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.Faculty of Arts. "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Retrieved 11/20/2012. Only submitted books are considered.
For purposes of the award, "Creative non-fiction is literary not journalistic. The writer does not merely give information but intimately shares an experience with the reader by telling a factual story using the devices of fiction ... Rather than emphasizing objectivity, the book should have feeling, and should be a compelling, engaging read."
Recipients
The panel may "grant or withhold the award in any year." In fact the award has been granted every year and there were two winners in 1993 (published 1992).
In the 2020s, the awards were postponed for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada."Samra Habib, Ann Hui and John Zada shortlisted for 2020 Edna Staebler Award following pandemic postponement". CBC Books, July 28, 2022. The nominees for 2020 were announced in July 2022, with the winner to be announced in August, and the nominees for 2021 are expected later in the year. Following postponement during the pandemic, a shortlist of nominees was announced on May 18, 2023.
1990s +Edna Staebler Award recipients (1991-1999)YearAuthorTitleResultRef. 1991Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert GoodwinWinnerFaculty of Arts (1991). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Susan Mayse. Retrieved 11/18/2012.1992Nitassinan: The Innu Struggle to Reclaim Their HomelandWinnerFaculty of Arts (1992). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Marie Wadden. Retrieved 11/20/2012.Fields of Vision: A Journey to Canada's Family FarmsShortlist and Mary LasovichRock-a-bye Baby: A Death Behind BarsInvisible Power: The Women Who Run CanadaStreet Kids: The Tragedy of Canada's Runaways1993White Lies (for my mother)WinnerFaculty of Arts (1993). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Liza Potvin. Retrieved 11/20/2012.Faculty of Arts (1993). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Elizabeth Hay. Retrieved 11/26/2012.1994Sharing a Robin's LifeWinnerFaculty of Arts (1994). Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Linda Johns. Retrieved 11/21/2012.1995WinnerFaculty of Arts (1995). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Denise Chong. Retrieved 11/18/2012.Picasso's Woman: A Breast Cancer StoryShortlistAfter the Smoke ClearedSurvival Gear1996WinnerFaculty of Arts (1996). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. George G. Blackburn. Retrieved 11/21/2012.Artists, Craftsmen and Technocrats: The Dreams, Realities and Illusions of LeadershipShortlistStompin' Tom: Before the FameWomen of the Klondike1997Timely DeathWinnerFaculty of Arts (1997). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Anne Mullens. Retrieved 11/23/2012.Starting from PorcupineShortlistStony Ground: The Making of a Canadian Garden1998Mrs. KingWinnerFaculty of Arts (1998). Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Charlotte Gray. Retrieved 11/24/2012.And Peace Never CameShortlistGod in the Classroom: The Controversial Issue of Religion in Canada's SchoolsNahanni Remembered1999Romancing Mary JaneWinnerFaculty of Arts (1999). "Edna Staebler Award wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Michael Poole. Retrieved 11/25/2012.I Was a Teenage Katima-Victim: A Canadian OdysseyShortlist and Rowena MaharToo Many to Mourn: One Family's Tragedy in the Halifax ExplosionCharlevoix County: 1930
2000s +Edna Staebler Award recipients (2000-2009)YearAuthorTitleResultRef.2000Paper ShadowsWinnerFaculty of Arts (2000). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Wayson Choy. Retrieved 11/18/2012.Shadow Child: An Apprenticeship in Love and LossShortlistAlways and AfterWardlife: The Apprenticeship of a Young Writer as a Hospital Clerk2001Sacré BluesWinnerFaculty of Arts (2001). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Taras Grescoe. Retrieved 11/26/2012.In for a Penny, In for a Pound: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Wireless Operator in Bomber CommandShortlistMary Pratt: A Personal CalligraphyRiver in a Dry Land: A Prairie Passage2002Rolling Home: A Cross Canada Railroad MemoirWinnerFaculty of Arts (2002). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Tom Allen. Retrieved 11/26/2012.Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It's NecessaryShortlistWaltzing the Tango: Confessions of an Out-of-Step BoomerUnder Syndenham Skies: A Celebration of Country Life2003WinnerFaculty of Arts (2003). