The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is excited to announce the finalists for the 2026 Alberta Literary Awards. The Alberta Literary Awards were created by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta in 1982 to recognize excellence in writing by Alberta authors. Entries are judged by an independent jury recruited by the WGA.
The winners will be announced at our Awards Gala Dinner on June 5, 2026 and you can get your tickets here. All finalists will receive two tickets for themselves and a guest as well.
We will also be hosting public readings to hear from our finalists — April 8, 2026 for the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize and April 18, 2026 for finalists in Calgary, and May 3, 2026 in Edmonton. The winners of the 9th Kemosa Scholarship will also have a chance to share their work.
City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize Finalists
Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers — Marcello Di Cintio (Biblioasis)
There’s Magic Here Too : A Trans Woman’s Guide to Being Monstrous — Skylar Kay (Frontenac House)
The Crane — Monica Kidd (Breakwater Books)
The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize is awarded in honour of acclaimed Calgary writer W.O. Mitchell and recognizes literary achievement by Calgary authors. The prize was established in 1996 and is coordinated through a partnership between The City of Calgary and the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. The $5,000 prize is awarded annually for an outstanding book of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, children’s literature, or drama published in the preceding year.
Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize Finalists
Sponsored by Audreys Books, the Edmonton Arts Council, and the City of Edmonton.
Stock — Jennifer Bowering Delisle (Coach House Books)
Beaver Hills Forever — Conor Kerr (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Crohnic — Jason Purcell (Arsenal Pulp Press)
The Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize was established by the City Council in 1995 and is administered by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA). The prize was renamed in 2011 after the late Robert Kroetsch, who was best known for his Governor General’s Award-winning novel, The Studhorse Man. Entries are judged by an independent jury recruited by the WGA. The Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize primary prize recipient will be awarded $15,000, and two secondary prizes of $5,000 will be awarded to the runners up. The Edmonton Book Prize is now part of the Edmonton Arts Prizes.
Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction Finalists
Supported by The Big Book Club
Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand — Tim Bowling (Freehand Books)
We Are All of Us Left Behind — Bradley Somer (Freehand Books)
The Beauty and the Hell of It — Lynda Williams (Guernica Editions)
This prize is awarded to one winner of either novel or collection of short fiction by an Alberta author published in 2025.
Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction Finalists
Sponsored by Scott Saxberg
Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers — Marcello Di Cintio (Biblioasis)
At the Limits of Care: Gendered Work and Stories that Matter — Janna Klostermann (University of Toronto Press)
ᑭᐢᑭᓱᒥᑐᐠ kiskisomitok: ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ to remind each and one another — reuben quinn (Talonbooks)
This prize is awarded for a nonfiction book by an Alberta author published in 2025.
R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature Finalists
Sponsored by Under the Arch Youth Foundation
Takedown — Ali Bryan (DCB Young Readers)
No Purchase Necessary — Maria Marianayagam (HarperCollins)
Beast — Richard Van Camp (Douglas & McIntyre)
The children’s literature category alternates yearly between picture and chapter books. The 2026 award will be presented for a children’s chapter book (fiction or nonfiction) by an Albertan writer, published in 2024 or 2025.
Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry Finalists
Sponsored by the Benediktson Family
Stock — Jennifer Bowering Delisle (Coach House Books)
Beaver Hills Forever — Conor Kerr (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Dog and Moon — Kelly Shepherd (University of Regina Press)
This prize is awarded for a collection of poetry by an Alberta author published in 2025.
Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama Finalists
Supported by Leslie Greentree and Blaine Newton
Rise, Red River — Tara Beagan (Playwrights Canada Press)
Mermaid Legs — Beth Graham (Playwrights Canada Press)
Pochsy IV: Unplugged — Karen Hines (Coach House Books)
Awarded for a play written by an Alberta author published, produced or staged at a live reading in 2025.
Memoir Award Finalists
Sponsored by Vivian Hansen and Jessica Waite
The Many Names of Robert Cree — Robert Cree with Therese Greenwood (ECW Press)
Food for the Journey — Elizabeth Haynes (Thistledown Press)
This prize is awarded for a nonfiction memoir by an Alberta author published in 2025.
