Choice Canadian Crime

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the Shortlists for the 2026 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. The CWC also revealed that the winner of the 2026 Grand Master Award, for a 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, is Rick Mofina. Since 1984, Crime Writers of Canada has recognized the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors, including citizens abroad and new residents. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 29, 2026. 

The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel

With a $1000 prize

• Sue Hincenbergs, The Retirement Plan, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Jen Sookfong Lee, The Hunger We Pass Down, McClelland & Stewart
• Tamara L. Miller, Into the Fall, Thomas and Mercer
• Louise Penny, The Black Wolf, Minotaur Books
• Eddy Boudel Tan, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut, Viking Canada

Best Crime First Novel 

Sponsored by Melodie Campbell with a $1000 prize

• Ray Critch, The Beltane Massacre, Breakwater Books
• Jan Field, Yesterday’s Lies, La Cloche Publishing
• Joel Nedecky, The Broken Detective, Run Amok Crime
• David L. Tucker, A Painting to Die For, Otter & Osprey Press
• A.L. Wahdel, Too Dark For the Light, Butterfly 80 Publishing

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada

Sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize

• Lis Angus, That Other Family, Next Chapter
• Angela Douglas, Every Fall, Rising Action Publishing Co.
• Uzma Jalaluddin, Detective Aunty, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• C.S. Porter, Salt on Her Tongue, Vagrant Press
• Chevy Stevens, The Hitchhikers, St. Martin’s Press

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery

Sponsored by Jane Doe with a $500 prize

• Shelley Adina, The Engineer’s Nemesis, Moonshell Books
• Mel Anastasiou, Stella Ryman and the Search for Thelma Hu, Pulp Literature Press
• Alice Fitzpatrick, A Dark Death, Stonehouse Publishing
• Laury Silvers, Some Justice: A Ghazi Ammar Medieval Mystery, Independently Published
• Iona Whishaw, The Cost of a Hostage, TouchWood Editions

Best Crime Short Story

Sponsored by Crime Writers of Canada with a $200 prize

• Lis Angus, "Under the Circumstances," A Capital Mystery Anthology, Ottawa Press and Publishing
• Madeleine Harris Callway, "The Lost Diner," Pulp Literature Press (story on p.115)
• Barbara Fradkin, "Cold Shock," A Capital Mystery Anthology, Ottawa Press and Publishing
• Billie Livingstone, "The Headache," Dark Yonder (story on p.31)
• Sylvia Maultash Warsh, "Polly Wants a Freakin’ Cracker," Malice Domestic: Murder Most Humorous, Wildside Press

Best French Language Crime Book

Sponsored by Carrick Publishing with a $500 prize

• Chrystine Brouillet, Le regard des autres, Druide
• André Jacques, Jeux d’ombres, Druide
• Steve Laflamme, La mémoire du labyrinthe, Libre Expression
• Maureen Martineau, Une nuit d’été à Littlebrook, Héliotrope
• Martin Michaud, Delta Zéro, Libre Expression

Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book

Sponsored by Superior Shores Press with a $250 prize

• Charis Cotter The Mystery of the Haunted Dancehall, Tundra Books
• Vicki Grant, Death by Whoopee Cushion, Tundra Books
• Claire Hatcher-Smith, The Mizzy Mysteries: A Skeleton in the Closet, Tundra Books
• Tanya Lloyd Kyi, The City of Lost Cats, Tundra Books
• John Lekich, Bark Twice for Murder, Orca Book Publishers

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book

Sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize

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

Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author

Sponsored by ECW Press with a $500 prize

• Anne Burlakoff, Val's Story
• William Hall, The Less You Know
• Francis K. Lalumière, Lens Flare
• Barbara Stokes, Death Scent
• Isabelle Zimmermann, Blistered