“…spellbinding in the way they transform small, quiet moments…”
Calgary-based author and poet Renato Gandia wins the 2026 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers Poetry for his poem “In ‘Psalmody for the Estranged.”
“In ‘Psalmody for the Estranged,’ Renato Gandia reminds us of the affinity between prayer and poetry, says the jury.
The jury said Gandia achieved “ the ancient task set out for a poet: to reveal the profound in the seemingly ordinary and to bring our ear closer to what resonates with meaning.”
“These poems appeal to our basic needs to belong, to experience awe, to be seen, and to be accepted. They are alchemical and spellbinding in the way they transform small, quiet moments — a turn of phrase, a partner’s touch, familiar objects, a domestic routine — into moments of sacred encounter. The understated nature of Gandia’s poems is what lets them shine. We are immersed in a world resonant with devotion and reverence for the everyday.”
A prolific writer, Gandia’s work explores the intersections of identity, faith, sexuality, and migration. His poetry won the 2025 Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize and was shortlisted for the 2026 Open Season Awards at The Malahat Review. His short stories have appeared in international queer anthologies, and his personal essay appears in Magdaragat. Gandia’s debut portfolio comprises three completed, unpublished manuscripts: his memoir Unpriesting, his poetry collection Eating Rice on Our Feet, and the literary novel Anatomy of Compersion.
His piece ‘Tubigan, tumbang preso, taguan, and other preludes to a trauma ‘ is one of more than 40 works in Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino Canadian Writing published in 2023 by Cormorant Books.
A former Edmonton Sun and Calgary Sun reporter, he is Managing Editor of Salingpusa (salingpusa.com) Calgary’s literary magazine where his writings are mostly found.
