The Writers’ Guild of Alberta revealed the finalists for the 2026 Alberta Literary Awards on April 1. The winners will be announced on June 5 in Edmonton.

The Writers’ Guild of Alberta book awards each come with a prize of $2,000, while the writing prizes for short fiction, short nonfiction and essay each receive $1,000.

The $15,000 Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize will be announced separately with the 2026 Edmonton Arts Prizes on May 4. The other shortlisted titles receive $5,000 each.

The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize winner will be announced  at the 2026 Calgary Awards on June 17. The winner receives a prize of $5,000.

In addition to the prize shortlists, the guild named Caterina Edwards as the recipient of the Golden Pen Award. The award is presented annually to an outstanding Alberta writer for lifetime achievement.

The shortlisted titles are:

Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction

• Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand by Tim Bowling (Freehand Books)
• We Are All of Us Left Behind by Bradley Somer (Freehand Books)
• The Beauty and the Hell of It by Lynda Williams (Guernica Editions)

Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction

• Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers by Marcello Di Cintio (Biblioasis)
• At the Limits of Care: Gendered Work and Stories that Matter by Janna Klostermann (University of Toronto Press)
• ᑭᐢᑭᓱᒥᑐᐠ kiskisomitok: ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ to remind each and one another by reuben quinn (Talonbooks)

Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature Finalists

• Takedown by Ali Bryan (DCB Young Readers)
• No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam (HarperCollins)
• Beast by Richard Van Camp (Douglas & McIntyre)

Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry Finalists

• Stock by Jennifer Bowering Delisle (Coach House Books)
• Beaver Hills Forever by Conor Kerr (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Dog and Moon by Kelly Shepherd (University of Regina Press)

Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama

• Rise, Red River by Tara Beagan (Playwrights Canada Press)
• Mermaid Legs by Beth Graham (Playwrights Canada Press)
• Pochsy IV: Unplugged by Karen Hines (Coach House Books)

Memoir Award Finalists

• The Many Names of Robert Cree by Robert Cree with Therese Greenwood (ECW Press)
• Food for the Journey by Elizabeth Haynes (Thistledown Press)

Short Story Collection Award

• An Astonishment of Stars by Kirti Bhadresa (ECW Press)
• Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand by Tim Bowling (Freehand Books)
• The Beauty and the Hell of It by Lynda Williams (Guernica Editions)

City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize

• Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers by Marcello Di Cintio (Biblioasis)
• There’s Magic Here Too: A Trans Woman’s Guide to Being Monstrous by Skylar Kay (Frontenac House)
• The Crane by Monica Kidd (Breakwater Books)

Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize

• Stock by Jennifer Bowering Delisle (Coach House Books)
• Beaver Hills Forever by Conor Kerr (Arsenal Pulp Press)
• Crohnic by Jason Purcell (Arsenal Pulp Press)

James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction Finalists

• “Luminaries Eat Kale” by Patti Edgar (Queen’s Quarterly)
• “Owning Bones” by Jannie Edwards (The Linden Review)
• “If I Tell Him” by Rachelle Pinnow (Riddle Fence)

Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story Finalists

• “Walking Jello” by Barb Howard (The University of British Columbia Magazine)
• “Buckshot” by Katherine Koller (The Fiddlehead)
• “Redbird” by Stephanie Tamagi (PRISM International)

Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award (Unpublished)

•  “Two Stupid Idiots” by Ali Bryan
• “A Bigger Animal” by Aldona Dziedziejko
• “Furniture Broken by Boys” by Leslie Greentree