{{short description|Canadian poet}} '''Benjamin Hertwig''' is a Canadian poet, whose debut poetry collection ''Slow War'' was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry at the 2017 Governor General's Awards.<ref>[https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/local-arts/finalists-named-for-2017-governor-generals-literary-awards "Finalists named for 2017 Governor General's Literary Awards"]. ''Montreal Gazette'', October 4, 2017.</ref> He is based in Edmonton, Alberta, and is co-owner of the used bookstore Paper Birch Books.<ref name="juiceboxers">{{Cite news |title=Juiceboxers by Benjamin Hertwig |date=2024-08-13 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/juiceboxers-by-benjamin-hertwig-1.7275548 |access-date=2025-04-04 |work=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>
A former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan,<ref>[https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/reviews/2017/09/01/the-latest-poetry-lyrical-bracing-heartfelt.html "The latest poetry: lyrical, bracing, heartfelt"]. ''Toronto Star'', September 1, 2017.</ref> he has also published short fiction and non-fiction work in ''Maisonneuve'', ''Canadian Literature'', ''The Walrus'', ''Ricepaper'', ''Geez'', ''Prairie Fire'', ''Pleiades'', and ''The New York Times''. He won a National Magazine Award in the Personal Journalism category in 2017 for "The Burn".<ref>[https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/nmaf-announces-the-winners-of-the-40th-anniversary-national-magazine-awards-624707123.html "NMAF announces the winners of the 40th Anniversary National Magazine Awards"]. ''Canada NewsWire'', May 26, 2017.</ref>
In 2024, Hertwig released his first novel, ''Juiceboxers'', which follows four young men sent to war in Afghanistan.<ref name="juiceboxers"/> The novel was a finalist for the 2025 Amazon.ca First Novel Award.<ref>[https://quillandquire.com/omni/amazon-canada-first-novel-award-shortlist-announced/ "Amazon Canada First Novel Award shortlist announced"]. ''Quill & Quire'', May 6, 2025.</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.benjaminhertwig.com/}} *[https://paperbirchbooks.ca/pages/about-us Paper Birch Books – About Us]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hertwig, Benjamin}} Category:21st-century Canadian poets Category:Canadian male poets Category:Canadian non-fiction writers Category:Canadian magazine writers Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers Category:Living people Category:21st-century Canadian male writers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Writers from Edmonton Category:21st-century Canadian novelists Category:Canadian male novelists Category:Poets from Alberta Category:Novelists from Alberta
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