Writers’ Trust Hilary Weston Prize
Winner: $60,000; Finalists: $5,000
Sponsored by
Hilary Weston
On May 11, 2011, the Writers’ Trust of Canada announced a generous sponsorship from the Hon. Hilary Weston that will create the largest annual literary award for a book of nonfiction published in Canada: the Writers’ Trust Hilary Weston Prize.
The prize will be presented this fall in Toronto at a gala event which honours the prize finalists and champions their work. An additional education component will be developed to provide Canadian high schools with resources to connect prize finalists and their writing with young readers.
This award succeeds the Writers' Trust Nonfiction Prize, which was without a sponsor since 2008.
About the Prize
The prize is awarded for literary excellence in the category of nonfiction, which includes, among other forms, works of personal or journalistic essays; memoirs; commentary; and criticism, both social and political; history; and biography. Finalist works will demonstrate a distinctive voice, and a persuasive and compelling command of tone, narrative, style, and technique.
About the Sponsor
The Hon. Hilary M. Weston served as the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1997 to 2002. As the Queen’s representative in Ontario, Mrs. Weston was responsible for the Crown’s constitutional and representational roles in the province. Since leaving public office, Mrs. Weston has continued to pursue her diverse interests. She led Renaissance ROM, the largest fundraising campaign in Canadian cultural history, transforming the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. She is a trustee of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and serves on the board of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Mrs. Weston is also Corporate Director of Wittington Investments and Selfridges Group Ltd. She has also served as Deputy Chair of the Board of Holt Renfrew, promoting Canadian designers in the retailing business.
Mrs. Weston founded the Ireland Fund of Canada and remains a Patron of this non-denominational organization promoting peace in Ireland. Her interests in homes and gardens resulted in the publication of In a Canadian Garden (1989) and At Home in Canada (1995). She served as first Chancellor of the Order of Ontario and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003.
Mrs. Weston has been the recipient of six honorary degrees. Born Hilary Frayne in Dublin in 1942, she married Galen Weston in 1966. They moved to Toronto in 1974 and maintain additional residences in Florida and England. Mr. and Mrs. Weston have two married children, Alannah and Galen, and four grandchildren: two girls, Maia and Lola with Alannah and her husband Alex, and two boys, Graydon and Griffin with Galen and his wife Alexandra.
