The prizes recognize exceptional books written by first-time Canadian authors in three categories: literary fiction, nonfiction, and this year, romance fiction. The genre fiction category alternates between mystery, romance, and speculative fiction. The winners were announced on June 17.

Each award carries a cash prize of $10,000 and promotional support for the author by Rakuten Kobo.

Scott Alexander Howard was named the winner of the literary fiction prize for The Other Valley (Scribner/Simon & Schuster Canada), a speculative novel set in a valley bounded by other valleys in different times, and where residents can petition to visit to see their deceased loved ones in a different time. Judge and award-winning novelist Suzette Mayr called the book “a clear standout.”

Calgary author Anh Duong won the nonfiction prize for Dear Da-Lê: A Father’s Memoir of the Vietnam War and the Iranian Revolution (Douglas & McIntyre). Judge Sarah Weinmann said that the book, written as a series of letters to Duong’s filmmaker daughter, is “written in luminous, exacting prose.”

“We are all better off that Duong put to pen his lifelong reckoning with trauma and the costs of war,” Weinmann wrote.

Leanne Toshiko Simpson won the romance prize for Never Been Better (HarperCollins Publishers), a comedy set at a beachside wedding reunion. Judge Chantel Guertin called the book “a refreshing debut that tackles bipolar disorder with both humour and emotional honesty.”