The Golden Pen Award
We cordially invite WGA members to submit nominations for the 2026 Golden Pen Award. Nominations for the 2026 award will be accepted until December 1, 2025. The Golden Pen Award is presented to acknowledge the lifetime achievements of outstanding Alberta Writers.
Past recipients are W.O. Mitchell, Grant MacEwan, Rudy Wiebe, Myrna Kostash, Robert Kroetsch, Merna Summers, Aritha van Herk, Fred Stenson, George Melnyk, Alice Major, Betty Jane Hegerat, Greg Hollingshead, Candas Jane Dorsey, Cecelia Frey, Bob Stallworthy, Vivian Hansen, Chris Wiseman, Joan Crate, and Marty Chan.
Submissions will open below on September 2nd, 2025 at 9:00 AM MT and close on December 1st, 2025 at 11:59 PM MT.
Nominations can come from the WGA members and the WGA Board of Directors following the guidelines. A nomination letter including the name, notable publications, and significant contributions of the nominee to the Alberta writing landscape is required (between one and three pages). Further eligibility, nomination criteria, and selection process guidelines can be found on Page 24 of the 2026 Alberta Literary Awards Competitions Guidelines here.
For any questions please feel free to contact the Writers’ Guild of Alberta by email at [email protected].