St. John’s city councillor Maggie Burton wins Canadian First Book Prize

A city councillor for St. John’s, N.L., has won the Canadian First Book Prize, administered by the Griffin Poetry Prize.

Maggie Burton received the $10,000 award for her poetry collection “Chores.”

Judges describe the collection as both “traditional and inventive.”

In addition to serving her second term as councillor-at-large in the capital city of Newfoundland and Labrador, Burton is a professional violinist.

Burton is just the second winner of the Canadian First Book Prize, which the Griffin Poetry Prize established after combining its Canadian and international categories into one global winner.

It goes to the best debut poetry collection by a Canadian or permanent resident of Canada published in English in the previous year.