The Allan Slaight Prize

Congratulations to Sharon J. Riley, winner of the 2020 Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism for her story “The Age of Surrender”, which analyzes how our medical systems strip some elders of their autonomy and how this loss of control affects them and their families.

The Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism celebrates journalistic achievements by contributors to The Walrus. Launched in 2017 by The Slaight Family Foundation, the $10,000 prize is awarded to an independent journalist for their work researching, analyzing, and writing about some of the most important topics of our time. A jury of industry specialists reviews more than fifty long-form articles published by The Walrus each year and selects a longlist of ten stories, a shortlist of three finalists, and the recipient of the prize.

The full 2020 Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism longlist:

The Digital Afterlife by BRIAN J. BARTH
What Would It Look Like to Take the First Nations Water Crisis Seriously? by HILARY BEAUMONT
Objectivity Is a Privilege Afforded to White Journalists by PACINTHE MATTAR
The Butterfly Effect by SHERINA HARRIS
Did Prisons Ever Work? by LAUREN MCKEON
How to Vaccinate a Planet by DANIELLE GROEN
How a Good Scam Can Bypass Our Defences by BRUCE GRIERSON
The Search for Mackie Basil by ANNIE HYLTON
Your Brain on COVID-19 by CAROLYN ABRAHAM

About the Jury

The Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism Jury

Oscar Baker III is the Indigenous affairs reporter at the Cape Breton Post. He is from Elsipogtog First Nation and St. Augustine, Florida, and has held various journalism roles in his seven-year career, including as the JHR Indigenous Editorial Fellow at The Walrus in 2019. @oggycane4lyfe.

Peter Klein is the executive director and founder of the Global Reporting Centre. He was a long-time producer for the CBS News program 60 Minutes and has produced projects for many of the major news programs, including Frontline, Nightline, and 20/20. He has written for the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and other newspapers. Among many other accolades, Peter’s work has been honoured with three Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. @peterwklein

Vicky Mochama is a journalist and writer. @vmochama

Elizabeth Renzetti is a columnist at the Globe and Mail, reporter, editor, and The Walrus Talks speaker. She recently won the Landsberg Award from The Canadian Journalism Foundation in association with the Canadian Women’s Foundation, which recognizes excellence in research, analysis, and reporting through a gender lens. @lizrenzetti

The Slaight Family Foundation

The Walrus gratefully acknowledges The Slaight Family Foundation for their leadership in establishing this prize and their support of our work through The Allan Slaight Writers’ Fund since 2009.

About Allan Slaight

Allan Slaight was one of Canada’s pre-eminent entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Among other things, Allan created Canada’s largest privately owned multimedia company, Standard Broadcasting, and was instrumental in bringing the Raptors Toronto. He served as the chair of the United Way of Greater Toronto and the Shaw Festival. As a former radio news director early in his career, Allan was pleased to support serious journalism through The Allan Slaight Writers’ Fund at The Walrus and The Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism.

About The Slaight Family Foundation

Established in 2008, The Slaight Family Foundation is committed to making a difference. The foundation supports projects at the local and international levels related to health care, social services, and arts and culture, as well as at-risk children and youth. The Slaight Family Foundation undertakes bold new approaches to philanthropy to increase impact and improve the lives of those in need at home and abroad.