Calgary,
15
September
2026
|
10:00
America/Denver

Submissions for The City of Calgary 2027 W.O. Mitchell Book Prize now open

The City of Calgary is now accepting submissions from local authors for the 2027 W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, recognizing literary works published in 2026. This prize is awarded in honour of acclaimed Calgary writer and broadcaster W.O. Mitchell (1914–1998), whose best-loved novel Who Has Seen the Wind (1947) portrayed Prairie life through the eyes of a child and sold almost a million copies in Canada.

Established in 1996, the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize is coordinated through a partnership between The City of Calgary and the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, which administers the award as part of the Alberta Literary Competitions. Since its creation, 30 Calgary writers have received this prestigious award. The winning author receives a $5,000 cash prize, presented at the Calgary Awards in June 2027.

Submissions are being accepted until Dec. 1, 2026. Full award criteria and the entry form can be found at calgary.ca/calgaryawards.

Eligibility details:

  • Eligible books must have been published anywhere in the world between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2026.
  • The author must have lived (permanent address) in Calgary for a minimum of two years, as of Dec. 31, 2026.
  • Eligible categories include fiction, poetry, non-fiction, children’s literature, or drama.
  • Self-published books with an ISBN are eligible.

Entries are judged by an independent jury recruited by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. Shortlisted authors will have the opportunity to participate in a public reading event.

The 2026 recipient of the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize was Calgary writer Marcello Di Cintio for his book Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers.

Previous recipients include:

  • Julie Sedivy (Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love, 2025)
  • Clem Martini (Cantata and The Extinction Therapist, 2024)
  • Suzette Mayr (The Sleeping Car Porter, 2023)
  • Jaspreet Singh (My Mother, My Translator, 2022)

A complete list of previous winners can be found at calgary.ca/calgaryawards.

For more information, visit calgary.ca/calgaryawards or writersguild.ca.