I still can't believe this is real. I won a prize! Thank you, The League of Canadian Poets, thank you, jurors (Cassidy McFadzean, Puneet Dutt, Rion Levy), thank you, Pamela Porter. Congrats to the finalists—I'm in good company. And I'm so proud to be the first-ever recipient of this award.

Jury statement:

"From the first page, Hottest Smartest Self announces a voice that is unmistakably its own—restless, surprising, and alive to the possibilities of language. These poems resist polish and easy cohesion. Instead, the collection embraces risk, strangeness, and a syntax that continually turns away from predictability as it captures the minutiae of everyday life in tandem with the world on the brink of collapse. Not every moment resolves or convinces, but the collection’s daringness—its willingness to be excessive, to reach, even to falter—is its central strength. It is this unpredictability, this sense that anything might happen line to line, that compels rereading and ultimately sets the book apart as a linguistically vibrant and memorable collection of poetry."

Keep your pants on for now—my Hottest Smartest Self will be unveiled in Spring 2028 (ECW Press).