The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers. TWUC advocates on behalf of writers’ collective interests, and delivers value to members through advocacy, community, and information. TWUC believes in a thriving, diverse Canadian culture that values and supports writers. As of 2024, the Union is over 2,800 members strong. The Union administers the

Danuta Gleed Literary Award The Danuta Gleed Literary Award is a Canadian national literary prize, awarded since 1998. It recognizes the best debut short fiction collection by a Canadian author in English language. The annual prize was founded by John Gleed in honour of his ...

for the best first collection of short stories in English published in Canada. TWUC also administers the Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers, which aims to discover, encourage, and promote new writers of short prose in order to provide opportunity and exposure to developing writers. Each year the Union awards the Freedom to Read Award as part of the celebration of Freedom to Read Week across Canada in February of each year. The award recognizes work in support of freedom of expression. Recipients have included authors Derek Finkle and Charles Montpetit as well as former MP

Wendy Lill Wendy Lill (born November 2, 1950) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and radio dramatist who served as an NDP Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2004. Her stage plays have been performed extensively in theatres across Canada as well as inte ...

, Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, and

Janine Fuller Janine Elizabeth Fuller (born 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian businessperson and writer. She was the manager of Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is best known for her role as an anti-censorship activist in ...

, owner of Vancouver's embattled Little Sisters bookstore. Danny Ramadan is the Chair of The Writers' Union of Canada. John Degen is its Chief Executive Officer. Past chairs have included noted authors

Marian Engel Marian Ruth Engel (née Passmore; May 24, 1933 – February 16, 1985) was a Canadian novelist and a founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada. Her most famous and controversial novel was ''Bear'' (1976), a tale of erotic love between an ar ...

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

Pierre Berton Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian historian, writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular cultur ...

June Callwood June Rose Callwood, (June 2, 1924 – April 14, 2007) was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She garnered fame for her articles and columns written for national newspapers and magazines, including Maclean's and Chatelaine. S ...

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, (October 30, 1930 – June 20, 2002) was a Canadian novelist and playwright.

Graeme Gibson Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson (9 August 1934 – 18 September 2019) was a Canadian novelist.Susan Musgrave Susan Musgrave (born March 12, 1951) is a Canadian poet and children's writer. She was born in Santa Cruz, California, to Canadian parents, and lives in British Columbia, dividing her time between Sidney and Haida Gwaii. She has been nominated ...

Paul Quarrington Paul Lewis Quarrington (July 22, 1953 – January 21, 2010) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, musician and educator. Background Born in Toronto as the middle of three sons in the family of four of Bruce Quarrington,< ...

Maggie Siggins Marjorie May "Maggie" Siggins (born 28 May 1942) is a Canadian journalist and writer. She was a recipient of the 1992 Governor General's Award for Literary Merit for her non-fiction work ''Revenge of the Land: A Century of Greed, Tragedy and Mur ...

Susan McCaslin Susan Elizabeth McCaslin (born June 3, 1947) is a Canadian poet and writer. Biography McCaslin lives in Fort Langley, British Columbia. She received an M.A. in English (thesis: Edgar Allan Poe) at Simon Fraser University, 1973; and a Ph.D. in ...

and

Susan Swan Susan Swan (born 9 June 1945) is a Canadian author, journalist, and professor. Susan Swan writes classic Canadian novels. Her fiction has been published in 20 countries and translated into 10 languages. She is the co-founder of the Carol Shiel ...

. TWUC headquarters are based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

References

The Canadian Encyclopedia: Writers' Union of Canada
*[http://www.capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca/epic/internet/incapprt-tcrpap.nsf/en/tn00128e.html The Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal - Certification Order - The Writers' Union of Canada (November 17, 1998)]
CBC Arts: Writers' Union 'aghast' at library cuts

External links

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Records of Vancouver Industrial Writers Union are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books

List of members, 2017
(choice) {{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Toronto Arts organizations established in 1973 Canadian writers' organizations