Hayley Gene Penner was a kid the first time she held a Juno Award. It was one of her father鈥檚.
鈥淚 was giving a fake acceptance speech and I dropped it,鈥 she recalls.
鈥淚 busted my toe with a Juno.鈥
Her dad, the beloved 好色tv children鈥檚 entertainer Fred Penner, would stack his awards 鈥 eventually four in total 鈥 on the family piano in their Winnipeg home.
Now, she鈥檚 up for a Juno of her own. Penner will compete for songwriter of the year, non-performer, at this weekend鈥檚 awards.
鈥淚 started crying,鈥 she says of the nod.
鈥淚 grew up looking at the Junos, and my dad has won several, so it was always a thing in my head, this award. I've gone a few times as his plus one, just sort of in his shadow; being so nervous as I meet Avril Lavigne and seeing these 好色tv icons in my youth."
Her nomination recognizes a breakout year in the studio trenches, writing for artists including Lily Allen, Teddy Swims and Celeste.
But Penner says the role of a songwriter 鈥 now in just its second year as a Juno category for non-performers 鈥 remains widely misunderstood.
鈥淭here are so many incredible writers who shape and contribute to so many huge artists鈥 careers, but the nature of it is behind the scenes,鈥 says Penner.
"It's nice there's more awareness that it's even a job, and that it's not a shameful thing, like, 'Oh, I didn't write 100 per cent of my songs.' In fact, collaboration is incredible. All things in the world have some amount of collaboration."
She's up against singer-songwriter Mustafa, Justin Bieber collaborator Tobias Jesso Jr., David Guetta hitmaker Nathan Ferraro and last year's winner, Elizabeth Lowell Boland.
She says it feels especially great to be recognized at home after years working outside of the country.
"Sometimes people get to L.A. and write their first song, and it becomes a No. 1," she says.
"For me, it just took longer."
Though music was always a constant 鈥 from choirs to a teenage a cappella group 鈥 Penner says she 鈥渢ripped and fell into鈥 songwriting. After high school, she hosted a kids鈥 show at CBC before a breakup prompted her to take a magazine gig in the U.K. While there, a friend invited her to Sweden to join some professional songwriting sessions.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥極h, I guess this is a thing that you can do.鈥"
That realization led her to Los Angeles in the early 2010s where she started songwriting for various artists as part of a production team.
鈥淚t was like six years of a boot camp,鈥 she said.
鈥淪o much of the music industry is about the hang. How hard can you hang? How long can you hang?鈥 says Penner, who recounted her experiences in the business on her 2020 debut album 鈥淧eople You Follow鈥 and its companion memoir.
Her career began to shift when she found a new circle of collaborators, many of them women, who transformed how she understood the work.
鈥淚t changed my whole life,鈥 says Penner, who began writing for female artists such as Lennon Stella and Charlotte Lawrence. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥極h, these feel like sisters to me. I don鈥檛 feel like I鈥檓 trying to prove something.鈥欌
Nowadays, she approaches songwriting as a fluid, collaborative process that requires reading the room 鈥 sometimes stepping forward, sometimes holding back.
That was especially true working with Allen, who recorded her album 鈥淲est End Girl鈥 in Los Angeles last year. The LP suggests her marriage to actor David Harbour broke down after they agreed to try non-monogamy.
鈥淪he was just so clear on what she wanted to say, even amidst what this record's about 鈥 their marriage and the falling apart of it,鈥 shares Penner, who co-wrote the title track and 鈥淩uminate.鈥
鈥淟ily just felt ready to tell this story. She was not afraid to tell the truth of her experience."
Penner says the songs came together in real time 鈥 sitting with Allen, strumming guitar and humming melodies alongside the producers, while contributing to a shared note of lyrics. She describes her role as part collaborator, part sounding board, part therapist.
鈥淚've never been married. I've never gone through a divorce that鈥檚 so in the public eye,鈥 she says.
鈥淵ou have to walk a fine line of relating, but also just hearing them and being like, 鈥楾hat sucks.鈥欌
Penner says co-writing with Allen unfolded organically, with the singer sometimes going for walks and coming back with lyrics in her mind.
"She's so gifted. She knows herself so well," Penner says.
"She's an incredible lyricist. So (my job was) to be a support, if there's a lull or if we need inspiration."
Other collaborations, like Swims鈥 鈥淪mall Hands,鈥 unfolded 鈥渃ampfire style鈥 鈥 a group gathered around a guitar, singing, harmonizing and building out the song.
鈥淲e were writing it as a concept but all connecting with it. Teddy was like, 鈥業f I ever become a parent, I'm going to put this out,鈥欌 Penner says.
鈥淭hen a couple of years later, it comes out when I'm pregnant.鈥
Penner plans to walk the Junos red carpet carrying her two-month-old daughter, a milestone made all the more moving by her childhood.
鈥淎 really significant part of my upbringing was seeing both of my parents as these creative forces in the world,鈥 she reflects, noting the influence of her mother, choreographer Odette Heyn.
If she gets a real-deal Juno, Penner promises no foot casualties.
The kicker is, in some ways, she鈥檚 already won.
鈥淚 want my daughter to see her mother as a working creative person, so this is really meaningful to me.鈥
Penner is slated to perform at the Junos Songwriters' Circle on Friday alongside nominees including Aysanabee, Bahamas and Savannah R茅.
This report by 好色tvwas first published March 24, 2026.
