The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2016 Alberta Literary Awards! Each year, the Alberta Literary Awards recognize and celebrate the highest standards of literary excellence from Alberta authors. Winners will be announced and awards presented at the Alberta Literary Awards Gala on June 4, 2016 in MacDonald Hall at SAIT in Calgary. The celebration will take place alongside the WGA 2016 Conference, “Creativity and Happiness.”
The Writers’ Guild of Alberta would like to send their congratulations to those who have been placed on this year’s Alberta Literary Awards shortlists and extend our sincere gratitude to all of this year’s award sponsors.
Our awards jurors deliberated on more than 200 submissions to select 25 finalists in eight categories. Finalists represent excellence in literary work written by Alberta authors and published or created in 2015. We encourage you to check out these fantastic titles:
R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature (Sponsored by the Under the Arch Youth Foundation at the Calgary Foundation)
- Kate A. Boorman (Edmonton) – Winterkill, Abrams/Amulet
- Sigmund Brouwer (Red Deer) – Thief of Glory, WaterBrook Press
- Lorna Schultz Nicholson (Edmonton) – Fragile Bones: Harrison and Anna, Clockwise Press
Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry (Sponsored by Stephan V. Benediktson)
- Jalal Barzanji (Edmonton) – Trying Again to Stop Time, University of Alberta Press
- Christian Bök (Calgary) – The Xenotext: Book 1, Coach House
- Marilyn Dumont (Edmonton) – The Pemmican Eaters, ECW Press
- Alice Major (Edmonton) – Standard Candles, University of Alberta Press
Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama (Sponsored by Alberta Views)
- Beth Graham (Edmonton) – The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble
- Rose Scollard (Calgary) – Aphra
- David van Belle and Eric Rose (Calgary) – The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst
Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction (Supported by Jane Stevens and the WGA Board of Directors)
- Stephen Bown (Canmore) – White Eskimo: Knud Rasmussen’s Fearless Journey Into the Heart of the Arctic, Douglas & McIntyre
- Will Ferguson (Calgary) – Road Trip Rwanda, Viking Canada (Penguin)
- Andrew Nikiforuk (Calgary) – Slick Water, Greystone
Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction (Sponsored by The Banff Centre)
- Tracey Lindberg (Edmonton) – Birdie, Harper Collins
- Bradley Somer (Calgary) – Fishbowl, St. Martin’s/Raincoast
- Richard Van Camp (Edmonton) – Night Moves, Enfield & Wizenty
The WGA also awards prizes in the following short works categories:
Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award (Supported by the Friends of Frances – in Memory of Frances Hern)
- Ali Bryan (Calgary) –“Let’s Talk”
- Diana Davidson (Edmonton) –“An Ex-Wife’s Tale”
- Elizabeth Withey (Edmonton) – “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction (Supported by Tony Johnson)
- Marcello Di Cintio (Calgary) – “The Gifted Tag,” Swerve
- Jane Harris (Lethbridge) – “The Unheard Patient,” Alberta Views
- Julie Sedivy (Calgary) – “The Strange Persistence of First Languages,” Nautilus
Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story (Supported by Vanna Tessier and Guy Tessier)
- Kate French (Calgary) – “Spiders,” FreeFall
- Richard Van Camp (Edmonton) – “Born a Girl,” Enfield & Wizenty
- Thomas Wharton (Edmonton) – “Filters,” FreeFall