Iain Reid, a Kingston, Ont.-based writer, has been named the recipient of the 2015 RBC Taylor Emerging Writer award.
The Emerging Writer award was jointly established by Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and the Taylor Prize, which recognizes excellence in Canadian literary non-fiction. The award provides a prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to be mentored by the 2015 RBC Taylor Prize winner, both of which are meant to provide assistance to the emerging writer as he or she takes on a significant writing project.
RBC Wealth Management is the presenting sponsor of the RBC Taylor Prize. The firm has a long history of supporting aspiring Canadian artists, notes Vijay Parmar, president, RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel Inc., a boutique investment counseling firm within RBC Wealth Management.
“While we believe that it is important to provide monetary assistance, we also recognize the invaluable benefit that this kind of mentorship provides the next generation of writers,” he says.
Reid is the author of two non-fiction books, One Bird’s Choice, which has been translated into multiple languages, and The Truth About Luck, which was named one of the best books of 2013 by the Globe and Mail.
Reid was nominated by Plum Johnson, whose book, They Left Us Everything: A Memoir won the 2015 RBC Taylor Prize in March.
Johnson says her decision to choose Reid went against her initial instincts.
“I had a natural bias towards choosing an older writer on a pension, like me, but Iain’s work smashed my bias to smithereens,” says Johnson. “I’m excited to learn from Iain. We’ll be emerging together.”
“We are excited to bring Iain Reid and Plum Johnson together and wish them both well,” adds Parmar.