CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2026 CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Crime Writers of Canada Opens Submissions for Prestigious 2026 Awards of Excellence with $4,750 in Prizes

OTTAWA, ON – October 1, 2025  –  Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) is thrilled to announce the official opening of submissions for the highly anticipated 2026 CWC Awards of Excellence. Celebrating the best in Canadian crime, mystery, and suspense writing, the awards offer authors a chance to share in $4,750 worth of prizes and gain significant national recognition and promotion.

The CWC Awards of Excellence continue to recognize and promote the exceptional talent within the country's vibrant and diverse crime writing genre, and CWC is excited to welcome all authors and publishers to submit their work across diverse categories, from novels and short stories to non-fiction and unpublished manuscripts.

The competition welcomes entries from Canadian citizens and permanent residents for works published in 2025.

New Sponsor Elevates The Best French Language Crime Book Award

CWC is delighted to announce a significant new partnership for the 2026 Awards of Excellence. Carrick Publishing is now the proud sponsor of The Best French Language Crime Book, offering a prize of $500 CDN.

This sponsorship marks a first for the category and underscores CWC’s commitment to elevating crime writing in both English and French across Canada, recognizing the rich contribution of Francophone authors to the genre.

2026 Awards Categories

The 2026 Awards feature nine categories, recognizing excellence across the crime writing spectrum. All prizes are awarded in Canadian Funds.

• The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel, with a $1,000 prize

• Best Crime First Novel, sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1,000 prize

• Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize

• The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery, sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize

• Best Crime Short Story, with a $200 prize

• The Best French Language Crime Book, sponsored by Carrick Publishing, with a $500 prize

• Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book, sponsored by Superior Shores Press, with a $250 prize

• The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book, sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton), with a $300 prize

• Best Unpublished Crime Novel Manuscript written by an unpublished author, sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize

Important Dates and Submission Information

Submissions will be accepted starting October 1, 2025. Full rules, eligibility criteria, and submission forms can be found on the Crime Writers of Canada website at www.crimewriterscanada.com.

• The final deadline for unpublished work submissions is October 31, 2025.

• The final deadline for published work submissions is December 15, 2025.

• The Shortlists will be announced on April 24, 2026.

• Winners will be announced on May 29, 2026.

About Our Awards Sponsors

CWC is grateful for the support of our awards sponsors:

• Shaftesbury is an award-winning creator and producer of original content for television, film, and digital. Building on a library of award-winning children’s programs, Shaftesbury has an extensive slate of new child and family programming.

• Canadian book publisher ECW Press is one of the most diversified independent publishers in North America. ECW Press has published close to 1,000 books that are distributed throughout the English-speaking world and translated into dozens of languages.

• Carrick Publishing, based in Toronto, Canada, was formed in 2010 by Donna and Alex Carrick. With over 20 titles, Carrick Publishing works closely with established and new authors to bring their work to readers.

• David Simpson, a lawyer in Hamilton and the Districts of Brant, Halton, Haldimand and Niagara, has a tradition of over fifty years of legal services. He sponsors The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book in memory of true-crime author Robert Gordon Knuckle (1935-2019).

• Melodie Campbell is the author of 17 books, 60 short stories, and is the recipient of ten awards, including the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence. She has taught fiction writing since 1992 and maintains a special interest in encouraging new writers.

• Superior Shores Press was founded in 2018 by former CWC Chair, Judy Penz Sheluk. Superior Shores Press is known for its Derringer-nominated anthologies of mystery and suspense. Judy is a bestselling author of two mystery series and two how-to guides to publishing, one of which was the winner of the 2024 Writer’s Digest Award for Best Prescriptive Nonfiction, as well as the 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Nonfiction.

• Jane Doe chooses to remain anonymous.

About Crime Writers of Canada

Founded in 1982, Crime Writers of Canada is a professional organization dedicated to raising the profile of Canadian crime writers. Our members include authors, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and literary agents, as well as many developing authors. Past winners of the Awards have included such major names in Canadian crime writing as Mario Bolduc, Gail Bowen, Stevie Cameron, Howard Engel, Barbara Fradkin, Louise Penny, Peter Robinson, and Eric Wright. We thank our sponsors and volunteers, and the many participating publishers, authors, and judges for their continued support.

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For more information about the Awards of Excellence, contact: Ludvica Boota at awards@crimewriterscanada.com

To enquire about becoming an Awards of Excellence sponsor, contact: CWC Awards Chair, Dave Wickenden at board-chair@crimewriterscanada.com