The Francesco Giuseppe Bressani Literary Prize is a biennial award created by the Italian Cultural Centre Society of Vancouver in 1986. It was created to promote and honour Canadian writers of Italian descent. There are $1000 prizes for poetry (at least 20 poems), fiction (minimum 50 pages) and short fiction (minimum 8000 characters). A fourth "special category" prize has been given out since 2006. Works are eligible if published from January 1 of one year to March 31 of the next year. Submissions must be from Canadian citizens or permanent residents of 16 or older who have at least one parent or grandparent born in Italy, and can be in Italian, English or French. The Prize is named after the Italian Jesuit missionary

Francesco Giuseppe Bressani Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

. The Prize was discontinued in 1995, but the Italian Cultural Centre appointed a new F.G. Bressani Committee in 2000 when it was reinstated.

Winners

1986 *''From the Frontier to the Little Italies: The Italians in Canada 1800-1941'' by Robert F. Harney' 1988 *''Forty Days and Forty Nights'' (poetry in English) by

John Terpstra John Terpstra (born in Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the ...

*''In the Skin of a Lion'' (prose in English) by

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

*''Autostrada per la Luna'' (poetry in Italian) by Silvano Zumaro 1990 *''Ink from an Octopus'' (poetry) by Len Gasparini *''The Lives of the Saints'' (prose) by

Nino Ricci Nino Pio Ricci (born 1959) is a Canadian novelist who lives in Toronto, Ontario.Nino Ricci's
...

1992 *''Life in Another Language'' (poetry) by Liliane Welch *''A Planet of Eccentrics ''(prose) by Ven Begamudre 1994 *''Gardening in the Tropics'' (poetry) by

Olive Senior Olive Marjorie Senior (born 23 December 1941) is a Jamaican poet, novelist, short story and non-fiction writer based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was awarded the Musgrave Gold Medal in 2005 by the Institute of Jamaica for her contribution ...

*''The Book of Secrets'' (prose) by

M.G. Vassanji Moyez G. Vassanji (born 30 May 1950 in Kenya) is a Canadian novelist and editor, who writes under the name M. G. Vassanji. Vassanji's work has been translated into several languages. As of 2020, he has published nine novels, as well as two sho ...

1996, 1998 Hiatus 2000 *''Interference'' (poetry) by Concetta Principe *''The City of Yes'' (novel) by

Peter Oliva Peter Oliva (born 1964) is a Canadian novelist who lives in Calgary, Alberta. His first novel, ''Drowning in Darkness'' (1993–1999), won the Writers Guild of Alberta Best First Book Award and was shortlisted for a Bressani Prize. The book is ...

*''The Closer We Are to Dying'' (short fiction) by Joe Fiorito 2002 *''Selected Poems'' (poetry) by Fulvio Caccia *''Winter in Montreal'' (novel) by Pietro Corsi *''Fabrizio's Passion'' (novel) by

Antonio D'Alfonso Antonio D'Alfonso (born 6 August 1953)Filippo Salvatore, ''Ancient Memories, Modern Identities''. Guernica Editions, 1999. . is a Canadian writer, editor, publisher, and filmmaker, best known as the founder of Guernica Editions. Biography Anto ...

*''Breaking the Mould'' (short fiction) by

Penny Petrone Dr. Penny Serafina Petrone (1925 – August 22, 2005) was a Canadian writer, educator, patron of the arts, and philanthropist. Early life and education She was the daughter of Luisa Sisco and Luigi Petrone and sister to the lawyer Alfred Petrone ...

2004 *''Ariadne's Thread'' (poetry) by

Carmelo Militano Carmelo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Carmelo Anthony (born 1984), American basketball player * Carmelo Antrone Lee (born 1977), Puerto Rican basketball player * Carmelo Bene (1937–2002), Italian director, actor, phi ...

*''Italian Shoes'' (novel) by Frank G. Paci 2006 *''With English Subtitles'' (poetry) by

Carmine Starnino Carmine Starnino is a Canadians, Canadian poet, essayist, educator and editing, editor. Biography He was born in 1970 in Montreal, Quebec, into an Italian people, Italian heritage. His first poetry collection ''The New World'' (1997) was nomina ...

*''Cristallo'' (novel) by Mena Martini *''Leftovers'' (short fiction) by

Fabrizio Napoleone Fabrizio is an Italian first name, from the Latin word "Faber" meaning "smith" and may refer to: * Fabrizio Angileri (born 1994), Argentine footballer * Fabrizio Barbazza (born 1963), Italian Formula One driver * Fabrizio Barca (born 1954), Italian ...

*''Baseballissimo'' (creative non-fiction) by

Dave Bidini Dave Bidini (born September 11, 1963) is a Canadian musician and writer. Originally from Etobicoke, Ontario, he was a founding member of the rock band Rheostatics, and currently performs with Bidiniband. In addition, he has published several bo ...

2008 *''You Speak to Me in Trees'' (poetry) by

Elana Wolff Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) is an initiative created by NASA to attract and retain students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. The program is managed by the Launch Services Program (LSP) at NASA ...

*''Magnifico'' (novel) by

Victoria Miles Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

*''Making Olives'' (short fiction) by

Darlene Madott Darlene may refer to: *Darlene (given name), people with the given name Darlene *Darlene (artist) Darlene Jean Pekul (born 1954, Wisconsin), now just known as Darlene (she legally dropped her surname in 1984), is an American artist and calligra ...

*''The Clothesline'' (creative non-fiction) by

Donna Caruso Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name Places *Donna, Texas, USA *Dønna ...

2010 *''This Nothing's Place'' (poetry) by

Pasquale Verdicchio Pasquale Verdicchio (born March 4, 1954) is an Italian Canadian poet, critic and translator teaching in the US at UCSD. Born in Naples, Italy, he moved to Vancouver BC in the late 60s. He received his BA from University of Victoria, MA from the Uni ...

*''Berlin'' (fiction) by

Michael Mirolla Michael Mirolla is a Canadian novelist, short story writer, poet and playwright who lives in Oakville, Ontario. Mirolla was awarded the Bressani Award for his novel ''Berlin'' in 2010 (Leapfrog Press). He has won the Bressani Award a total of thr ...

*''Made Up of Arias'' (short fiction) by

Michelle Alfano Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish w ...

*''Finding Rosa'' (emigration from Italy) by

Caterina Edwards Caterina Edwards LoVerso (born 1948) is a Canadian writer and teacher. Edwards was born in Earls Barton, England. Her mother was born in Lussino, Istria, and her father is from a Welsh and English family. Edwards eventually moved to Calgary an ...

2012 *''Dancing, with Mirrors'' (poetry) by George Amabile *''The Good Doctor'' (fiction) by Vince Agro *''Small Change'' (short fiction) by George Amabile *''Whoever Gives Us Bread'' (creative non-fiction) by Lynne Bowen 2014 *''The House on 14th Avenue'' (poetry) by

*''Stations of the Heart'' (fiction) by

*''Sweets'' (short fiction) by Eufemia Fantetti *''The Figures of Beauty'' (Italian theme) by David Macfarlane 2016 *''Lessons in Relationships Dyads'' (short stories) by

Past winners are listed at the end of the document

References

{{Reflist Canadian literary awards