Birk Sproxton (1943 - 2007) was a Canadian poet and novelist who lived in Red Deer, Alberta. He was born and raised in Flin Flon, Manitoba. He taught creative writing at Red Deer College for over three decades.In 1999, Birk's book The Red Headed Woman with the Black Black Heart received an honorable mention from the Manitoba Historical Society for historical fiction. Upon his passing in 2007, the Dr. Birk Sproxton Memorial Award for Excellence in Western Canadian Literature was established.