Canadians shut out of Griffin Poetry Prize long list for first time; eight American works are finalists

By Canadian Press on March 25, 2026.

TORONTO — Canadian writers have been shut out of the Griffin Poetry Prize long list for the first time.

Eight of the ten poetry collections in the running for the $130,000 award were written or translated by Americans, including “Hardly Creatures” by Rob Macaisa Colgate and “End of Empire” by Marissa Davis.

Also on the long list are “Death Does Not End at the Sea” by Gbenga Adesina of Nigeria and “The New Carthaginians” by Nick Makoha, a Ugandan poet based in the U.K.

Americans Daniel Borzutzky and Alec Schumacher are longlisted for “Bodies Found in Various Places,” which they translated from Spanish written by Chile’s Elvira Hernández, as is “Green of All Heads” by Aracelis Girmay.

Rounding out the long list are “Foxglovewise” by Ange Mlinko, “Barley Child” by Greg Rappleye, “Burnt Mountain” by Emily Wilson and “Night Watch” by Kevin Young.

It’s the first time that Canadians have been left off the long list since the Griffin changed its structure in 2023 to hand out one universal award.

Before that, there were separate $65,000 awards for Canadian and international writers.

No Canadians were shortlisted last year, but at least one has always made the long list.

This year’s short list will be announced April 22, and the prize will be handed out on June 3, along with several smaller prizes for Canadians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press