WRITERS’ TRUST HONOURS ATWOOD AND GIBSON

The Writers’ Trust of Canada will rename its annual fiction prize in honour of Margaret Atwood, shown, and Graeme Gibson. The award will now be called The Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. The Writers’ Trust of Canada will also raise the amount of prize money to $60,000 from $50,000, with businessman and philanthropist Jim Balsillie now funding it. Last year’s winner was Gil Adamson for her novel ridgerunner. each year, the trust awards seven prizes to recognize the best in fiction, non-fiction and short story, as well as mid-career and lifetime achievement awards. Neither Atwood nor Gibson were ever nominated for the prize. They were, however, among the trust’s five co-founders, alongside fellow writers Pierre Berton, Margaret Laurence and david young.