Andrew Pyper was the author of 13 novels, one short story collection, and three audio books.

A new $20,000 prize has been launched to honour thriller and horror writing in Canada.

The Andrew Pyper Prize for Genre Fiction is an independent prize administered in partnership with the Writers’ Trust of Canada.

Pyper, who died in January 2025 at the age of 56, was a prolific horror and thriller writer who was frustrated by the literary snobbery that considers genre writing as separate from literary works. He published 13 novels, one short story collection, and three audio books over the course of his career, with many of his works adapted or optioned for film and television. A group of his friends and family, including his widow, Heidi Pyper, writers Pasha Malla and Craig Davidson, and Globe and Mail editor Mark Medley, established the annual prize to honour the literary traditions Pyper celebrated and excelled at.

“Andrew was a brilliant writer, but an even better human being whose infectious sense of joy coloured everything he did, from his personal relationships to his incredible novels, essays and stories,” Davidson said in a press release. “This namesake prize is our effort to recognize and reward writers making great works like Andrew’s that thrill, scare, entertain, and endure.”

Contributions to the prize make it possible for the founders to present the $20,000 prize for at least seven years, from 2026 to 2032. The prize continues to accept donations.

Prize winners will be selected by a jury comprised of authors, editors, screenwriters, and industry professionals, and will be awarded by the Pyper Prize founders for the first time at the annual Writers’ Trust Awards this November.