Griffin Prize Invites Feedback

Can Canada's greatest poetry prize become Canadian again?

Apr 06, 2026

The Griffin Poetry Prize is seeking feedback on the administration of the prize until April 25th, 2026. This is an urgent moment for Canadian poets, and I encourage you to complete the form and share it widely.

Feedback Form

Call to Canadian Poets

When Scott Griffin changed the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2023, Canadians were blindsided and outraged. Griffin stood by the decision, believing he was finally allowing Canadians to compete on the international stage. The result was the opposite: Canadian voices were drowned out by international writing. As rob mclennan wrote in 2023 about the change,

For most American poets, it was the first they were hearing of both the prize itself, and an array of Canadian poets, most of whom never make it onto the American radar.1

Nevertheless, in a few short years, the prize (or perhaps the prize money) became well known in the US and elsewhere. Very few Canadians appeared on the 2024 and 2025 longlists. More recently, no Canadian poets made the 2026 longlist, which consists of 9 US-based poets and one UK-based poet.2

But now it seems Griffin might be hearing Canadians and having second thoughts. The prize recently released a feedback form (which I will add is not being widely distributed, and I first discovered at the very bottom of a paid newsletter), along with a statement, saying:

As a founder and trustee of the Griffin Poetry Prize, I recognise that many poets within the Canadian poetry community have raised concerns about the current format of the Griffin Poetry Prize.
In an effort to hear directly from the community, and openly consider recommendations, I invite you to submit feedback on this subject, by name or anonymously, by April 25, 2026.

Feedback Form

This is, to Griffin’s credit, a sign of humility. It seems that he has heard the concerns, seen the impact, and might be seriously considering changing the prize. But if Canadians don’t speak up and voice their concerns, change is unlikely. I urge you to share your thoughts on the current state of the Griffin Poetry Prize and to seriously consider your role in shaping the legacy of Canadian poetry.

The Story

For 22 years, the Griffin Poetry Prize (previously two prizes) was Canada’s largest book-length prize and one of the largest poetry prizes internationally. These two awards — the Canadian and International Prize — were for $65,000 CAD, nearly 2-4 times the prize money for major prizes in the US and UK (when the exchange rate is good), such as the Pulitzer ($15,000 USD), the National Book Award for Poetry ($10,000 USD) the Forward Prize (£10,000) and the T.S. Eliot Prize (£25,000) (most recently won, I might add, by former Griffin Poetry Prize winner and Canadian poet, Karen Solie).

In 2023, the Canadian and International prizes were combined to create a single international poetry prize of $130,000 CAD:

“Upon changing the prize,” Griffin said, “I suspect there will be some pushback on the fact that the prizes are being merged. This is actually a step forward — Canadians should be proud that they're competing now along with every other country."3

Griffin wanted Canadians to compete on the international stage. But Canadians were not proud. Canadian poets were ostracized by their own community, no longer players in what was formerly their own game. Now, after years of pushback and disappointment from Canadians, it seems the prize might reconsider the changes made in 2023.

Feedback Form

The Issue of the International Stage

At the time of change, the prize was publicized as the world’s top poetry prize, which is correct. Other major $100,000 poetry prizes, such as the US-based Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize or the Wallace Stevens Award, tend to invest in their own writers, limiting eligibility to US nationals and residents. As one of Canada’s only major poetry philanthropists, Scott Griffin no longer seemed interested in investing in homegrown Canadian writers but rather in garnering greater international attention for the prize.

Part of Griffin’s argument for the change in the prize was Canada’s inferiority complex:

“We have this curious dichotomy where we lose our confidence that we can’t compete internationally or can’t contribute internationally.”

The truth is, we can’t. Why? Because we’re not eligible.

Nearly all major anglophone book prizes are held in the US and UK, and have limiting eligibility criteria. These prizes restrict submissions based on citizenship, residency, and publisher location. If you’re a Canadian poet living in Canada and publishing with a Canadian publisher, you will not be eligible for almost any major book-length poetry prize in the UK or UK. Furthermore, domestic prizes for Canadian poets are far fewer and less valuable than in the US and the UK.

The error of many who defend the 2023 changes is viewing eligibility criteria as somehow discriminatory when they are a primary means by which Canadians can promote and invest in their own arts and culture. Canada can only continue to develop and promote a Canadian literary culture if support, both financial and social, comes from within.

We need to see our own institutions, both public and private (and, as far as private support goes, Scott Griffin is truly Canada’s most important patron), supporting art made by artists with a substantial connection to this place and its peoples. As Canadian identities continue to be challenged, blurred, and diminished by political, cultural, and economic developments, we ought to be protecting the few things that belong to us, rather than watering them down.

Please fill out the feedback form to help Canadian poets thrive.

Feedback Form