The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, two separate awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. In 2022, the two awards were consolidated into a single international prize of CAD$130,000. Shortlisted poets are awarded CAD$10,000, and a Lifetime Recognition Award comes with an award of CAD$25,000. Concurrently with the merger, the Griffin Poetry Prize also introduced a juried Canadian First Book Prize to honor the year's best debut book by a Canadian poet.

History

In April 2000, Scott Griffin started the Griffin Trust to raise public awareness of the crucial role poetry plays in society's cultural life. Griffin served as its chairman, with board of trustees Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson, and David Young. In June 2004, Carolyn Forché joined the board. New trustees have been named over the years: in 2014, Karen Solie, Colm Tóibín, and Mark Doty; in 2016, Jo Shapcott and Marek Kazmierski; in 2018, Ian Williams; and in 2020, Sarah Howe. Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson, Jo Shapcott and Colm Tóibín have assumed the role of trustees emeriti. The Trust created the Griffin Poetry Prize with the aim of helping to introduce contemporary collections of poetry to the public's imagination. Eligible collections of poetry must have been published between January 1 and December 31 of the prior year. Submissions must come from publishers only. Originally, the award was two annual prizes of CAD$40,000 each for collections of poetry published in English during the preceding year. One prize was to go to a living Canadian poet, the other to a living poet from any country, which could include Canada as well. Among the trustees’ responsibilities is to select each year’s judges, who select a shortlist announced in April, National Poetry Month. The shortlisted poets then gather for an evening of public readings in May or June; the following evening, the winners are announced and all the poets feted. In 2010, the total amount of the annual prizes was doubled from CAD$100,000 to CAD$200,000 in recognition of the prize’s tenth anniversary. The increased amount of CAD$200,000 was awarded as follows: CAD$10,000 to each of seven shortlisted poets—four international and three Canadian—for their participation in the shortlist readings. The two winners, announced the next evening at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards, were given CAD$65,000 each, for a total of CAD$75,000 that included the CAD$10,000 awarded the previous evening. Selections from the shortlisted works are gathered annually in The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology, typically edited by one of that year's judges. In 2019, House of Anansi Press partnered with the National Network for Equitable Library Services (NNELS) to offer the anthology in print and digital Braille editions. The Griffin Trust has championed other initiatives. In November 2010, Scott Griffin announced Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie, a bilingual recitation contest for high school students across Canada. Other projects have included funding a statue in tribute to poet Al Purdy, participation in international poetry festivals, and donations of poetry books to organizations such as the Correctional Service of Canada, the Scottish Poetry Library, a rebuilt Slave Lake Public Library (which was destroyed in a wildfire in 2011), and other libraries, schools, and colleges. In 2022, Griffin Poetry Prize officials announced that the Canadian and international awards would be consolidated into a single award of CAD$130,000. Founder Scott Griffin said he originally believed that Canadian poets needed a separate category, but "now that a lot of Canadians have been recognized in the poetry world, we felt it was time they had to compete on the international stage with everybody else". The trust also announced a new prize: CAD$10,000 for a debut work of Canadian poetry. Critics from within Canadian poetry expressed concern about loss of opportunities "given the role the award played in securing grants and jobs". For instance, Alicia Elliot criticized the timing of the change, considering it happened "in the midst of a rather remarkable run for Black poets, Indigenous poets and poets of colour nominated for the Canadian portion" of the prize, and suggested the change implied that Canadian literature "is only relevant and worthwhile if it is being praised internationally." In April 2023, Scott Griffin gave an endowment to the Writers' Trust of Canada to expand the prize package for what is now the Latner Griffin Writers' Trust Poetry Prize.

Honorees and judges

2000s

2010s

2020s

Prior to 2023, the Griffin Poetry Prize was separated into two categories with prizes specifically for Canadian poets and another for international poets with each winner receiving $65,000. However, in 2023, the Canadian-specific prize was eliminated with only one winner selected each year who wins $130,000.

2020-2022

2023-present

Canadian First Book Prize

Griffin Poetry Prize