The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is excited to announce the finalists for the 2020 Alberta Literary Awards and Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize. Each year, the Alberta Literary Awards and the City of Edmonton recognize and celebrate the highest standards of literary excellence from Alberta and Edmonton authors.
The WGA would like to send our congratulations to those whose work is among this year’s Alberta Literary Awards finalists! We look forward to celebrating your creativity and hard work, and we will do all we can to spread the word about the wonderful writing you did in 2019. Updates on this year’s awards presentation format will be posted to our website and social media as soon as they are finalized.
Our juries deliberated on more than 200 submissions to select the following 27 finalists in nine categories. Finalists represent excellence in literary work written by Alberta authors and published or created in 2019. We encourage you to check out these fantastic titles!
Click HERE to read bios for this year’s finalists.
The 2020 Alberta Literary Awards Finalists
R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature (Chapter Books)
- Natasha Deen (Edmonton) – In the Key of Nira Ghani (Running Press Kids)
- Sue Farrell Holler (Grande Prairie) – Cold White Sun (Groundwood Books)
- Danielle L. Jensen (Calgary) – Dark Shores (TOR Teen)
James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction
- Paulo da Costa (Calgary) — “Learning to Shave, Learning to Leave” (The Fiddlehead)
- Jennifer Bowering Delisle (Edmonton) — “Abracadabra” (The Forge)
- Omar Mouallem (Edmonton) — “Billionaires, Bombers, and Bellydancers” (The Ringer)
Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story
- Ali Bryan (Calgary) — “The Big Man in Cargo Shorts” (Alberta Views)
- Tyler Hein (Edmonton) — “Don’t Finish” (Funicular Magazine)
- Joelle Tymchuk (Sherwood Park) — “Last Born” (The Fiddlehead)
Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry
- Billy-Ray Belcourt (Edmonton) — NDN Coping Mechanisms (House of Anansi Press)
- Monica Kidd (Calgary) — Chance Encounters with Wild Animals (Gaspereau Press)
- Peter Midgley (Edmonton) — Let Us Not Think of Them as Barbarians (NeWest Press)
Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award
- Jennifer Bowering Delisle (Edmonton) — “Premature Burial”
- Rayanne Haines (Edmonton) — “This Is Normal”
- Julie Sedivy (Calgary) — “Telescoping”
Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama
- Tara Beagan (Calgary) — Honour Beat
- Elena Belyea (Edmonton) — Smoke
- Christopher Duthie (Calgary) — A Dinner Party
Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction
- Richard Kemick (Calgary) — I am Herod (Goose Lane Editions)
- Naomi K Lewis (Calgary) — Tiny Lights for Travellers (University of Alberta Press)
- Sharon Wood (Canmore) — Rising: Becoming the First Canadian Woman to Summit Everest, A Memoir (Douglas & McIntyre)
Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction
- Sharon Butala (Calgary) — Season of Fury and Wonder (Coteau Books)
- Marina Endicott (Edmonton) — The Difference (Knopf Canada, Penguin Random House)
- Richard Van Camp (Edmonton) — Moccasin Square Gardens (Douglas & McIntyre)
The 2020 Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize Shortlist
- Billy-Ray Belcourt —NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes From the Field (House of Anansi)
- Marina Endicott — The Difference (Knopf Canada, Penguin Random House)
- Audrey J. Whitson — The Death of Annie the Water Witcher by Lightning (NeWest Press)
With Gratitude
The Writers’ Guild of Alberta gratefully acknowledges the supporters and sponsors of our 2020 Alberta Literary Awards:
Sponsors:
- Alberta Views Magazine
- Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society
- Stephan V. Benediktson
- Under the Arch Youth Foundation (at The Calgary Foundation)
Supporters:
And thanks also to the sponsors of the Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize:
