Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book

Language: English

Presented annually to a Manitoba writer whose first professionally-published English-language book is deemed the best written.
 
Eligibility: 

• Entry must be an English book in any genre (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, photography, or visual arts), published between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. 
• Eligible authors must have been residents of Manitoba for one of the past two years and three of the past five years.
• Co-authored books are eligible as long as 50% of authors meet the residency criteria and that it is a first book for all authors.
• Submissions must be a first book for authors and illustrators where applicable.
• Anthologies are eligible as long as 50% of editors meet the residency criteria and that it is a first book for all editors.
• The prize may be awarded posthumously to an author or editor who has met the publication and residency requirements but has died within the award period.

Prize amount: $2,000

The Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book is generously sponsored by the Winnipeg Foundation and the Manitoba Writers’ Guild.