Launched in 2025, the Fabienne de Cartier Award for Poetry is a newly established annual award for a young and emerging Ontario poet. The recipient will be recognized for their passion for the form, their courage to experiment and their commitment to artistic expression as they work to find their voice. Fabienne de Cartier was a young poet and activist from Toronto.

A talented and expressive writer, Fabienne’s poetic practice came into focus in her early teens, a prolific and powerful creative period. Voracious and conscientious in her work, Fabienne explored and embraced many different forms of expression. A member of the BAM! Youth Poetry Slam Team (watch her performance of “Worth the Pain” here), founder of Bottom of the Heart, an online zine for and by young writers, and published author (read short story, “Labour of Love” here), Fabienne eagerly practiced and perfected her techniques on her favourite themes – hope, resilience and social justice. Established by her family and friends in her honour, this Award ensures that Fabienne’s spirit – in particular her love of poetry, her experiences with writing as a means of processing and understanding her life, and her deep commitment to poetry as a worthy and precious form of expression – will inspire for many years to come. 

Prize recipients will be selected from applicants to the Literary Creation Projects program through the Ontario Arts Council.