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Edna Staebler Award
Awarded forthe best creative non-fiction book with Canadian significance by a new Canadian writer
Sponsored byAn Edna Staebler financial endowment
CountryCanada
Presented byFaculty of Arts,
Wilfrid Laurier University
Reward(s)C$10,000
First awarded1991
WebsiteEdna Staebler Awards for Creative Non-Fiction

The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction is an annual literary award recognizing the previous year's best creative nonfiction book with a "Canadian locale and/or significance" that is a Canadian writer's "first or second published book of any type or genre". It was established by an endowment from Edna Staebler, a literary journalist best known for cookbooks, and was inaugurated in 1991 for publication year 1990. The award is administered by Wilfrid Laurier University's Faculty of Arts.[1] Only submitted books are considered.

For purposes of the award, "Creative non-fiction is literary not journalistic. The writer does not merely give information but intimately shares an experience with the reader by telling a factual story using the devices of fiction ... Rather than emphasizing objectivity, the book should have feeling, and should be a compelling, engaging read."

Recipients

The panel may "grant or withhold the award in any year." In fact the award has been granted every year and there were two winners in 1993 (published 1992).

In the 2020s, the awards were postponed for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[2] The nominees for 2020 were announced in July 2022, with the winner to be announced in August, and the nominees for 2021 are expected later in the year.[2] Following postponement during the pandemic, a shortlist of nominees was announced on May 18, 2023.[3]

1990s

Edna Staebler Award recipients (1991-1999)
Year Author Title Result Ref.
1991 Susan Mayse Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin Winner [4]
1992 Marie Wadden Nitassinan: The Innu Struggle to Reclaim Their Homeland Winner [5]
Phil Jenkins Fields of Vision: A Journey to Canada's Family Farms Shortlist
Anne Kershaw and Mary Lasovich Rock-a-bye Baby: A Death Behind Bars
Sherrill MacLaren Invisible Power: The Women Who Run Canada
Marlene Webber Street Kids: The Tragedy of Canada's Runaways
1993 Liza Potvin White Lies (for my mother) Winner [6]
Elizabeth Hay The Only Snow in Havana [7]
1994 Linda Johns Sharing a Robin's Life Winner [8]
1995 Denise Chong The Concubine's Children Winner [9]
Rosalind MacPhee Picasso's Woman: A Breast Cancer Story Shortlist
Jack Kuper After the Smoke Cleared
Rita Moir Survival Gear
1996 George G. Blackburn The Guns of Normandy Winner [10]
Patricia Pitcher Artists, Craftsmen and Technocrats: The Dreams, Realities and Illusions of Leadership Shortlist
Tom Connors Stompin' Tom: Before the Fame
Frances Backhouse Women of the Klondike
1997 Anne Mullens Timely Death Winner [11]
William Aide Starting from Porcupine Shortlist
Phil Jenkins An Acre of Time: The Enduring Value of Place
Douglas Chambers Stony Ground: The Making of a Canadian Garden
1998 Charlotte Gray Mrs. King Winner [12]
Elisabeth Raab And Peace Never Came Shortlist
Lois Sweet God in the Classroom: The Controversial Issue of Religion in Canada's Schools
A. C. Lewis Nahanni Remembered
1999 Michael Poole Romancing Mary Jane Winner [13]
Will Ferguson I Was a Teenage Katima-Victim: A Canadian Odyssey Shortlist
James Mahar and Rowena Mahar Too Many to Mourn: One Family's Tragedy in the Halifax Explosion
Jori Smith Charlevoix County: 1930

