We're excited to announce that the winner of our 2026 Creative Nonfiction Contest and $2000 prize is Patti-Kay Hamilton! Her essay "Clawed Back" is featured in the upcoming autumn issue of The Fiddlehead (no.309).
Patti-Kay Hamilton is an award-winning writer who lives in Ft. Smith, NWT, the traditional territory of Métis and Salt River First Nation. The connection of northerners to wilderness inspires Hamilton’s writing, including her book In The Wild: Pi Kennedy a Lifetime Trapper. Currently, she is working on Bushwacking: No Trails in Sight.
"Patti-Kay Hamilton’s skillful writing pulled me in and pulled me along, and at times of revelation, didn’t give everything away. By the end of the story, I felt complete, and wanting more."
— Brian Braganza, Contest Judge
Thank you to all who entered the creative nonfiction contest and congratulations to the fifteen finalists. And thanks again to our judge, Brian Braganza!
Keep an eye out for when our autumn issue goes live to read an excerpt from "Clawed Back"
You can pre-order Issue 309 Autumn 2026 now!
Order Issue 309 - Autumn 2026 (Canadian Addresses)
Order Issue 309 - Autumn 2026 (International Addresses)
