Sarah Louise Butler has been shortlisted for the 2026 BC and Yukon Book Prizes in the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize category for her novel Rufous and Calliope (Douglas & McIntyre, 2025). The announcement, made by the West Coast Book Prize Society, highlights a strong showing from British Columbia writers and publishers across multiple categories.

Set in the BC Interior, Butler’s novel follows a cartographer grappling with memory loss as he retraces a formative childhood summer in the wilderness. Blending ecological themes with questions of family and identity, the book continues Butler’s interest in landscape as both setting and character.

The 2026 shortlists also feature several BC-based authors and titles published by BC presses. Among them are Rahat Kurd, shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for The Book of Z (Talonbooks, 2025), and Ruby Smith Díaz, whose Searching for Serafim (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2025) appears in multiple categories including the Jim Deva Prize.

Other notable finalists include Phillip Seagram for No Judgement (Caitlin Press, 2025), Kawika Guillermo for Of Floating Isles (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2025), Gregor Craigie for Saving Wolfgang (Orca Book Publishers, 2025), and Kim Spencer for I Won’t Feel This Way Forever (Orca Book Publishers, 2025).

A public soirée celebrating the shortlisted authors will take place on May 21 at Book Warehouse in Vancouver.

Winners will be announced at the annual gala on September 19 at the University Golf Club.