Submit a publication for The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize - opening Sept. 11

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2024 City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, recognizing local authors who contribute to Canada’s literary landscape through novels, short stories, and literary works in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, children’s literature, and poetry.

To be eligible for this Calgary Award, the book must be published in 2023 and the author must have lived in Calgary for a minimum of two years as of Dec. 1, 2023. Award criteria and entry form can be found at calgary.ca/calgaryawards.  

Established in 1996, 27 local writers have received the prestigious prize, which includes a cheque for $5,000. The award is named in honour of Canadian writer and broadcaster W.O. Mitchell (1914-1998). Mitchell’s best-loved novel Who Has Seen the Wind (1947) portrays life on the Canadian Prairies from the point of view of a small boy and sold almost a million copies in Canada.

Last year, the 2023 prize went to Calgary writer Suzette Mayr for The Sleeping Car Porter. Other prize recipients have included such writers as Tyler Trafford (non-fiction novel Almost a Great Escape, 2013); Rona Altrows (short stories A Run on Hose, 2006) and Paulo da Costa (fictional novel The Scent of a Lie, 2002).  A list of previous award recipients can be found at calgary.ca/calgaryawards.

Submission deadline is Dec. 1, 2023. The recipient will be announced at the 2024 Calgary Awards in June.

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