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Alison Watt. Retrieved 11/27/2012.Mean Streets: Confessions of a Night-Time Taxi DriverShortlistRacing the White Silence: On The Trail of the Yukon QuestSeldom: A Memoir2004 Into the BlueWinnerFaculty of Arts (2004). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Previous winners. Andrea Curtis. Retrieved 11/27/2012.Rogue Diamonds: The Rush for Northern Riches on Dene LandShortlistWondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn GouldFrom Somewhere ElseDiscovering Eden: A Lifetime of Paddling Arctic Rivers2005I'll Tell You a SecretWinnerFaculty of Arts (2005). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Anne Coleman. Retrieved 11/27/2012.ShortlistSnow Bodies: One Woman’s Life on the Streets2006AfterWinnerFaculty of Arts (2006). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Francis Chalifour. Retrieved 11/27/2012.Up NorthShortlistDragonslippers: This is What an Abusive Relationship Can Look LikeLoss of Faith: How the Air-India Bombers Got Away with Murder2007Causeway: A Passage from InnocenceWinnerPoets & Pahlevans: A Journey into the Heart of IranShortlistHannusInterim Essays & Mediations2008StardustWinnerFaculty of Arts (2008). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ".wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Bruce Serafin. Retrieved 11/18/2012.Baptism of Fire: The Second Battle of Ypres and the Forging of Canada, April 1915ShortlistFrench Kiss: Stephen Harper’s Blind Date with Quebec2009Burning Down the House: Fighting Fires and Losing MyselfWinnerFaculty of Arts (2009). "Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Russell Wangersky. Retrieved 11/18/2012.ShortlistLost: A Memoir
2010s +Edna Staebler Award recipients (2010-2019)YearAuthorTitleResultRef.2010WinnerMacDonald, Scott, (October 14, 2010). "Kitchener author wins Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Quill & Quire. Retrieved 11/18/2012.Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of CanadaShortlistSmiling Bears: A Zookeeper Explores the Behaviour and Emotional Life of Bears2011Letters from the LostWinnerFaculty of Arts (September 8, 2011). "Helen Waldstein Wilkes wins 2011 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Helen Waldstein Wilkes. Retrieved 11/18/2012.Jew and Improved: How Choosing to be Chosen Made Me a Better ManShortlistAdventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound2012Hot ArtWinnerFaculty of Arts (November 7, 2012). "Joshua Knelman wins 2012 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ". wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Joshua Knelman. Retrieved 11/18/2012.Most of Me: Surviving My Medical MeltdownShortlist2013Into the AbyssWinnerFaculty of Arts (July 30, 2013). "Carol Shaben named winner of the 2013 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction . wlu.ca. Headlines (News Releases). Previous winners. Carol Shaben. Retrieved 12/3/2013.Intolerable: A Memoir of ExtremesShortlist2014Winner"Arno Kopecky wins Edna Staebler Award". Quill & Quire, September 5, 2014.ShortlistConfessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad2015Birding with YeatsWinner"Lynn Thomson wins 2015 Edna Staebler Award". Quill & Quire, September 23, 2015.Writing with Grace: A Journey Beyond Down SyndromeShortlistForgiveness: A Gift From My Grandparents2016Winner"Awards: Ann Walmsley wins 2016 Edna Staebler Award". Quill & Quire, September 21, 2016.Shortlist2017Red Star TattooWinnerShortlist2018Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive ChildhoodWinner"Pauline Dakin's Run, Hide, Repeat wins $10K creative nonfiction prize". CBC Books, September 25, 2018.Life on the Ground FloorShortlist2019Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk RoadWinner"Kate Harris wins prestigious Edna Staebler Award". Waterloo Region Record, September 21, 2019.Mad Blood StirringShortlistHeart Berries: A Memoir
2020s +Edna Staebler Award recipients (2020-2029)YearAuthorTitleResultRef.2020Chop Suey NationWinnerDrudi, Cassandra, (September 26, 2022). "Ann Hui wins 2020 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Quill & Quire. Retrieved July 19, 2023.We Have Always Been HereShortlist In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond2021The Erratics: A MemoirWinnerWilfred Laurier University, (May 23, 2023). "Laurier names author Vicki Laveau-Harvie winner of 2021 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction". Wilfred Laurier University. Retrieved July 19, 2023.Two Trees Make a Forest: In Search of My Family's Past Among Taiwan's Mountains and CoastsShortlist Wilfred Laurier University, (May 18, 2023). " Laurier announces 2021 shortlist for Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction following pandemic postponement"