2026 Main Jury

Sharon Bala (Newfoundland & Labrador)

Sharon Bala’s best-selling debut novel, The Boat People, won the 2020 Newfoundland & Labrador Book Award and the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, was short listed for several awards, and is in translation in four languages. She won the Writers’ Trust/ McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize in 2017. Her short fiction has been published in: Best Canadian Stories 2024, The Journey Prize 29, Hazlitt, Grain, PRISM international, The New Quarterly, Maisonneuve, and elsewhere. Sharon is a member of The Port Authority, a St. John’s writing group.

Ivan Coyote (Yukon)

Ivan Coyote is a writer, storyteller and performer. Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, they are the author of thirteen books, the creator of four films, seven stage shows, and three albums that combine storytelling with music. Coyote’s books have won the ReLit Award, the B.C. Book Prize for Writing That Provokes, been named a Stonewall Honour Book, been longlisted for Canada Reads, been shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Prize for non-fiction, and the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction twice. 

Ivan was given an honorary Doctor of Laws from Simon Fraser University in 2017 and an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Yukon University in 2023. Coyote is currently serving as a Specialist in Inclusion and Creative Expression at Yukon University. Ivan’s 13th book, Care Of, was released in June 2021 by McClelland and Stewart, and their new show Playlist will premiere in February of 2024.

Alice Kuipers (Saskatchewan)

Alice Kuipers is the bestselling, award-winning author of five novels, a memoir for teenager Carley Allison, Always Smile, and six books for younger readers. She's also a bestselling ghost author, experienced in writing adult memoir and self help. Alice’s work is published in 36 countries, and she's taught thousands of people online and in person. Now, she's Head of Coaching at The Novelry, and she shares writing secrets over on Confessions & Coffee, her weekly publication. Her newest book, Spark, is a guide for anyone wanting to write their own book for young readers.

Idman Nur Omar (Alberta)

Idman was born in Rome and immigrated to Canada in 1991. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and an MA in English Literature from Concordia University in Montreal. The Private Apartments, her first book was a finalist for the 2024 Alberta Literary Awards, a finalist for the 2023 Writers' Union of Canada Danuta Gleed Literary Award and included in Brittle Paper's 100 Notable African Books of 2023. She lives in Calgary.

David Robertson (Manitoba)

David A. Robertson is a two-time Governor General's Literary Award winner and has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba in 2023 for outstanding contributions to the arts and distinguished achievements. His current book, All the Little Monsters: How I learned to Live with Anxiety, details his experience with anxiety and depression and provides coping strategies for readers experiencing the same. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.

Ian Williams (Ontario)

Ian Williams is the author of seven acclaimed books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. His previous book, Disorientation, was selected as a best book of the year by the Boston Globe.

Ian’s novel, Reproduction, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2019 and was published in Canada, the US, the UK, and Italy. His poetry collection, Word Problems won the Raymond Souster Award from the League of Canadian Poets. His previous collection, Personals, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award. His short story collection, Not Anyone’s Anything, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for the best first collection of short fiction in Canada. He is a trustee for the Griffin Poetry Prize.

Ian completed his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. After several years teaching poetry in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, Williams returned to the University of Toronto as a tenured full professor of English, director of the Creative Writing program and academic advisor for the Massey College William Southam Journalism Fellowship. 

In the fall of 2024, Ian delivered the cross-Canada 2024 CBC Massey Lectures, What I Mean to Say, about rehabilitating conversations.

Shirarose Wilensky - Editor

The Bridge Prize is excited to announce that Shirarose Wilensky, an editor with the House of Anansi Press, will work with the winning author to complete a final edit of the winning short story.

Shirarose Wilensky works for House of Anansi Press from her home in Port Moody, BC. She attended Simon Fraser University’s Master of Publishing Program and has worked for Arsenal Pulp Press, Greystone Books, Douglas & McIntyre, and Harbour Publishing. In 2021, she won the Tom Fairley Award for editing Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi. Other bestselling and acclaimed books she’s edited include A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett, Rebent Sinner by Ivan Coyote, Shut Up You’re Pretty by Téa Mutonji, and The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong. She acquires and edits literary fiction and narrative non-fiction, with a special interest in BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and debut writers.

The winner in the 2025 competition will have editing help available from editor Shirarose Wilensky to polish the story.