The Lorne Pierce Medal is awarded every two years by the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

to recognize achievement of special significance and conspicuous merit in imaginative or critical

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

written in either

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. The medal was first awarded in 1926. The award itself consists of a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

-plated

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

medal and is currently awarded every two years if there is a suitable candidate. (Between 1926 and 1964 it was awarded annually.) The award bears the name of

Lorne Pierce Lorne Albert Pierce (3 August 1890 – 27 November 1961) was a Canadian publisher, editor, and literary critic. Biography Pierce was born in Delta, Ontario. He attended several universities including Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Vict ...

(1890–1961), who was editor of

Ryerson Press Ryerson Press was a Canadian book publishing company, active from 1919 to 1970.Janet B. Friskney"The Birth of The Ryerson Press Imprint" Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing. First established by the Methodist Book Room, a division of t ...

for forty years, contributing greatly to the development and appreciation of

Canadian literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both g ...

, and who originally established the award.

Recipients

Source
Royal Society of Canada

References

List of past Lorne Pierce Medallists
at the Royal Society of Canada site {{Royal Society of Canada Canadian literary awards Awards established in 1926 1926 establishments in Canada Literary awards honoring writers Royal Society of Canada