The five winners of this year’s Telefilm Canada New Voices Award have been announced, with the winners receiving a pass to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference and a meeting with Telefilm execs. 

Marie Dame, Ana De Lara, Rebecca Hales, Kim Izzo and John Ward were named this year’s award recipients. The emerging screenwriters were chosen from a pool of more than 30 candidates from across Canada.

To qualify for the award, candidates must have written at least two short films and had one produced, and written one feature-length screenplay, TV pilot or series treatment.

The Toronto Screenwriting Conference will take place April 30 to May 1 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Speakers slated to participate in this year’s conference include Emily Andras (Wynonna Earp); Glen Mazzara (Damien); Stephen Falk (You’re the Worst); Kenya Barris (Black-ish); senior VP of series development for FX, Nicole Clemens; playwright and screenwriter Corey Mandell; and former NBC and CBS studio exec Jen Grisanti.