Crime Writers of Canada has announced the winners of the 2026 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing.

The awards, presented in nine categories, recognize the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.

Finalists for this year’s awards were announced last month, when Rick Mofina was announced as the winner of the biennial Grand Master Award.

The winners are:

The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel

• Louise Penny, The Black Wolf (Minotaur Books/Macmillan Publishers)

Best Crime First Novel

• Ray Critch, The Beltane Massacre (Breakwater Books)

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada

• C.S. Porter, Salt on Her Tongue (Vagrant Press/Nimbus Publishing)

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery

• Iona Whishaw, The Cost of a Hostage (TouchWood Editions)

Best French Language Crime Book

• Maureen Martineau, Une nuit d’été à Littlebrook (Héliotrope)

Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book

• Charis Cotter, The Mystery of the Haunted Dancehall (Tundra Books/Penguin Random House Canada)

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book

• Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman, Hitman: The Untold Story of Canada’s Deadliest Assassin (HarperCollins Publishers)

Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author

• Anne Burlakoff, Val’s Story

Best Crime Short Story

• Sylvia Maultash Warsh, “Polly Wants a Freakin’ Cracker,” Malice Domestic: Murder Most Humorous (Wildside Press)