Bren Simmers is a Canadian poet and writer. She is the author of four collections of poetry: Night Gears (Wolsak and Wynn 2010),Bren Simmers' debut collection of poetry with Wolsak and Wynn Hastings-Sunrise (Nightwood Editions 2015),Hastings-Sunrise named one of 15 poetry books to watch for in 2015 If, When (Gaspereau Press 2021),Annick MacAskill Reviews Bren Simmers Work of Labour and Inheritance. Atlantic Books, August 11, 2021. and The Work (Gaspereau Press, 2024). She is also the author of Pivot Point (Gaspereau Press 2019),Pivot Variations: A Review by Lynn Davies of Bren Simmers' "Pivot Point". The Fiddlehead, October 8, 2021. a lyrical account of a nine-day wilderness canoe trip through the Bowron Lakes canoe circuit in British Columbia.
Born in Vancouver, she studied writing at the University of Victoria and has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. She is the winner of 2022 CBC Poetry PrizeP.E.I. writer Bren Simmers wins 2022 CBC Poetry Prize for work inspired by how Alzheimer's affects language. CBC Books, November 24, 2022. for Spell World Backwards, a collection of poems inspired by how Alzheimer's affects language. Her book Hastings-Sunrise was a finalist for the 2015 City of Vancouver Book Award.2015 City of Vancouver Book Award Finalists Announced, BC Alliance for Arts + Culture, October 13, 2015. She is also the winner of an Arc Poetry Magazine Poem of the Year Award,Poem of the Year Winners Announced. Arc Poetry Magazine, September 16, 2006. a finalist for The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize,2011 Long Poem Prize Winners, The Malahat Review. and was a finalist for the 2006 Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award. She lives on Prince Edward Island.
The Work was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry at the 2024 Governor General's Awards.Cassandra Drudi, "Canisia Lubrin, Danny Ramadan among 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award finalists". Quill & Quire, October 8, 2024.
In 2025, she won the Pat Lowther Award from the League of Canadian Poets for The Work,"Marc Perez, Bren Simmers and Chimwemwe Undi win 2025 League of Canadian Poets prizes". CBC Books, May 20, 2025. and was named as the recipient of the Latner Griffin Writers' Trust Poetry Prize by the Writers' Trust of Canada for her overall body of work.Cassandra Drudi, "Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Maria Reva, Roza Nozari among Writers’ Trust award winners". Quill & Quire, November 13, 2025.
Bibliography Night Gears, Wolsak and Wynn, October 2010, Hastings-Sunrise, Nightwood Editions, March 2015, Pivot Point, Gaspereau Press, October 2019, If, When, Gaspereau Press, 2021,
References