The winners of the 2026 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Awards (MYRCA) were announced on April 23 at Jubilee Place Concert Hall in Winnipeg. Manitoba’s young readers have the opportunity to vote for their favourite Canadian book in two categories—the MYRCA Sundogs for Grades 4-6 and the MYRCA Northern Lights for Grades 7-9. The winners and honour book are listed below.
MYRCA Sundogs (Grades 4-6)
Coop for Keeps, written Larry Verstraete (Yellow Dog)
HONOUR BOOK
Mortified, written by Kristy Jackson, illustrated by Rhael McGregor (HarperCollins Publishers)
MYRCA Northern Lights (Grades 7-9)
If We Tell You, written Nicola Dahlin (Kids Can Press)
HONOUR BOOK
Tig, written by Heather Smith (Tundra Books)
During the ceremony, the MYRCA committee unveiled the 2027 nominees.
2027 MYRCA Sundog nominees
The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt, written by Gabrielle Prendergast (Orca Book Publishers)
Benny on the Case, written by Wesley King (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
The City of Lost Cats, written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (Tundra Books)
The Ghost of Bitterfly Bay, written by Mary Averling (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
How to Save a Library, written by Colleen Nelson (Pajama Press)
Invisible: The (Sort of) True Story of Me & My Hidden Disease, written and illustrated by David Soren (Penguin Workshop)
Saving Wolfgang, written by Gregor Craigie (Orca Book Publishers)
Time Surfers, written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester (HarperCollins Publishers)
Touching Grass, written by Kristy Jackson, illustrated by Rhael McGregor (HarperCollins Publishers)
Way Off Track: A Nansi Graphic Novel, written by Carl Brundtland, illustrated by Claudia Dávila (Kids Can Press)
2027 MYRCA Northern Lights nominees
The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham, written by Ryan James Black (Nancy Paulsen Books)
The Factory, written by Catherine Egan (Scholastic Inc.)
Fierce Voice, written by Susan Currie (Common Deer Press)
Fireboy, written by Edward Willett (Shadowpaw Press)
In the Forests of the Night, written by Alison Hughes (DCB Young Readers)
Meet Me a Blue Hour, written by Sarah Suk (Quill Tree Books)
Red Flags and Butterflies, written by Sheryl Azzam (DCB Young Readers)
True Colors: Growing Up Weird in the 90s, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel, translated by Montana Kane (Drawn & Quarterly)
Under Attack, written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Scholastic Press)
The Vanished Ones, written by Chad Lucas (Amulet Books)
For more information, visit myrca.ca.