Announcing the winners of the 2025 On Creative Writing poetry contest!

First place in the 2025 On Creative Writing Contest is Jody Baltessen of Winnipeg, Canada, left. And second price winner is Taraneh Ghajar Jerven who lives in who lives in Ås, Norway.

We are thrilled to share the winners of the 2025 On Creative Writing poetry contest, held late last year. After reading through a wealth of incredible submissions from around the world, our judges have selected two outstanding winners and one honourable mention.

The talent displayed in this year's entries made the selection process a difficult but rewarding task. We are honoured to provide a platform for these powerful poetic voices.

Thank you to the sponsors

This contest would not have been possible without the generous support of

our sponsors. We thank:

Noelle Allen, owner of the literary press, Wolsak and Wynn.

Hollay Ghadery, owner of River Street Writing, which provides publicity and

author support services.

Meet our distinguished judges Kim Mannix and Rob Winger

Judges Kim Mannix and Rob Winger

This year’s contest was adjudicated by two incredible Canadian poets: Kim Mannix is an Edmonton-based poet and author of the brand-new collection, Confirm Humanity (Wild Skies Press, 2025).

Rob Winger is a poet and professor of Canadian literature and creative writing at Trent University. His most recent collection is It Doesn’t MatterWhat We Meant (M&S, 2021).

On Creative Writing's founder Sheelagh Caygill extends her gratitude to Kim

and Rob for their time, their expertise, and the care they took in reading and

re-reading each submission. The judging for the contest was blind. This means that Sheelagh handled the administration and took a backseat for the judging, while Kim and Rob carefully read and thoughtfully considered all the entries.

The winners of the 2025 On Creative Writing poetry contest

First place: Jody Baltessen

Poem: "Extracts from a New Dictionary of Archives Terminology". Prize: $300.

The judges’ remarks: "This is the kind of poem that insists on being re-read, revisited, sat with, and pondered. An evident dedication to craft and intentional word selection causes a substantial layering of image after image – a pile of poetic moments – to resonate. The structure is dense, yet carefully created to allow for breathing room and pause, for complementary nods to nature, both beautiful and dangerous, and for vital intersections between the body, feeling, and human struggle."

About the poet: Jody Baltessen is an award-winning poet, writer, and archivist. Her poetry explores place and the archive, drawing on the materiality and layered meanings of landscapes and records, and the history of the archive itself. Her work has been published in The Goose: A Journal of Arts, Environment, and Culture in Canada, Prairie Fire, Hamilton Arts &; Letters (HA&L), Grain, Pangyrus, and elsewhere. Her book reviews can be found online at: prairiefire.ca. She lives in Winnipeg on Treaty 1 Territory / Homeland of the Red River Metis.

Second place: Taraneh Ghajar Jerven

Poem: "Geiranger Fjord" Prize: $150

The judges’ remarks: "This poem’s striking economy of language is deceptively simple; but that simplicity reveals a complexity at the heart of the poem’s energies, wherein 'The sun only lights / one side of the fjord valley at a time; and ‘the children had to wear ropes / around their waists / collecting chicken eggs, so they didn’t fall / into the gemstone water.' This balance between falling and staying steady lasts throughout, all the way up to and including the poem’s resonant conclusion.”

About the poet: Taraneh Ghajar Jerven is a debut poet who lives in Ås, Norway. She has only recently started entering poetry contests, and second place with the On Creative Writing contest is her first poetry prize. Taraneh has previously published travel guides on Norway with Penguin Random House and Cappelen Damm. Her poems are the place where she is united with her purpose for being part of the great human experiment, and that she wants to live in that place and share that place. Her current poetry project explores themes of immigration and emigration.

Honourable mention: Melissa Thorne

Poem: "Company Man"

The judges’ remarks: "This poem’s careful linguistic control and formal intentionality enable moments of biting comedy, clever diction, and resonant insight."

About the poet: Melissa Thorne (she/her) lives in Cobourg, Ontario. She is an associate member of The League of Canadian Poets and was recently featured in their Fresh Voices series. Her poetry is published or forthcoming in ROOM Magazine, WEI Magazine, The South Shore Review, and Eavesdrop Magazine. When not writing, she reluctantly serves as the social media manager for her Irish Wolfhound, Walter, who recently went viral on Instagram.

And, not least, thank you to the judges, Kim and Rob, and to the poets who

entered the contest.