2000s

Edna Staebler Award recipients (2000-2009)
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2000 Wayson Choy Paper Shadows Winner [14]
Beth Powning Shadow Child: An Apprenticeship in Love and Loss Shortlist
Ellen Stafford Always and After
Kevin Patterson The Water in Between: A Journey at Sea
Andrew Steinmetz Wardlife: The Apprenticeship of a Young Writer as a Hospital Clerk
2001 Taras Grescoe Sacré Blues Winner [15]
Howard Hewer In for a Penny, In for a Pound: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Wireless Operator in Bomber Command Shortlist
Mary Pratt Mary Pratt: A Personal Calligraphy
Trevor Herriot River in a Dry Land: A Prairie Passage
2002 Tom Allen Rolling Home: A Cross Canada Railroad Memoir Winner [16]
Nicholas Pashley Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It's Necessary Shortlist
Gabriel Bauer Waltzing the Tango: Confessions of an Out-of-Step Boomer
Ron Corbett Last Guide: A Story of Fish and Love The
Cornelia Johanna Baines Under Syndenham Skies: A Celebration of Country Life
2003 Alison Watt The Last Island Winner [17]
Peter McSherry Mean Streets: Confessions of a Night-Time Taxi Driver Shortlist
Adam Killick Racing the White Silence: On The Trail of the Yukon Quest
Dawn Rae Downton Seldom: A Memoir
2004 Andrea Curtis Into the Blue Winner [18]
Ellen Bielawski Rogue Diamonds: The Rush for Northern Riches on Dene Land Shortlist
Kevin Bazzana Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould
Ralph Osborne From Somewhere Else
Alex M. Hall Discovering Eden: A Lifetime of Paddling Arctic Rivers
2005 Anne Coleman I'll Tell You a Secret Winner [19]
Tilda Shalof A Nurse's Story: Life, Death and In-Between in an Intensive Care Unit Shortlist
Geoff Heinricks A Fool and Forty Acres: Conjuring a Vineyard Three Thousand Miles from Burgundy
Elizabeth Hudson Snow Bodies: One Woman’s Life on the Streets
Michael Mitchell The Molly Fire
2006 Francis Chalifour After Winner [20]
Lisa Rochon Up North Shortlist
Rosalind B. Penfold Dragonslippers: This is What an Abusive Relationship Can Look Like
John Vaillant The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed
Kim Bolan Loss of Faith: How the Air-India Bombers Got Away with Murder
2007 Linden MacIntyre Causeway: A Passage from Innocence Winner [21]
Marcello Di Cintio Poets & Pahlevans: A Journey into the Heart of Iran Shortlist
Rachel Lebowitz Hannus
Patrick Friesen Interim Essays & Mediations
2008 Bruce Serafin Stardust Winner [22]
Nathan M. Greenfield Baptism of Fire: The Second Battle of Ypres and the Forging of Canada, April 1915 Shortlist
Chantal Hébert French Kiss: Stephen Harper’s Blind Date with Quebec
Jane Hall The Red Wall: A Woman in the RCMP
2009 Russell Wangersky Burning Down the House: Fighting Fires and Losing Myself Winner [23]
Martin Mitchinson The Darien Gap: Travels in the Rainforest of Panama Shortlist
Cathy Ostlere Lost: A Memoir
Andrew Westoll The Riverbones: Stumbling After Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

2010s

Edna Staebler Award recipients (2010-2019)
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2010 John Leigh Walters A Very Capable Life Winner [24]
Allan Casey Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of Canada Shortlist
Else Poulsen Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper Explores the Behaviour and Emotional Life of Bears
2011 Helen Waldstein Wilkes Letters from the Lost Winner [25]
Benjamin Errett Jew and Improved: How Choosing to be Chosen Made Me a Better Man Shortlist
Grant Lawrence Adventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound
2012 Joshua Knelman Hot Art Winner [26]
Robyn Michele Levy Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown Shortlist
Andrew Westoll The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery
2013 Carol Shaben Into the Abyss Winner [27]
Kamal Al-Solaylee Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes Shortlist
Nahlah Ayed A Thousand Farewells: A Reporter’s Journey from Refugee Camp to the Arab Spring
2014 Arno Kopecky The Oil Man and the Sea: Navigating the Northern Gateway Winner [28]
Allen Smutylo The Memory of Water Shortlist
Alison Wearing Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad
2015 Lynn Thomson Birding with Yeats Winner [29]
Judy McFarlane Writing with Grace: A Journey Beyond Down Syndrome Shortlist
Mark Sakamoto Forgiveness: A Gift From My Grandparents
2016 Ann Walmsley The Prison Book Club Winner [30]
Lorimer Shenher That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away Shortlist
Sheila Watt-Cloutier The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet
2017 Sonja Larsen Red Star Tattoo Winner
Duncan McCue The Shoe Boy Shortlist
Rajiv Surendra The Elephants in My Backyard
2018 Pauline Dakin Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood Winner [31]
James Maskalyk Life on the Ground Floor Shortlist
Adam Shoalts A History of Canada in Ten Maps
2019 Kate Harris Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road Winner [32]
Daemon Fairless Mad Blood Stirring Shortlist
Terese Marie Mailhot Heart Berries: A Memoir

2020s

Edna Staebler Award recipients (2020-2029)
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2020 Ann Hui Chop Suey Nation Winner [33]
Samra Habib We Have Always Been Here Shortlist [2]
John Zada In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond
2021 Vicki Laveau-Harvie The Erratics: A Memoir Winner [34]
Jessica J. Lee Two Trees Make a Forest: In Search of My Family's Past Among Taiwan's Mountains and Coasts Shortlist [35]
Rachel Matlow Dead Mom Walking: A Memoir of Miracle Cures and Other Disasters
2022 Jillian Horton We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine and Healing Winner [36]
2023 Hilary Peach Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood Winner [37]
Cody Caetano Half-Bads in White Regalia Shortlist [38]

