Wayson Choy was a Canadian novelist. Publishing two novels and two memoirs in his lifetime, he is considered one of the most important pioneers of Asian Canadian literature in Canada, and as an important figure in LGBT literature as one of Canada's first openly gay writers of colour to achieve widespread mainstream success.
Grant Lawrence is a Canadian broadcaster, musician and bestselling author based in Vancouver, primarily associated with CBC Music and CBC Radio 3. Lawrence was also the vocalist for the indie rock group The Smugglers.
Edna Staebler was a Canadian writer and award-winning literary journalist, best known for her series of cookbooks, particularly Food That Really Schmecks which is currently available in e-book form. While the book contains Mennonite recipes, the content also includes stories and anecdotes about life and home cooking in the rural areas of the Waterloo Region.
Russell Wangersky is a Canadian journalist and writer of creative non-fiction. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, and raised in Canada since the age of three, Wangersky was educated at Acadia University. He has been page editor of The Telegram in St. John's, as well as a columnist and magazine writer.
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. Only submitted books are considered.
Alison Watt is a Canadian writer, and painter born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Watt grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied biology (BSC) at Simon Fraser University and Creative Writing (MFA) at the University of British Columbia. She has worked as Education Coordinator at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, a tour leader in Central and South America, and a naturalist aboard the west coast schooner Maple Leaf, sailing among British Columbia's Gulf Islands, Haida Gwaii, the Great Bear Rainforest, and Alaska. She has taught art to adults since 1995, in her studio on Protection Island, Nanaimo, BC, in other venues. Since 2020 she has offered courses online, through her business ARTWORK ARTPLAY.
Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Robyn Michele Levy, first published in September 2011 by Greystone Books. In the book, the author chronicles her plight from symptoms, to medical diagnosis, and coping with simultaneous illnesses.
Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives through the Secret World of Stolen Art is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Joshua Knelman, first published in September 2011 by Douglas & McIntyre. In the book, the author chronicles his four-year investigation into the world of international art theft. Knelman traveled from Cairo to New York City, London, Montreal, and Los Angeles compiling his book; which has been called "A major work of investigative journalism", and "a globetrotting mystery filled with cunning and eccentric characters."
The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Andrew Westoll, first published in May 2011 by HarperCollins. In the book, the author chronicles the time he spent volunteering at the Fauna Sanctuary, an animal refuge in Quebec for chimpanzees that had been used for biomedical research.
Letters from the Lost: A Memoir of Discovery is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Helen Waldstein Wilkes, first published in December 2009 by Athabasca University Press. In the book, the author chronicles her discoveries after reading a box of letters she had never before seen. Her Jewish parents had fled Czechoslovakia in April 1939 to seek haven in Canada. Once in place, they corresponded with family and friends, encouraging them to escape the mounting peril that Hitler had envisioned as the Final Solution. Wilkes would learn that shortly after her parents migration, the ability to flee had been curtailed; and that each letter, compounded the historical anguish the writers were forced to endure.
A Very Capable Life: The Autobiography of Zarah Petri is a non-fiction memoir of his mother by the Canadian television host Johnnie Walters, written under his real name John Leigh Walters and published in January 2010 by Athabasca University Press. It re-tells the stories his mother described to him regarding her immigration to Canada in the 1920s. Walters gives his first person account using humor, and intrigue, to share his mother's expressed regards about her depression era experiences.
Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of Canada is a nonfiction book, written by Canadian writer Allan Casey, first published in November 2009 by Greystone Books. The book celebrates Canada's uniquely lake-rich landscape and explores the relationship that both the author and all Canadians have with this "Lakeland". In the book, the author chronicles his summer vacations to ten Canadian lakes. His tale begins at the cabin his father built on Saskatchewan's Emma Lake in 1960 and continues on a journey through ten of Canada's scenic lakes, extenuating their increasingly fragile existence as pristine lakes of Saskatchewan. It has been called an "extraordinary piece of writing", earning accolades of literary recognition.
The Riverbones: Stumbling After Eden in the Jungles of Suriname is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Andrew Westoll, first published in October 2008 by McClelland & Stewart. In the book, the author chronicles civil strife in Suriname. Westoll describes the modern struggles for human rights, ecological preservation, and the economic needs of the Suriname people. The Riverbones is called "a spellbinding tale of survival, heartbreak, mystery and murder".
Causeway: A Passage from Innocence is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Linden MacIntyre, first published in August 2006 by HarperCollins. In the book, the author recounts the 1950s construction of the Canso Causeway, linking Cape Breton to mainland Nova Scotia. MacIntyre reflects on changing ways of life and his relationship with his father. Causeway is a strong narrative of changing times and vanishing landscapes.
Romancing Mary Jane: A Year in the Life of a Failed Marijuana Grower is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Michael Poole, first published in 1998 by Greystone Books. In the book, the author chronicles the regrettable consequences of his decision to cultivate marijuana on a commercial level. Goodreads called the book, an "engaging blend of metaphysics, marijuana, and midlife crisis." A panel of Wilfrid Laurier University judges called Poole's writing, "sheer competence".
Sacré Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec is a non-fiction book, written by Canadian writer Taras Grescoe, first published in 2000 by Macfarlane Walter & Ross. In the book, the author narrates his candid recollections of moving to Quebec in 1996. In describing "the rituals, eccentricities and customs of his new home", Kathryn Wardropper, award administrator for the Edna Staebler Award said, "It may infuriate some, but it is a landmark book that portrays the challenges and opportunities for modern Quebec."
Rolling Home: A Cross Canada Railroad Memoir is a non-fiction memoir, written by Canadian writer Tom Allen, first published in October 2001 by Penguin Books. In the book, the author chronicles his travels across Canada on a train. Allen includes his interviews with passengers, engineers, cooks, and porters. Rolling Home has been called an "evocative cross-country tour of Canada by train," by Staebler award administrator Kathryn Wardropper.
After is a non-fiction book written by Canadian writer Francis Chalifour, first published in October 2005 by Tundra Books. In the book, the author narrates his pain and confusion as he grieved his father's death by suicide. Judith Miller, an award judge for the Edna Staebler Award called After, "deeply moving" saying, "We enjoyed the lyricism of his language and his strong sense of character."
Into the Abyss: How a Deadly Plane Crash Changed the Lives of a Pilot, a Politician, a Criminal and a Cop is a non-fiction book, written by the Canadian writer Carol Shaben, first published in September 2012 by Random House. The book's narrative chronicles the doomed flight of a Piper Navajo commuter plane, and the plight of four survivors as they endured the remote wilderness of northern Alberta where the plane had crashed.
Arno Kopecky is a Canadian journalist and travel writer. His book The Oil Man and the Sea: Navigating the Northern Gateway won the 2014 Edna Staebler Award, and was shortlisted for the 2014 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize and the Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction at the 2014 Governor General's Awards.
