conflicts of identity and the echoes of family stories, Michelle Poirier Brown captures the profound evolution of a soul coming into its own.”
Kennedy Willier, “I wanted to be a ceremony/cemetery”
nêhiyaw member of Sucker Creek First Nation (Treaty 8)
“Kennedy Willier's poetry is formally innovative and demands our full attention.”
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2026 IVAs RECIPIENTS - UNPUBLISHED PROSE
Odette Auger, “Eyebright”
Enrolled member of Sagamok Anishnawbek
“‘Eyebright’ is told by Odette Auger’s main character: a mother and painter who is living in her painting studio in her family’s backyard. Augerʾs attention to sensual detail is reminiscent of the process of oil painting itself. We very much want to read the entire novel of which ‘Eyebright’ is a part—publishers, pay attention to this writer!”
Dawn Dionne, “The Paper Gown/The River Remembers”
Lil’Wat Nation, Mount Currie
“‘The Paper Gown/The River Remembers’ honours a devastating story through a strong, heart-rending piece, weaving together timelines, first-person storytelling, and auto-theory. In this compelling submission the jurors can see the work of healing through careful story-creation. One gets the sense that there is nothing extra—all that needed to be said is said, and that’s all.”
Daly Quintal, “The Buffalo and The Raven”
Métis Nation of Alberta, Lac la Biche
“In ‘The Buffalo and The Raven,’ the title characters wander through a current timeline offering beautiful insights into our ways of relating. A deep reflection on what happens after we move on from our lives and physical bodies here on earth.”
Cooper Skjeie, “Overexposure”
Métis Nation of Saskatchewan
“One of the more surprising stories of this year’s submissions, ‘Overexposure’ stands out for its wildly imaginative comedic and tragic turns alike. The pacing keeps up with the balance of humour and grief and the thoughtfulness of each story within the story. Cooper Skjeie takes us on a ride from the bottom of the Saskatchewan River to crossing oceans, and brings us into the minds of youth in unexpected ways. We will be keeping an eye out for works from this writer in the years to come.”
Recipients of the published categories to be announced on June 21.
2026 IVAs FINALISTS - PUBLISHED PROSE
Tracey Lindberg, (art by George Littlechild,) The Cree Word for Love: Sâkihitowin (HarperCollins Canada)
Cree; As'in'î'wa'chî Ni'yaw Nation/Kelly Lake Cree Nation; Plains Cree
reuben quinn, ᑭᐢᑭᓱᒥᑐᐠ kiskisomitok: ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ to remind each and one another (Talonbooks)
onôcihtôwipîsim, Saddle Lake, a descendant of pahpâstêw, from Treaty 6 territory
Danica Roache, Five Seasons of Charlie Francis (Nimbus Publishing/Vagrant Press)
Mixed-ancestry Mi’kmaw member of Glooscap First Nation
Colin Wolf, CoyWolf (Playwrights Canada Press)
Otipemisiwak (Métis Nation Alberta) citizen
2026 IVAs FINALISTS - PUBLISHED POETRY
Tawahum Bige, Stages of Tanning Words and Remembering Spells (Harbour Publishing)
Łutselk’e Dene / Cree / Métis
Melinda Burns, Homecoming (BookLand Press)
Lower Mohawk First Nation
Melissa Powless Day, Bow Forged from Ash (Palimpsest Press)
Anishinaabe and Kanien’kehá:ka from Bkejwanong Territory (Walpole Island First Nation)
jaye simpson, a body more tolerable (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Oji-Cree Saulteaux
The Prix voix autochtones (IVAs French prizes) will be announced during the Kwe! Festival (June 12-14, 2026). Visit the Kwahiatonhk! website for more details.
About the Indigenous Voices Awards | indigenousvoicesawards.org
Founded in 2017, the IVAs have awarded more than $250,000 (CAD) to Indigenous authors working in a variety of genres and languages. Over 158 writers have been nominated for or received IVAs since its inception, introducing audiences around the world to compelling new literary voices
Previous IVAs finalists in unpublished categories who went on to publish their work include Brandi Bird, Kelsey Borgford, 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.
In 2026, the co-chairs of the IVAs English prizes are SFU professors and literary scholars Deanna Reder (Cree-Métis) and Sophie McCall (settler), and poet and UBC professor Billy-Ray Belcourt (Cree), with Dutch Dion-Glowa (Métis) as project manager.
This year’s jurors for the English prizes are Richard Van Camp, Kayla Lar-Son, Marilyn Dumont, Emily Riddle, Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek, Tenille K. Campbell, Joanne Arnott, and Smokii Sumac.
The Indigenous Voices Awards acknowledge support from the Canada Council for the Arts. The IVAs also receive support from Scholastic Canada, Penguin Random House Canada, and the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA). The IVAs co-chairs also 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. The IVAs co-chairs also thank the countless supporters who have donated to the IVAs crowd-sourced fund over the years.
Support for the Indigenous Voices Awards is welcome through the Ontario Arts Foundation:
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The IVAs logo is designed by Lou-ann Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw).
For images, interviews or more information please contact:
Katie Saunoris | KSPR
katiesaunoris@gmail.com
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.
The IVAs and Kwahiatonhk! to collaborate on French-language prizes
New since 2025, to better support and represent the French-speaking Indigenous literary community, administration of the IVAs French-language prizes is a collaborative effort between the IVAs and Kwahiatonhk!, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development, promotion and diffusion of Indigenous literature.
Administered by Kwahiatonhk! with the support of Université Laval’s Chaire de leadership en enseignement sur les littératures autochtones au Québec (Maurice-Lemire), and a committee composed of Louis-Karl Picard Sioui (Kwahiatonhk!), Marie-Eve Bradette (Chaire de leadership en enseignement sur les littératures autochtones au Québec), and Alec Mahoney (coordinator), the French prizes are awarded in June. Visit the Kwahiatonhk! website and Facebook page for dates and more information.
This year, there are two French-language prize categories totaling $10,000 in prizes for emerging Indigenous writers. The categories are to be announced.
The Prix voix autochtones (IVAs French prizes) will be announced during the Kwe! Festival (June 12-14, 2026). Visit the Kwahiatonhk! website for more details.
Our Impact
Founded in 2017 with a crowd-funded purse of just over $115,000, as of June 2025 the IVAs have awarded over $250,000 to emerging Indigenous writers working in various genres and languages.
The Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs) celebrate emerging Indigenous writers and foster wider readership and publication. Since its inception, the IVAs have showcased over 150 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 150 écrivains indigènes, présentant leurs voix captivantes au public mondial.