The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, established in 1986, is awarded annually to the best collection of poetry by a resident of British Columbia, Canada.
One of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, the award was originally known as the B.C. Prize for Poetry. In 1989, it was renamed after poet Dorothy Livesay, whose Day and Night (1944) and Poems for People (1947) received the Governor General's Award for Poetry
Recipients +Prize winners and finalists Year Author Title Result Ref.1986Poetry HotelWinnerLetters for Some IslandsShortlistShortlist1987Candy from StrangersWinnerShortlistShortlist1988All I Ever Needed was a Beautiful RoomWinnerEight PoemsShortlist Shortlist1989Circling NorthWinnerDancing StarShortlistwhat we haveShortlist1990SuitcaseWinnerShortlistShortlist1991Down TimeWinnerHard 2 beleevShortlistHanging FireShortlist1992PulplogWinnerShortlistCompany TownShortlist1993Inkorrect ThotsWinnerHow Do You Feel?ShortlistPolite to Bees: A BestiaryShortlist1994WinnerPoems New and SelectedShortlistGhost in the GearsShortlist1995Hard CandyWinnerEd and Mabel Go to the MoonShortlistMêmewarsShortlist1996Too Spare, Too FierceWinnerTo this Cedar FountainShortlistShortlist1997WinnerAutobiographyShortlistSeeing in the DarkShortlist1998What I Remember from My Time on EarthWinnerIvanhoe StationShortlistHeaven CakeShortlist1999How I Joined Humanity at LastWinnerSt. Mary at MainShortlistSongs for Relinquishing the EarthShortlist2000What the Living Won't Let GoWinner49th Parallel PsalmShortlist Things That Keep and Do Not ChangeShortlistLove and Other Things That HurtShortlistShortlist2001Another GravityWinnerHis LifeShortlistShortlistWater StairShortlistSlow-Moving TargetShortlist2002Short Haul EngineWinnerUnderstanding HeavenShortlistInto the Early HoursShortlistThis Tremor Love IsShortlistShortlist2003peter among th towring boxes / text bitesWinnerGround WaterShortlistShamelessShortlistShortlistMy Father's CupShortlist2004Taking the Names Down from the HillWinnerShortlistUrsa MajorShortlistShortlistHouse Built of RainShortlist2005Robinson's CrossingWinnerShortlistShortlistGo LeavingShortlistShortlist2006Vancouver WalkingWinnerAnarchiveShortlistSiltShortlistAnything But the MoonShortlistThirty-seven Small Songs & Thirteen SilencesShortlist2007Strike / SlipWinnerBackup to BabylonShortlistAnatomy of KeysShortlistShortlistMoving DayShortlist2008ForageWinnerShortlistPaper TrailShortlistOxShortlistSoft GeographyShortlist2009WinnerWater StriderShortlistChameleon HoursShortlistShirin and Salt ManShortlistVancouver: A PoemShortlist2010Is a DoorWinner Red NestShortlistAutomaton BiographiesShortlistHarbourShortlistShortlist2011On the MaterialWinnerDecompositionsShortlistMy Darling Nellie GreyShortlistShortlistShortlist2012CrawlspaceWinnerShortlistDemeter Goes SkydivingShortlistDiscovery PassagesShortlistOyama Pink ShaleShortlist2013Geographies of a LoverWinnerShortlistIKMQShortlistShortlistNight-EaterShortlist2014WinnerShortlistWoodShortlistchildren of air india: un/authorized exhibits and interjectionsShortlistBirds, Metals, Stones and RainaShortlist2015From the PoplarsWinnerDreamland TheatreShortlistSchoolShortlistFor Your Safety Please Hold OnShortlistWashitaShortlist2016Transmitter and ReceiverWinnerTwoismShortlistWhere the words end and my body beginsShortlistShortlistForeign ParkShortlist2017If I Were in a Cage I’d Reach Out for YouWinnerpoemwShortlist100 DaysShortlistSleeping in Tall GrassShortlist2018Prison Industrial Complex ExplodesWinnerFrequent, small loads of laundryShortlistShortlistShortlistFragments, DesireShortlist2019Our Familiar HungerWinnerQuarrelsShortlistPort of BeingShortlist and Rita Wongbeholden, a poem as long as the riverShortlistShortlist2020How She ReadWinnerHymnswitchShortlistDunk TankShortlistSH:LAM (The Doctor)ShortlistSonnet's ShakespeareShortlist2021Burning ProvinceWinnerShortlisteat salt | gaze at the oceanShortlistI Am Still Your Negro: An Homage to James BaldwinShortlistMusic at the Heart of Thinking: Improvisations 1-170Shortlist2022No ShelterWinnerAntonyms for DaughterShortlistblue gaitShortlistGhosthawkShortlistPebble SwingShortlist2023A is for AcholiWinnerSara Horowitz, "BC and Yukon Book Prizes announce 2023 winners". The Georgia Straight, September 25, 2023. Shortlist HARROWINGSEach One a Furnace Test Piece 2024 Jess Housty Crushed Wild Mint Winner Cassandra Drudi, "Darrel J. McLeod, John Vaillant among BC and Yukon Book Prize winners". Quill & Quire, September 30, 2024. Dominique Bernier-Cormier Entre Rive and Shore Shortlist Kristi Alexandra, "BC and Yukon Book Prizes reveals shortlist". The Georgia Straight, April 11, 2024. Samantha Nock A Family of Dreamers Bradley Peters Sonnets from a Cell Cathy Stonehouse Dream House2025 Leanne Dunic wet Winner "Sarah Leavitt, Minelle Mahtani and Li Charmaine Anne among 2025 BC and Yukon Book Prizes winners". CBC Books, September 23, 2025. Kayla Czaga Midway Shortlist Cassandra Drudi, "Finalists announced for 2025 B.C. and Yukon Book Prizes". Quill & Quire, April 10, 2025. Dallas Hunt Teeth Zehra Naqvi The Knot of My Tongue Shō Yamagushiku shima2026 Amber Dawn Buzzkill Clamshell Winner Cassandra Drudi, "Maria Reva, Julian Brave NoiseCat among winners of B.C. and Yukon Book Prizes". Quill & Quire, September 21, 2026. Lorna Goodison The Inferno Shortlist Cassandra Drudi, "Finalists announced for 2026 B.C. and Yukon Book Prizes". Quill & Quire, April 14, 2026. Joseph Kidney Devotional Forensics Rahat Kurd The Book of Z Bruce McRae Boxing in the Bone
See also Canadian poetry List of poetry awards List of years in poetry List of years in literature
References
External links Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize , official website BC Book Prizes Web site