Blue Metropolis Violet Prize Explained

The Blue Metropolis Violet Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented to an established LGBTQ writer to honour their body of work.^[1] Created by Blue Metropolis, a literary festival in Montreal, Quebec, as part of its LGBTQ-themed Violet Metropolis series, the award was first issued in 2018 and alternate between English language and French language writers.^[2]

The award performs as a complement, rather than competition, to the Dayne Ogilvie Prize, which honours emerging Canadian LGBTQ writers.^[2] The award's corporate sponsor is Air Canada.^[2]

Winners

• 2018 – Nicole Brossard^[1]
• 2019 – Dionne Brand^[3]
• 2020 – Festival cancelled due to the COVID–19 pandemic in Canada; award not presented.
• 2021 – André Roy^[4]
• 2022 – Tomson Highway^[5]
• 2023 – Michel Marc Bouchard^[6]
• 2024 – Sky Gilbert^[7]

Notes and References

1. http://www.fugues.com/251151-article-metropolis-violet-ecrivain-e-s-lgbtq-a-metropolis-bleu.html "Metropolis Violet : Écrivain(e)s LGBTQ à Metropolis bleu"
2. Peter Knegt, "Canadian LGBTQ literature is having a moment, and this Montreal festival is showcasing that". CBC Arts, April 18, 2018.
3. https://www.cbc.ca/books/dionne-brand-named-recipient-of-2019-blue-metropolis-violet-literary-prize-1.5083360 "Dionne Brand named recipient of 2019 Blue Metropolis Violet Literary Prize"
4. Levon Sevunts, "Canada’s Blue Metropolis literary festival set for virtual opening". Radio Canada International, April 17, 2021.
5. Cassandra Drudi, "Eden Robinson and Tomson Highway among winners of 2022 Blue Metropolis prizes". Quill & Quire, May 2, 2022.
6. Jason Paré, "Michel Marc Bouchard: «j’ai le droit de parler de tout»". Métro, April 28, 2023.
7. [Richard Burnett]