Three emerging Ontario writers have been shortlisted for a literary award from the Writers' Trust of Canada.

The three young finalists are in the running for the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, which celebrates up-and-coming authors under the age of 35. The prize alternates each year between short fiction and poetry.

This year's contenders, each nominated for an unpublished short story, are:

• Shashi S. Bhat, a 26-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., for Indian Cooking, which the jurors praised as "a moving story that makes brave choices in its characterizations and avoids sentimentality in its depiction of family tragedy."
• Kilby Smith-McGregor, a 29-year-old Toronto writer, for The Bird in Hand. The jury hailed it "a beautifully crafted story that deftly suggests a world and a life beyond its few pages."
• Claire Tacon, a 30-year-old from Guelph, Ont., for Dumb Dog, which the jury called "a finely honed examination of a man avoiding his own emotional interior while helping others remove the toxins hidden in their houses."

The three-member jury — comprised of Trevor Cole, Susan Glickman, and Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer — selected the finalists from 132 submissions.

The winner, who will be announced in Toronto on June 9, will receive $5,000, with the other two finalists to receive $1,000 each.

"A nomination for this award attracts the attention of publishers and literary agents, and has often directly led to a writer's first book contract," Writers' Trust executive director Don Oravec said of the 16-year-old honour.

Past winners have included Michael Crummey, Alissa York and Jeramy Dodds.

The Writers' Trust of Canada is a non-profit organization that raises money to support authors across the country. The Wallace award was established in 1994 in memory of the Ontario activist, poet and short fiction writer who died in 1989.