WANL: Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers
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Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers

Co-presented by the Literary Arts Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers was established in 2006 by author Brian O'Dea.

The award provides one of the most generous cash prizes in Canada for an unpublished writer.

In 2010 the Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers became a biennial award. In 2011 the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union came on board as the award's official corporate sponsor.

Previous sponsors of the award are Brian O'Dea, and John and Jan O'Dea, who supported the award in memory of Agnes O'Dea, the province's quintessential bibliographer.

Awarded every other year, the Fresh Fish is one of the most generous prizes given in Canada to an emerging writer who has not yet published a book. Thanks to the generous support of the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union, the winner receives a cash prize of $5,000, plus the services of a professional editor and a miniature sculpture in the style of "Man Nailed to a Fish" by sculptor Jim Maunder. The runners-up each receive a cash prize of $1,000.

The deadline for the 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers was June 30, 2011. The shortlist for the award will be announced in November of 2011 and the winner will be announced in early December 2011.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers will be offered again in 2013.

 Previous Award Winners

2009–David Andrews
for West Orange (short stories)

2008–Jamie Fitzpatrick
for It All Comes Down to This (novel)

2007–Craig Francis Power for Blood Relatives (novel)

2006–Sara Tilley
for Snowflake-Young (novel)
The Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador gratefully acknowledges the financial support of
the Canada Council for the Arts, the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the City of St. John's.
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