Returning this year following a two-year hiatus, the Manitoba Book Awards celebrate excellence in Manitoba writing and publishing. The 2026 winners were announced on September 19 at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg. Cale Plett's YA debut, Wavelength (Groundwood Books), took home the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book. The $2,000 prize is generously sponsored by the Winnipeg Foundation and the Manitoba Writers’ Guild.
For the complete list of winners, visit manitobabookawards.ca.
About Wavelength
Seventeen-year-old pop sensation Sasha may be famous, but they’ve always kept a layer of anonymity by covering their face to perform. Facing pressure to unmask in public, Sasha runs away to a nowhere midwestern city, planning to finish senior year and come out as non-binary away from the limelight. But their plan falters from the moment they meet Wavelength, an alt-rock band, and their lead singer. Lillian is struggling to keep the band together, caught in a mess of lyrics, late-night texts and illconceived love notes. She’s torn between feelings for her ex-girlfriend (and ex-bandmember) and her new infatuation with Sasha. Maybe this stranger is the new singer and the new love she’s looking for—even though Sasha’s stories don’t seem to quite add up.