Griffin Poetry Prize to hold town hall as it reconsiders award format

TORONTO – The Griffin Poetry Prize will host a town hall as part of its plan to re-evaluate its format.

Prize benefactor Scott Griffin solicited online feedback last month on the literary award, after three years of backlash over a change he made to the award that bears his name.

The Griffin Poetry Prize used to be two awards — one for an international poet and one for a Canadian — worth $65,000 apiece, but in 2022 Griffin announced he would combine the prizes into a single $130,000 pot open to all poets.

Critics argued the change took away an opportunity for Canadian poets, and the Griffin Trust launched the survey weeks after this year’s long list came out with no Canadian names on it.

The organization says there were 285 respondents to the survey, 126 of whom were interested in attending an online town hall and 39 of who wanted to go in-person in Toronto.

The organization says the town hall will be held at noon on May 25, just over a week before this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize is set to be handed out.

The town hall will be both in-person and online, with those attending physically invited to speak first, followed by those on the Zoom call.

The in-person event will be held at Victoria College at the University of Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2026.