Short Story Collection Award Finalists
Sponsored by Lori Hahnel
An Astonishment of Stars — Kirti Bhadresa (ECW Press)
Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand — Tim Bowling (Freehand Books)
Beauty and the Hell of It — Lynda Williams (Guernica Editions)
The Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) also strives to recognize excellence in Alberta writing by awarding three prizes to authors of short pieces. This prize is awarded for a collection of fiction short stories by an Alberta author published in 2024 or 2025.
James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction Finalists
Supported by Marilyn and Bob Stallworthy
“Luminaries Eat Kale” — Patti Edgar (Queen’s Quarterly)
“Owning Bones” — Jannie Edwards (The Linden Review)
“If I Tell Him” — Rachelle Pinnow (Riddle Fence)
The Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) also strives to recognize excellence in Alberta writing by awarding three prizes to authors of short pieces. This prize is awarded for an outstanding literary short nonfiction piece by an Alberta author on any topic published in 2025.
Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story Finalists
Sponsored by Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society
“Walking Jello” — Barb Howard (The University of British Columbia Magazine)
“Buckshot” — Katherine Koller (The Fiddlehead)
“Redbird” — Stephanie Tamagi (PRISM International)
The Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) also strives to recognize excellence in Alberta writing by awarding three prizes to authors of short pieces. This prize is awarded for an outstanding single short story by an Alberta author published in 2025.
Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award (Unpublished) Finalists
Supported by the Haynes Family in Memory of Dr. Sterling Haynes and Melissa Haynes
“Two Stupid Idiots” — Ali Bryan
“A Bigger Animal” — Aldona Dziedziejko
“Furniture Broken by Boys” — Leslie Greentree
This prize is awarded for an outstanding unpublished essay by an Alberta author.
Writers’ Guild of Alberta Golden Pen Award
Supported by Aritha van Herk
The Writers’ Guild of Alberta Golden Pen Award is presented to acknowledge the lifetime achievements of outstanding Alberta writers who have made major contributions to the Alberta writing landscape. The Golden Pen Award winner must be a writer living in Alberta or a writer who has spent a significant portion of their writing life in Alberta, who has produced a distinguished body of work over a longstanding career.
Winner: Caterina Edwards
“Over the course of her distinguished career, Caterina Edwards has produced a national and internationally recognized body of work. She was the first writer to bring Italian-Albertan stories and voices into the landscape of Alberta writing, and through all of her work, explores the complexities of personal and public history, diversity and inclusion, community and family. Lauded by Italian as well as Canadian audiences and academics, Edwards’ reach extends far beyond the borders of our province, making her one of our most exceptional literary ambassadors.”
— The Writers’ Guild of Alberta Board of Directors
Caterina Edwards is the award-winning writer of six books in various genres. Her memoir Finding Rosa: A Mother with Alzheimer’s, A Daughter in Search of the Past, a double prize winner in Canada, was published in Italy in 2021 to glowing reviews and much media attention. It was followed by an Italian edition of the novel The Lion’s Mouth. Her literary noir, The Sicilian Wife, was named a Best Book of 2015 by The National Post. In 2016, Caterina was inducted into the City of Edmonton’s Arts & Culture Hall of Fame.
Caterina has also published novellas, short stories, and plays, appearing in literary magazines and anthologies. She taught post-secondary creative writing for thirty-five years and was three times a writer-in-residence. Caterina also served on the board of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. She continues to mentor emerging writers through the co-teaching of writing workshops. Her next book, The Great Antonio, is the biography of a professional wrestler, who was once the strongest man in the world. Her writing remains her way of turning the unknown into the known, the forgotten into the remembered.
Thank you to the supporters and sponsors!
Scott Saxberg
Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society
The Benediktson Family
Vivian Hansen
Edmonton Arts Council
The City of Calgary
Leslie Greentree & Blaine Newton
Lori Hahnel
The Big Book Club
The Haynes Family – In Memory of Dr. Sterling Haynes and Melissa Haynes
Marilyn and Bob Stallworthy
Under the Arch Youth Foundation
The Benediktson Family
Aritha van Herk
Jessica Waite
