Island Literary Awards on a yearlong timeout to let organizers write some new chapters

The Island Literary Awards is taking a one-year break to focus on a new chapter in its 37-year history.

But don't read anything sinister into it. The P.E.I.Writers' Guild, which organizes the event, is using the time to make the competition a bigger deal in 2025.

Shawn Hogan, executive director of the guild, says they want more Island writers to feel celebrated at the event.

"We think the time is now to move forward and to make it bigger and better than ever — that's the hope," he said in an interview with Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie. "We have some of the best writers in the country here on this Island. They deserve to be celebrated at the highest level and that's what we're trying to achieve."

He said the guild would like the awards to be "like a red carpet affair," with live music, but planning those changes while holding a 2024 edition of the awards was proving to be too challenging.

Hogan also said contacting sponsors is a big part of the job, and the guild aims to develop a more sustainable sponsorship model during the break.

Last year, the guild received 175 submissions in advance of the awards ceremony.

"We want to increase those submissions from 175 to 275, to 300," Hogan said. "We want it to grow more and more, and really celebrate all Island writers."

The Island Literary Awards have been handed out on P.E.I. since 1987.

"They encourage emerging writers, provide credentials for those climbing the literary ladder, and raise the profile of established authors," the guild said in a Jan. 2 news release. "This brief interlude is a strategic step toward ensuring that the awards continue to fulfil these essential functions in an ever-evolving literary landscape."