WRITER & EDITOR
Conyer Clayton is an award-winning writer and editor from Kentucky currently living in Ottawa. They are the author of But the sun, and the ships, and the fish, and the waves. (A Feed Dog Book by Anvil Press, 2022, Winner of The Archibald Lampman Award and Finalist for the Pat Lowther, Raymond Souster, and ReLit Awards) and We Shed Our Skin Like Dynamite (Guernica Editions, 2020, Winner of the Ottawa Book Award). They've also released the album Further Behind You and many other solo and collaborative chapbooks, musical releases, and sound-based works.
They are the winner of The Capilano Review's 2019 Robin Blaser Poetry Prize and Arc Poetry Magazine's 2017 Diana Brebner Prize, and their collaborative chapbook with Manahil Bandukwala, Sprawl | the time it took us to forget (Collusion Books, 2020) was shortlisted for the 2021 bpNichol Chapbook Award. Their poetry, fiction, and nonfiction have appeared in The Ex-Puritan, Room Magazine, THIS Magazine, filling station, Best Canadian Poetry 2023, Canthius, Arc Poetry Magazine, CV2, The Capilano Review and others. They are a member of the creative collection VII.
​
In 2024, they released the poetry chapbook Kneeling in Our Name with Gap Riot Press, a teaser for their forthcoming third collection of poetry with the Buckrider Books imprint of Wolsak and Wynn in fall 2026.
​
They are currently working on a novel with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
They are currently a Senior Editor for Augur, and previously edited Nonfiction for untethered magazine. In 2023, they guest edited special issues for CV2 and Room Magazine. They offer freelance editorial services, grant consultation, mentorship sessions, and workshops. Find more information about these services on the "Editing and Consultation" page.
Conyer's previous work has been generously funded by the Ontario Arts Council, The League of Canadian Poets, The City of Ottawa, The Canada Council for the Arts, and The Writer's Union of Canada.
​
Awards
​
But the sun, and the ships, and the fish, and the waves. (A Feed Dog Book by Anvil Press, 2022):
-
Longlisted for League of Canadian Poets Pat Lowther Memorial Award
-
Longlisted for League of Canadian Poets Raymond Souster Award
​
We Shed Our Skin Like Dynamite (Guernica Editions, 2020):
-
Winner of the 2021 Ottawa Book Award for English Fiction
-
Shortlisted for the 2021 ReLit Award for Poetry
​
Sprawl | the time it took us to forget (Collusion Books, 2020) was shortlisted for the 2021 bpNichol Chapbook Award.
​
"I cannot write this softly" published in filling station 73, is a finalist for a 2021 Alberta Magazine Award for Best Essay
​
2 poems, "Press 0 to speak directly to God" and "Stubborn Fucks," shortlisted in Freefall Magazine's 2020 Poetry Contest
Winner, along with Bardia Sinaee, of The Capilano Review's 2019 Robin Blaser Poetry Prize
​
2 poems, "Bumpers" and "Perrenial", longlisted for The New Quarterly's 2019 Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest
​
"Southern Belle" longlisted for Vallum's 2018 Poem of the Year
​
Honourable mention in The Fiddlehead's 2018 Ralph Gustafson Prize for Best Poem for "Recurrent"
3rd place in 2017 Prairie Fire Poetry Contest for "What you actually lost"
Arc Poetry Magazine's 2017 Diana Brebner Winner for “Seeds”
1st place in graduate poetry for the poem “Vegetables” in the 2013 Metroversity Creative Writing Competition
2nd place in graduate poetry for the poem, “Bone-Bed” in the 2012 Metroversity Creative Writing Competition
​