References

  1. ^ Faculty of Arts. "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-05 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Retrieved 11/20/2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Samra Habib, Ann Hui and John Zada shortlisted for 2020 Edna Staebler Award following pandemic postponement". CBC Books, July 28, 2022.
  3. ^ "Laurier announces 2021 shortlist for Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction following pandemic postponement". www.wlu.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  4. ^ Faculty of Arts (1991). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Susan Mayse. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  5. ^ Faculty of Arts (1992). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Marie Wadden. Retrieved 11/20/2012.
  6. ^ Faculty of Arts (1993). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Liza Potvin. Retrieved 11/20/2012.
  7. ^ Faculty of Arts (1993). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Elizabeth Hay. Retrieved 11/26/2012.
  8. ^ Faculty of Arts (1994). Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2012-10-01 at the Wayback Machine". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Linda Johns. Retrieved 11/21/2012.
  9. ^ Faculty of Arts (1995). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Denise Chong. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  10. ^ Faculty of Arts (1996). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. George G. Blackburn. Retrieved 11/21/2012.
  11. ^ Faculty of Arts (1997). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Anne Mullens. Retrieved 11/23/2012.
  12. ^ Faculty of Arts (1998). Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Charlotte Gray. Retrieved 11/24/2012.
  13. ^ Faculty of Arts (1999). "Edna Staebler Award Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Michael Poole. Retrieved 11/25/2012.
  14. ^ Faculty of Arts (2000). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Wayson Choy. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  15. ^ Faculty of Arts (2001). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Taras Grescoe. Retrieved 11/26/2012.
  16. ^ Faculty of Arts (2002). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Tom Allen. Retrieved 11/26/2012.
  17. ^ Faculty of Arts (2003). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Alison Watt. Retrieved 11/27/2012.
  18. ^ Faculty of Arts (2004). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Previous winners. Andrea Curtis. Retrieved 11/27/2012.
  19. ^ Faculty of Arts (2005). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Anne Coleman. Retrieved 11/27/2012.
  20. ^ Faculty of Arts (2006). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Francis Chalifour. Retrieved 11/27/2012.
  21. ^ Faculty of Arts (2007). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2012-12-08 at archive.today". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Linden MacIntyre. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  22. ^ Faculty of Arts (2008). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2013-02-11 at the Wayback Machine".wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Bruce Serafin. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  23. ^ Faculty of Arts (2009). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Russell Wangersky. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  24. ^ MacDonald, Scott, (October 14, 2010). "Kitchener author wins Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Quill & Quire. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  25. ^ Faculty of Arts (September 8, 2011). "Helen Waldstein Wilkes wins 2011 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-05 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Helen Waldstein Wilkes. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  26. ^ Faculty of Arts (November 7, 2012). "Joshua Knelman wins 2012 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2014-06-05 at Archive-It". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Joshua Knelman. Retrieved 11/18/2012.
  27. ^ Faculty of Arts (July 30, 2013). "Carol Shaben named winner of the 2013 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Carol Shaben. Retrieved 12/3/2013.
  28. ^ "Arno Kopecky wins Edna Staebler Award". Quill & Quire, September 5, 2014.
  29. ^ "Lynn Thomson wins 2015 Edna Staebler Award". Quill & Quire, September 23, 2015.
  30. ^ "Awards: Ann Walmsley wins 2016 Edna Staebler Award". Quill & Quire, September 21, 2016.
  31. ^ "Pauline Dakin's Run, Hide, Repeat wins $10K creative nonfiction prize". CBC Books, September 25, 2018.
  32. ^ "Kate Harris wins prestigious Edna Staebler Award". Waterloo Region Record, September 21, 2019.
  33. ^ Drudi, Cassandra, (September 26, 2022). "Ann Hui wins 2020 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Quill & Quire. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  34. ^ Wilfred Laurier University, (May 23, 2023). "Laurier names author Vicki Laveau-Harvie winner of 2021 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Wilfred Laurier University. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  35. ^ Wilfred Laurier University, (May 18, 2023). "Laurier announces 2021 shortlist for Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction following pandemic postponement" Wilfred Laurier University. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  36. ^ Wilfred Laurier University, (October 18, 2023). "Laurier names author Jillian Horton 2022 winner of the prestigious Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Wilfred Laurier University. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  37. ^ Cassandra Drudi, "Hilary Peach wins 2023 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Quill & Quire, February 15, 2024.
  38. ^ "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction 2023 shortlist announced". Quill & Quire, February 2, 2024.

External links

Winners of the Edna Staebler Award
Categories