PEN Canada is seeking nominations from peers and civil society partners for two annual awards: the Ken Filkow Prize, for advancing freedom of expression in Canada, and the Marie-Ange Garrigue Prize, for assisting a writer in danger outside of Canada. The prizes are valued at $2,000 and $3,000, respectively.

The public is encouraged to make a nominations of anyone whose work has made an impact. This can be someone you know, heard of, worked with, volunteered with, or read the work of.

Nominees can be individuals or organizations, or a combination of both. Previous winners have been journalists, newspaper publishers, activists, paralegals, writers and documentarians, although anyone can be nominated. The deadline for nominations is Monday June 16, 2025.

This year’s nominees will be judged by a panel that includes Dan David, Hasmik Egian and Matt Hatfield:

Dan David

Dan David has been a journalist at CBC, TVO, and VISION-TV, published by THIS Mag, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Montreal Gazette, Aboriginal Voices, and Windspeaker, a journalism trainer in South Africa, Indonesia and Azerbaijan. He founded APTN News.

Hasmik Egian

Hasmik Egian was the Director of the UN Security Council Affairs Division from 2016 to 2022. For over 30 years, she held senior positions in the UN system where her assignments included peacekeeping (Cambodia, Tajikistan), peacebuilding (Somalia, Syria), and humanitarian and development work (Iraq, UNICEF in Tanzania and the Middle East Region). She retired from the UN in 2022. She holds an MA in political science from Carleton University, and a BA in Russian Literature and Political Science from McGill University.

Matt Hatfield

Matt is OpenMedia’s Executive Director, Canada’s leading digital rights community that works for an open, accessible, and democratic Internet. He holds a BA in International Relations from the University of British Columbia, and a Masters of Global Affairs from the University of Toronto.