The finalists for the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers have been announced.

A part of the RBC Emerging Artists Project, the $5,000 prize, which alternates annually between poetry and short fiction, aims to recognize Canadian writers under 35 not yet published in book form.

A jury comprising poets Fiona Tinwel Lam, Rachel Rose, and Nilofar Shidmehr selected the following shortlist from 136 submissions:

• Irfan Ali, Who I Think About When I Think About You
• Alessandra Naccarato, Re-Origin of Species
• Chuqiao Yang, Roads Home

Each finalist will receive $1,000 and mentorship by an established poet, and will have their nominated work made available for download on iBooks. The winner will be announced at an event hosted by writer Tanis Rideout at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto on May 26.