Alt tag
MFA in Writing student Robert Benz

MFA in Writing Student Wins Inaugural Sharon Butala Award in Writing

The first winner of the Sharon Butala Award in Writing is USask MFA in Writing student Robert Benz.

News

An award-winning author of many books, Sharon Butala attended the University of Saskatchewan, where her studies  formed the foundation of her long writing career. Butala generously gifted the MFA in Writing with a scholarship intended specifically for a student who has been out of high school for a period of more than six years.

During the 1980s, Robert Benz was a bush pilot in northern Saskatchewan and the Territories. He holds a B.A. Honours in English (1991) and began his MFA in Writing studies in 2023. Since 1991, he has acted on stages across western Canada. He writes poetry and lyrical short stories, and he has recently had work published in New Welsh Review, The Dalhousie Review, The Antigonish Review, and The New Quarterly. Congratulations, Robert!


Related Articles

Alumni Book Nook: Tasha Hilderman (BA’04)

USask graduate Tasha Hilderman (BA'04) is the author of Métis Like Me, an award-winning children’s picture book inspired by her own childhood

Student Intern Kyle Jansen Covers Writing North 2025 Feature Talk

Writing North 15; Jane Urquhart’s Prairie Rumours By Kyle Jansen