SCWES Names Book Award Winners
September 02nd, 2026
Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Announces 2026 Book Awards Winners
Writers and publishers from across British Columbia gathered at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse on Saturday, August 22, 2026, for the presentation of the Fourth Annual Book Awards for BC Authors.
Organized by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society (SCWES) as part of its Art & Words Festival, the annual competition recognizes both traditionally published and self-published works by BC residents. Submissions opened on February 1 and closed May 31, drawing entries directly from independent authors as well as major Canadian publishing houses.
“We felt there weren’t enough contests for BC authors to enter,” said SCWES president Cathalynn Cindy Labonté-Smith. “We wanted to open it up so that authors could directly enter the contest… We wanted to make it very author-centered.”
This year’s ceremony also marked the debut of the newly renamed David Roche Memorial Book Award, dedicated to the late Sunshine Coast performer, massage therapist and author who died on May 27 while working on his third memoir. Roche’s wife, Marlena Blavin, attended to present the prizes to local authors Jan DeGrass and Ken Blosser.
All eligible submitted books have been donated to the Gibsons Public Library, where they are on display and available to the community through the Public Lending Right program.
A complete list of winners by category follows below:
Winners of the 2026 Book Awards for BC Authors assemble onstage at the Heritage Playhouse following a ceremony that opened with a harp concert by Diana Child Wort. Credit: Michael Gurney.
Poetry
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Existence in All Its Uncoverable Beauty by Calvin White (Now or Never Publishing)
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Named & Nameless by Susan McCaslin (Innanna Publications)
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Scar/city by Daniela Elza (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
Fiction
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Dirty Little War by Dietrich Kalteis (ECW Press)
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The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang (HarperCollins)
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The Tiger and the Cosmonaut by Eddy Boudel Tan (Penguin Random House Canada)
Creative Non-Fiction
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Bloomsbury to Barkerville: The Life of Florence Wilson by Marion McKinnon Crook (Heritage House)
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When the Forest Breathes by Suzanne Simard (Penguin Random House Canada)
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Where the Earth Meets the Sky by Louise K. Blight (Penguin Random House Canada)
Children’s / Young Adult
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One Ocean: 7 Ways to Save the Sea by Mark Leiren-Young (Orca Book Publishers)
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Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge by Dian Day and Amanda White (Second Story Press)
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Star Sailor: The Story of Words by Sara Cassidy (Orca Book Publishers)
Indigenous Voices
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The Cree Word for Love by Tracey Lindberg and George Littlechild (HarperCollins)
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Reconciling: A Lifelong Struggle to Belong by Larry Grant and Scott Steedman (ECW Press)
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Woolly Dog Warms His Family by Andrea Fritz (Orca Book Publishers)
Diverse Voices
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Hidden Flowers: A Memoir by Keiko Honda (Heritage House)
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In This Faulty Machine by Kathy Page (Penguin Random House Canada)
Debut
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Girl Gangs, Zines and Powerslides by Natalie Porter (ECW Press)
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War Resisters: Standing Against the Vietnam War by Joline Martin (Caitlin Press)
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Blind Drunk: A Sober Look at Our Boozy Culture by Veronica Woodruff (Tidewater Press)
David Roche Memorial Book Award
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Temptations and Travels by Jan DeGrass (MW Books)
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The Loyal Order of Old School Chums by Ken Blosser (Independently published)
Independently Published
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Tizita—A Memoir of Perseverance and Enchantment by Marian Dodds (Independently published)
Youth
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The Sharp Edge of Seashells by Johanna Goldenberg (Independently published)
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