An organization founded 45 years ago by can-lit legends Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton and Margaret Laurence is doubling the yearly prize for emerging Canadian writers to $10,000.

The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award is administered by the Writers’ Trust of Canada and recognizes authors under 35 years of age who have yet to publish a book. It had previously alternated yearly between poetry and short stories. This year the genres will be awarded their own prize and the three finalists in each will receive $2,500.

The executive director of the Writers’ Trust says the award is one of the most highly regarded recognitions a young Canadian writer can receive and boasts a remarkable list of alumni including Newfoundland-based author Michael Crummey.

The prize was established in 1994 in memory of Bronwen Wallace. Over the course of her career, she wrote five poetry collections, two short story collections and one essay collection. She died of cancer in 1989 at the age of 44..

Submissions for the 2020 prize are open until February 25th.