One of Canada’s biggest nonfiction prizes, The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, has been renamed the RBC Taylor Prize and is adding a new prize for an emerging writer.
The C$25,000 prize was created by Noreen Taylor in honor of her husband, literary nonfiction writer Charles Taylor in 1998. Three years ago, RBC Wealth Management, part of the Canadian bank RBC, became a sponsor.
Announcing the rebranding, Taylor said, “RBC Wealth Management has been a marvelous partner and presenting sponsor. They have widened the prize reach by touring the past Charles Taylor Prize winners in cities across Canada, as well as providing North American (and in fact worldwide) awareness of both the finalists and winners through vehicles like the four-page New Yorker insert. Now joining forces in a more integrated manner, the name change signals an integrated approach between RBC and the Charles Taylor Foundation, enabling the prize to expand its recognition of excellence to emerging literary non-fiction writers.”
The new C$10,000 Emerging Writer’s Award will be awarded annually to a literary nonfiction writer between the ages of 18 to 35. According to the announcement from prize organizers, the recipient will be chosen by each year’s RBC Taylor Prize winner and will reflect that author’s wish to champion their chosen writer.
The rebranding includes a new cornerstone and seal created by Toronto typographer and graphic designer Peter Enneson, which incorporates the signature Charles Taylor Prize monogram within updated versions of the traditional prize cornerstone and seal.
