Friday, April 24, 2026

CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA 2026 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHORTLIST & GRAND MASTER RECIPIENT RICK MOFINA


Crime Writers of Canada (CWC)
announced the Shortlists for the 2026 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Since 1984, Crime Writers of Canada has recognized the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors, including citizens abroad and new residents. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 29, 2026.

GRAND MASTER AWARD RECIPIENT
Rick Mofina has been named the recipient of the 2026 Grand Master Award. This prestigious biennial honor recognizes a Canadian crime writer with a substantial body of work who has garnered significant national and international acclaim while demonstrating a steadfast commitment to the crime-writing community. CWC selected Mofina for this distinction based on his prolific output, professional integrity, and years of dedicated service to both the organization and the genre.

THE 2026 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHORTLISTS

The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel, with a $1000 prize

Sue Hincenbergs, The Retirement Plan, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Jen Sookfong Lee, The Hunger We Pass Down, McClelland & Stewart
Tamara L. Miller, Into the Fall, Thomas and Mercer
Louise Penny, The Black Wolf, Minotaur Books
Eddy Boudel Tan, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut, Viking Canada

Best Crime First Novel, sponsored by Melodie Campbell with a $1000 prize

Ray Critch, The Beltane Massacre, Breakwater Books
Jan Field, Yesterday’s Lies, La Cloche Publishing
Joel Nedecky, The Broken Detective, Run Amok Crime
David L. Tucker, A Painting to Die For, Otter & Osprey Press
A.L. Wahdel, Too Dark For the Light, Butterfly 80 Publishing

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize

Lis Angus, That Other Family, Next Chapter
Angela Douglas, Every Fall, Rising Action Publishing Co.
Uzma Jalaluddin, Detective Aunty, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
C.S. Porter, Salt on Her Tongue, Vagrant Press
Chevy Stevens, The Hitchhikers, St. Martin’s Press

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery, sponsored by Jane Doe with a $500 prize

Shelley Adina, The Engineer’s Nemesis, Moonshell Books
Mel Anastasiou, Stella Ryman and the Search for Thelma Hu, Pulp Literature Press
Alice Fitzpatrick, A Dark Death, Stonehouse Publishing
Laury Silvers, Some Justice: A Ghazi Ammar Medieval Mystery,Independently Published
Iona Whishaw, The Cost of a Hostage, TouchWood Editions

Best Crime Short Story, sponsored by Crime Writers of Canada with a $200 prize

Lis Angus, Under the CircumstancesA Capital Mystery Anthology, Ottawa Press and Publishing
Madeleine Harris Callway, The Lost Diner, Pulp Literature Press (story on p.115)
Barbara Fradkin, Cold Shock, A Capital Mystery Anthology, Ottawa Press and Publishing
Billie Livingstone, The Headache, Dark Yonder (story on p.31)
Sylvia Maultash Warsh, Polly Wants a Freakin’ CrackerMalice Domestic: Murder Most Humorous, Wildside Press

Best French Language Crime Book, sponsored by Carrick Publishing with a $500 prize

Chrystine Brouillet, Le regard des autres, Druide
André Jacques, Jeux d’ombres, Druide
Steve Laflamme, La mémoire du labyrinthe, Libre Expression
Maureen Martineau, Une nuit d’été à Littlebrook, Héliotrope
Martin Michaud, Delta Zéro, Libre Expression

Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book, sponsored by Superior Shores Press with a $250 prize

Charis Cotter The Mystery of the Haunted Dancehall, Tundra Books
Vicki Grant, Death by Whoopee Cushion, Tundra Books
Claire Hatcher-Smith, The Mizzy Mysteries: A Skeleton in the Closet, Tundra Books
Tanya Lloyd Kyi, The City of Lost Cats, Tundra Books
John Lekich, Bark Twice for Murder, Orca Book Publishers

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book, sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize

Robert Cree with Therese Greenwood, The Many Names of Robert Cree: How a First Nations Chief, Brought Ancient Wisdom to Big Business and Prosperity to His People, ECW Press
John L. Hill, Acts of Darkness: Notorious Criminals, Their Defenders, Prosecutors, and Jailers, Durvile & UpRoute 
Kathleen Lippa, Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North, Dundurn Press 
Lorna Poplak, On the Lam: Great (and Not So Great) Escapes from Prison, Dundurn Press 
Julian Sher & Lisa Fitterman, Hitman: The Untold Story of Canada’s Deadliest Assassin, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author, sponsored by ECW Press with a $500 prize

Anne Burlakoff, Val's Story
William Hall, The Less You Know
Francis K. Lalumière, Lens Flare
Barbara Stokes, Death Scent
Isabelle Zimmermann, Blistered


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