Bridget Canning’s debut novel, The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes, was selected as a finalist for the 2017 BMO Winterset Award, the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award, the NL Fiction Award, and was longlisted for the Dublin International Literary Award. It is currently being adapted to film. Her second novel, Some People’s Children, was a finalist for the 2020 BMO Winterset Award and the Thomas Raddall Award. Her third book and first short story collection, No One Knows About Us, was published by Breakwater Books in the fall of 2022. It has been named a finalist for the 2023 Alistair MacLeod Award.
Bridget holds a Masters of Arts in Creative Writing from Memorial University and a Masters of Literacy Education from Mount Saint Vincent University. In 2019, she received the CBC Emerging Artist Award with ArtsNL. She grew up in Highlands, NL and currently lives in St. John’s.
Below are a few links to Bridget’s publications you can read online or download.
“What’s the Future of the Arts?” from CBC NL.
“The ArtsNL Awards are 35 Years Old: Toasting our artists from a Safe Distance” from CBC NL.
Flash fiction series: “Newfoundland and Labrador Considers How to Maintain its Romance” with The Independent.
“Writing Wanda Jaynes” published with The Newfoundland Quarterly
“Gutless” published with The Word Hoard, November 2016.
“Bradley + Molly 4ever,” (excerpt) Short Fiction Winner, 2016 Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Awards
“Seventeen Minutes,” Fiction Winner, 2016 Literary Writes Competition, Federation of BC Writers
“Hands in Pockets,”which was shortlisted for the 2015 Cuffer Prize.
“Colleen’s Birthday,” Short Fiction Winner, 2015 Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Awards.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Master of English Literature (Creative Writing), Memorial University of Newfoundland (May, 2019)
Master of Literacy Education Degree, Mount St. Vincent University (April, 2014)
Bachelor of Education Degree, Intermediate/Secondary Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland (August 2009)
Bachelor of Arts Degree, English – Major, Women’s Studies – Minor, History – Minor, Memorial University of Newfoundland, (April 1997)
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Finalist for the 2023 Alistair MacLeod Award for No One Knows about Us
- Finalist for the 2022 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award (Fiction) for Some People’s Children
- Finalist for the 2020 Thomas Raddell Award for Some People’s Children
- Finalist for the 2020 BMO Winterset Award for Some People’s Children
- Bronze award for the Miramichi’s Very Best Book Award (Fiction) for Some People’s Children (summer, 2020)
- Winner of the ArtsNL CBC Emerging Artist of the Year, 2018
- Nominated for the 2018 International Dublin Literary Award for The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes
- 2018 Bronze IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction, Canada East for The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes
- Finalist for the 2018 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award (Fiction) for The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes
- Finalist for the 2018 Margaret and John Savage First Book Award (Fiction) for The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes
- Finalist for the 2017 BMO Winterset Award (The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes)
- Selected as one of five winners of the From Our Dark Side genre film contest, 2017
- Cox and Palmer SPARKS Creative Writing Award, 2017
- Short Fiction Award, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Awards, 2016
- Fiction Winner for Federation of British Columbia’s 2016 Literary Writes competition, 2016
- Semi-finalist for the Disquiet International Literary Contest, (The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes, novel excerpt) 2016
- Shortlisted for The Cuffer Prize, 2015
- Selected to apprentice with the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Mentorship Program, 2015
- Third Prize, Quarter Castle Publishing’s Short Story Contest, 2015
- Honorable Mention, The H. R (Bill) Percy Novel Prize for The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes (formerly titled Impulse), 2015
- Short Fiction Award, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Awards, 2015
- The Patricia S. Barnes Memorial Scholarship, 2011/12
PUBLICATIONS AND PROJECTS
- Short Story collection, No One Knows about Us, Breakwater Books, 2022
- Script “Any Good” for Artistic Fraud’s City of Stories series, 2022
- Short story “The Years the Locusts have Eaten” in Hard Ticket, Breakwater Books, 2022
- Script “Don’t Come from Away” for Boco de Lupa’s Red Phone (Fall, 2020)
- Second novel, “Some People’s Children” (Breakwater Books, 2020)
- Essays and flash fiction with “Post Oil” with The Independent (2018/19)
- Essay “Questions and Answers on Flight and Butchery” in Best Kind. (Breakwater Books, 2018)
- Short Story “Bradley and Molly” in What’s Written in the Ladies: Photographs and Scribblings (2018)
- First novel, “The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes” (Breakwater Books, 2017)
- Short story, “Gutless” in Word Hoard, November 2016
- Article, “El Apprendiz,” in WORD, The WANL Quarterly, Summer 2016
- Short story, “Apartment 312” in Riddle Fence #23, 2016
- Short story, “Seventeen Minutes” in WordWorks, Summer 2016
- Short story, “Hands in Pockets” in The Telegram, February 2016
- Short story, “Indonesian Rice Salad” in Quarter Castle Chronicles, Volume One
- Fiction Podcast, “The Black Lit Brawl” (as part of The Naked Parade Writing Collective)
- Radio Play “Catechism” (adaptation of Wayne Johnson’s short story). Broadcast through CHMR fm.
- Short story, “Colleen’s Birthday” in Galleon Magazine, Dec. 2014
- Short story, “Catastropheka” and photography in Paragon Six, Jan. 2015
- Poem, “Driving to Stephenville” and photography in Landwash, Spring 2014
LITERARY WORKSHOPS AND PROJECTS
- Teaching English 3847 Creative Writing: Young Adult Literature, Spring/Summer 2023
- Mentor with WritersNL 2022/23 Mentorship Program
- Taught English 3847 Creative Writing: Young Adult Literature, Spring/Summer 2021
- Flash Fiction Workshop with WANL, March 2018
- Landfall Trust Writers Residency, May 2017
- Co-writer on short film “Casey”, selected for the Picture Start program, Spring 2017
- Volunteer Fiction Editor for Riddle Fence magazine
- Collaborative Fiction Podcast “Naked Parade, The Podcast,” with author Lisa Moore and The Naked Parade Writing Collective, winter, 2016. Broadcast on the CBC YouTube Channel.
- Winterset Emerging Writers Workshop, August 2015
- Collaborative Fiction Podcast, “The Blacklit Brawl,” with author Lisa Moore and The Naked Parade Writing Collective, spring, 2015. Broadcast online with The Overcast.
- Radio Play Workshop with author Ed Riche at Memorial University, Fall 2014. Broadcast through CHMR.fm.
READINGS AND APPEARANCES
- Marble Mountain Literary Festival, 2022
- Writers at Woody Point, August 2021
- Lawnya Vawnya Festival, October, 2020.
- Sparks Literary Festival (Panel Moderator), February 2019
- Winterset Festival, (Eastport, NL) August 2018
- Winterset Ceremony, (St. John’s, NL) March 2018
- The Foglit Festival, September, 2017
- Word Vancouver, September, 2017
- Word on the Street, Halifax, September 2017
- Canada 150 Literary Tour NL, August, 2017
- Ottawa International Writers Festival, July 2017
- Spring Tides Reading Series, June 2017
- Sparks Literary Festival, February 2017
- WANL and Riddle Fence, Fall Readings 2016
- Lawnya Vawnya Festival, May 2016
- Mallard Cottage Writer in Residence Reading, April 2016
Photo by Ritche Perez