Prevailing Canucks

We now know which authors and books have won the 2026 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing.

Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel:
The Black Wolf, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Also nominated: The Retirement Plan, by Sue Hincenbergs (HarperCollins); The Hunger We Pass Down, by Jen Sookfong Lee (McClelland & Stewart); Into the Fall, by Tamara L. Miller (Thomas & Mercer); and The Tiger and the Cosmonaut, by Eddy Boudel Tan (Viking Canada)

Best Crime First Novel:
The Beltane Massacre, by Ray Critch (Breakwater)

Also nominated: Yesterday’s Lies, by Jan Field (La Cloche); The Broken Detective, by Joel Nedecky (Run Amok Crime); A Painting to Die For, by David L. Tucker (Otter & Osprey Press); and Too Dark for the Light, by A.L. Wahdel (Butterfly 80)

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada:
Salt on Her Tongue, by C.S. Porter (Vagrant Press)

Also nominated: That Other Family, by Lis Angus (Next Chapter); Every Fall, by Angela Douglas (Rising Action); Detective Aunty, by Uzma Jalaluddin (HarperCollins); and The Hitchhikers, by Chevy Stevens (St. Martin’s Press)

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery:
The Cost of a Hostage, by Iona Whishaw (TouchWood Editions)

Also nominated: The Engineer’s Nemesis, by Shelley Adina (Moonshell); Stella Ryman and the Search for Thelma Hu, by Mel Anastasiou (Pulp Literature Press); A Dark Death, by Alice Fitzpatrick (Stonehouse); and Some Justice, by Laury Silvers (Independently published)

Best Crime Short Story:
“Polly Wants a Freakin’ Cracker,” by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (from Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, edited by John Betancourt, Michael Bracken, and Carla Coupe; Wildside Press)

Also nominated: “Under the Circumstances,” by Lis Angus (from A Capital Mystery Anthology, edited by Bernadette Cox and Mike Martin (Ottawa Press); “The Lost Diner,” by Madeleine Harris Callway (Pulp Literature, Summer 2025); “Cold Shock,” by Barbara Fradkin (from A Capital Mystery Anthology); and “The Headache,” by Billie Livingstone (Dark Yonder, November 2025)

Best French Language Crime Book:
Une nuit d’été à Littlebrook, by Maureen Martineau (Héliotrope)

Also nominated: Le regard des autres, by Chrystine Brouillet (Druide); Jeux d’ombres, by André Jacques (Druide); La mémoire du labyrinthe, by Steve Laflamme (Libre Expression); and Delta Zéro, by Martin Michaud (Libre Expression)

Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book:
The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall, by Charis Cotter (Tundra)

Also nominated: Death by Whoopee Cushion, by Vicki Grant (Tundra); A Skeleton in the Closet, by Claire Hatcher-Smith (Tundra); The City of Lost Cats, by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (Tundra); and Bark Twice for Murder, by John Lekich (Orca)

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Non-fiction Crime Book: Hitman: The Untold Story of Canada’s Deadliest Assassin, by Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman (HarperCollins)

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

Best Unpublished Crime Novel (manuscript written by an unpublished author): Val’s Story, by Anne Burlakoff

Also nominated: The Less You Know, by William Hall; Lens Flare, by Francis K. Lalumière; Death Scent, by Barbara Stokes; and Blistered, by Isabelle Zimmermann

In addition, Ontario-born crime and thriller author Rick Mofina has been given this year’s Grand Master Award. “This prestigious biennial honor,” says the CWC, “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.”