The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is excited to announce the finalists for the 2023 Alberta Literary Awards. Each year, the Alberta Literary Awards celebrate the highest standards of literary excellence from Alberta authors.
The WGA would like to send our congratulations to those whose work is among this year’s 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 2022.
There will be Readings with the Finalists for the Alberta Literary Awards in Edmonton and Calgary on April 23 & 25, respectively.
You are also invited to attend the Alberta Literary Awards Gala in Calgary on Saturday, June 3rd. Happening the same weekend as the WGA Conference: Origins.
Our juries deliberated on more than 300 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 2021-22. We encourage you to check out these fantastic titles!
***Please Note: Finalists for the Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize will be announced at another time by the Edmonton Arts Council. Finalists for the The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize were announced by the Calgary Newsroom on April 3rd.
The 2023 Alberta Literary Awards Finalists
R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature (Chapter Books)
(Sponsored by Under the Arch Youth Foundation at The Calgary Foundation)
- Dena Seiferling (Calgary) — The Language of Flowers (Tundra Books)
- Vivek Shraya (Calgary) — Revenge of the Raccoons (Owlkids Books)
- Charis St. Pierre (Edmonton) — Welcome, Dark (Orca Books Publishers)
James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction
(Supported by Marilyn and Bob Stallworthy)
- paulo da costa (Calgary) — “Enclosures” (Reckoning)
- Marcello Di Cintio (Calgary) — “The Cowboy Exclaims” (Canadian Geographic)
- Kyra Lark Koustrup (Calgary) — “You and the Grass” (Freefall)
Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story
(Supported by the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society)
- Lareina Abbott (Calgary) — “Ma Soeur Marie” (Prairie Witch Anthology)
- Suzanne Johnston (Calgary) — “Confidants” (The Saturday Evening Post)
- C.J. Lavigne (Red Deer) — “Bees in Winter” (Corvid Queen)
Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry
(Sponsored by Stephan V. Benediktson)
- Tasnuva Hayden (Calgary) — An Orchid Astronomy (University of Calgary Press)
- Jaspreet Singh (Calgary) — How to Hold a Pebble (NeWest Press)
- Matthew James Weigel (Edmonton) — Whitemud Walking (Coach House Books)
Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award
(Supported by the Haynes Family – In Memory of Dr. Sterling Haynes)
- Patti Edgar (Calgary) — “One More Apostle Than You”
- Kim McCullough (Calgary) — “Mare Tranquillitatis”
- Seth Rasporich has acknowledged that his piece “Tacoshop22rl” has been published as a chapbook, thus making it ineligible for the Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award. The WGA thanks Seth for his candour and congratulates him on publishing his essay!
Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama
- Heather Morrow (Edmonton) — Alex & Michael & Hannah
- Caroline Russell-King (Calgary) — High and Splendid Braveries
- Trevor Schmidt (Edmonton) — Two-Headed/Half-Hearted
Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction
- Brandi Morin (Stony Plain) — Our Voice of Fire (House of Anansi Press)
- Sandra Rollings-Magnusson (Edmonton) — Tales from the Homestead: A History of Prairie Pioneers, 1867-1914 (Heritage House)
- Chris Turner (Calgary) — How to be a Climate Optimist (Random House Canada)
Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction
- Suzette Mayr (Calgary) — The Sleeping Car Porter (Coach House Books)
- Darcy Tamayose (Lethbridge) — Ezra’s Ghosts (NeWest Press)
- Thomas Trofimuk (Edmonton) — The Elephant on Karlův Bridge (Thistledown Press)
Memoir Award
(Supported by Vivian Hansen)
- Tim Bowling (Edmonton) — The Call of the Red-Winged Blackbird (Wolsak & Wynn)
- James H. Marsh (Edmonton) — Know it all: Finding the Impossible Country (Durvile & UpRoute Books)
- Brandi Morin (Stony Plain) — Our Voice of Fire (House of Anansi)
Funders
