The Honourable Steve Crocker, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation, congratulates all winners and nominees of the 71st annual Arts and Letters Awards Program. The award ceremony took place at The Rooms this past weekend (Friday, April 14).
First launched in 1952, the Arts and Letters Awards Program is a renowned provincial program that encourages artistic creation and recognizes excellence through the awarding of monetary prizes, along with the opportunity for adjudication, to both emerging and established artists. Original creative work in literature, music, visual art, and media arts are eligible for submission annually.
This year, prizes totaling $43,650 were awarded in literary, music, visual arts, and media arts sections. There were 29 winning entries in the Junior Division and 32 winning entries in the Senior Division. A total of 520 entries were submitted for consideration for the 2023 program.
The Percy Janes First Novel Award, the program’s top prize of $2,500, was awarded to Malcolm Kempt of Green’s Harbour for his manuscript “Nightfall.”
A detailed list of award recipients can be found in the backgrounder below. More information on the program and submission guidelines can be found here.
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“Since 1952, the annual Arts and Letters Awards Program has encouraged and celebrated the accomplishments of artists with diverse backgrounds, experience, cultures and traditions. Artistic expression is a vital contributor to our province’s cultural landscape and is a recognized promoter of vitality and wellness. Congratulations to this year’s winners and entrants and thank you for your contribution to the creation and continued evolution of art in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Honourable Steve Crocker
Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation
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BACKGROUNDER
2023 Arts and Letters Awards Recipients
JUNIOR
Junior Poetry
($350 prize) Adjudicators: Mohamed Madiou, Nellie Strowbridge, Linda Coles
| Jacob Rose | I can do it |
| Bailey Bennett | Death Calls |
| Sofia Butler | Escape |
| Awsten Goodyear | Dysphoria |
| Jade Collins | You Aren’t Trying Hard Enough |
| Holly Fillier | Intercalative Dolour |
| Dakota Squires | Change Our Ending |
| Ashley Chippett | What Does it Mean to be a Woman |
Junior Prose
($350 prize) Adjudicators: Debbie Robins, Dane Gill
| Connor Keefe | Love and Magic |
| Ava Hodder | Plagued Promise |
| Lillian Carter | Swinging |
| Ayla Orbasli | Don’t Go There! |
| Emma Troake | The Fight |
| Megan Smith | Iris |
| Kathleen O’Rourke | Living in a Dead Girl’s Diary |
| Maurizio Hunter Barberio | Eternal Darkness |
Junior French Literary
($350 prize) Adjudicator: Jeremy Pommier
| Nyamae Alloway | Le vacuum |
Junior Music
($350 prize) Adjudicators: Stephanie Bowring, Rosemary Lawton
| Max Steffen | Predictable |
| Darcy Scott | Your Name |
| Francis Kennedy | Darla |
| Summer Bennett | Lightning |
Junior Visual Art
($350 prize) Adjudicators: Rachel Gilbert, Kelly Bruton
| Emily Miller | Untitled |
| Elisabeth Sheppard | Little White House |
| Sierra Kennedy | How did we get Here? |
| Chloe Regular | A Bountiful Quest |
| Alida Zedel | All That Eye Can See |
| Julia Cole | Faerie Trap |
| Kanto Ratsimandresy | Agathe |
| Zora Maskova | Fish Spotted |
SENIOR
Senior Poetry
($1,000 prize) Adjudicators: Heather Nolan, Charis Cotter
| Douglas Walbourne-Gough | Now is Not the Time |
| Nancy Shepherd Bragg | Over There |
| Craig Francis Power | Walking My Three Year Old To Nanny’s Place, Easter Sunday 2017 |
| Sharon King-Campbell | Untitled #48; February 10, 2022 |
Senior Short Fiction
($1,000 prize) Adjudicators: Willow Kean, Samanda Stroud
| Emma Cole | Shards |
| Ian Foster | Hang in There |
| Molly Clarke | Roadkill |
| Khadija Rehma | What Could Have Been |
Senior Nonfiction
($1,000 prize) Adjudicator: Terry Doyle
| Andreae Callanan | Can’t Help But Notice |
| Connie Boland | Memories are Like Shrapnel |
| Natalie Dalton | All the Things I did not Know and Wouldn’t Have Believed Anyway |
Senior Dramatic Script
($1,000 prize) Adjudicator: Jennifer Deon
| Alexa Jerrett | “Seal’s Kin” |
| Michelle T Clemens | Show Down |
Senior French Literary
($1,000 prize) Adjudicator: Jeremy Pommier
| Coline Tisserand | Balcon |
Percy Janes First Novel Award
($2,500 prize) Adjudicator: Michelle Butler Hallett
| Malcolm Kempt | Nightfall |
Senior Music
($1,000 prize) Adjudicators: Stephanie Bowring, Rosemary Lawton
| Zach Dalley | Subterranean |
| Jake Nicoll | Asking for Forgiveness |
| Lorna Lovell | Come Home |
| Ian Foster | Gossamer |
Senior Media Arts
($1,000 prize) Adjudicator: Anna Wheeler
| Melissa Wong | The Boulevard’s Black and White Ghost |
Senior Visual Art
($1,000 prize) Adjudicators: Rose Bouthillier, Janice Hertel, Michelle Bush
| Melissa Putt | Capturing the Afternoon Sunlight |
| Michelle Churchill | The Fury |
| Anastasia Tiller | Levitating in Reverie |
| Nicolas (Nick) Kokis | The Cat Who Leaps at Butterflies |
| Olivia Stacey | Fireweed Jelly |
| Kelly Bastow | Sunset Saunter |
| Ellen Power | Among the Sandbanks |
| Marie Lugli | A study of time and place, 2022 |
| Kendall Sweeney | Reminders of Sunday |
| Jennifer Bautista | Still Waters |
| Frank Barry | The Wound |
| Joshua Mack | Birds Foraging off Cape Spear |