Robert Kroetsch Award History

What is it? The prize for the Robert Kroetsch Award for innovative Poetry is awarded annually. The winning manuscript is selected by an established poet, in co-operation with Snare Books. Snare Books was founded in Montreal by Jon Paul Fiorentino and Robert Allen in the early spring of 2006.
So much skillful poetry work goes on in Canada, the judges have a hard job.
2007: Natalie Zina Walschots for Thumbscrews. (Judge: Darren Wershler-Henry)
2008: Geoffery Hlibchuk for Variations on Holderlin. (Judge: Elizabeth Bachinsky)
2009: Sarah Dowling for Security Posture. (Judge: Rachel Zolf)
2010: Jake Kennedy for The Lateral. (Judge: Sina Queyras)
2011: Pearl Pirie [oh my!] for (working title) Thirsts. (Judge: Neil Besner)
The deadline for manuscripts is in January. The announcement is in early March and the book is released in mid-November. It is open to an emerging Canadian writer, defined as a writer who has published two books or less. The winner receives a trade paperback contract with Snare Books which will include the publication of the manuscript and a $500 honourarium.
The prize is named after Robert Kroetsch (born 1927). He’s a Canadian novelist, poet, and non-fiction writer. He’s been studied in literary criticism since the 80s. In 2004 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He’s known as a Prairie poet. You might know him thru a couple of his more famous poetry collections: Seed Catalogue (1977) and The Sad Phoenician (1979). He taught for many years at the University of Manitoba. He’s been called the father of Canadian postmodernism.
He’s a sort of father figure in Canadian literature, well-loved and a sweet man. I’ve had the chance to see him read at the Post Modern Conference. btw, Robert Stacey released a 440 page book in October as a results from those symposiums: RE: Reading the Postmodern: Canadian Literature and Criticism after Modernism (University of Ottawa Press, 2010).