On Jan. 15 Writers’ Trust of Canada launched its 50th anniversary year with a sold-out 2026 Storytellers Ball. Despite the massive winter storm, a record 500 attendees — including more than 55 Canadian authors — gathered at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel to raise more than $600,000 to support the work of the organization. The star-studded night included on-stage moments from such authors as Writers’ Trust founders Margaret Atwood and David Young, Ian Williams, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Waubgeshig Rice, Nita Prose, Vincent Lam and Emma Knight. Poet Anne-Marie Turza was awarded the inaugural $50,000 Writers’ Trust Board Fellowship in recognition of her books and the promise of works to come.
