Family, colleagues to celebrate late playwright Ross

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This article was published 10/01/2026 (296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg playwright Ian Ross will be remembered at a celebration of life next weekend in an event being organized by the Royal Mantioba Theatre Centre, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Manitoba Theatre for Young People and Ross’ family.

Ross, born in McCreary to a Métis father and Saulteaux mother, died suddenly on Nov. 18, 2025 at age 57. In 1997 his debut play, fareWel, won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama in the English-language category.

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In addition to his work as a playwright, Ross became well-known for the “Joe from Winnipeg” character he developed for CBC Radio.

The celebration of life for Ross takes place Sunday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s John Hirsch Mainstage (174 Market Ave.). Doors open at 1 p.m., with a reception to follow the event. Seating is limited, and a livestream will also be provided via the website for Ross’ obituary at wfp.to/ina.

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Poets, start your engines: the Manitoba Writers’ Guild’s annual poetry prize is now accepting submissions for this year’s award.

The 2026 Rabindranath Tagore Poetry Competition is open for submissions until March 16. The competition is open to Manitoba residents 18 years of age or older; there’s a cost of $15 per submission to cover administrative costs.

The theme for this year’s competition is “A tumultuous journey witih a bright horizon;” jurors are Ariel Gordon, Jane Hebden and Paul Morris. The winner will receive $1,000, second place takes home $350 and third place nets $150, with two honourable mentions up for grabs as well. The winner will be announced in May.

The 2025 winner of the prize was Sean Phillips for the poem Rhodesia. To read the 2025 winning poems, see the Guild’s site at wfp.to/inR; for more on the prize, including submission details and more, see wfp.to/inM.

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Fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous sleuth have two chances this month to enjoy a reading of the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Speckled Band in a period-appropriate venue — Dalnavert Museum and Visitor’s Centre (61 Carlton St.).

An Evening of Sherlock Holmes takes place on two consecutive Fridays — Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 — with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the reading beginning in the parlour at 7. Tickets are $50 plus fees and include a a Holmes-inspired signature cocktail or mocktail during intermission, or $45 plus fees for Dalnavert Museum members. For more information and to get tickets, see wfp.to/inI.

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After launching his debut sports-themed book for young readers, From Challenge to Champion, in April 2025, Winnipeg author Skyler Trepel returns to McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location on Friday at 7 p.m. to launch two more titles in the series.

Young baseball lovers can slide into Inspiring Stoires of Baseball Greats: 12 Uplifting Tales for Kids, while football fans can tackle Inspiring Stories of Football Greats: 12 Uplifting Tales for Kids. Both books were published by Zeitgeist, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and were illustrated by Lorenzo Fornaciari.

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Those unable to attend the launch can watch via McNally Robinson’s YouTube page.

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Winnipeg author and Free Press columnist Niigaan Sinclair has been announced as one of three judges for CBC’s annual non-fiction prize.

Sinclair, who won the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction for his book Wînipêk: Visions for Canada from an Indigenous Centre, will be joined on the jury by Claire Cameron (How to Survive a Bear Attack, the 2025 Governor General’s non-fiction winner) and Teresa Wong (All Our Ordinary Stories).

The winner will receive $6,000 and a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. For more on the prize and how to enter (before March 1, the closing deadline), see wfp.to/inz.

winnipegfreepress.com/bensigurdson