The Whistler Independent Book Awards 2026 Judges

Christina MyersFinalists’ Judge Fiction Prize

Christina Myers is a freelance writer and editor, a former journalist, and the author of the essay collection Halfway Home: Thoughts from Midlife and the novel The List of Last Chances, which was longlisted for the Leacock Medal. She has been the editor of two non-fiction anthologies, was twice shortlisted for the Fred Kerner book prize, and has won the Canadian Book Club Awards in both the fiction and memoir categories. She teaches creative writing through SFU’s continuing studies and works with writers as an editor and manuscript consultant. Her next novel is moving through the publishing process, details forthcoming. She lives in Surrey with her family and four cats. Connect with Christina.

Seyward GoodhandFinalists’ Judge Fiction Prize

Seyward Goodhand’s stories have been shortlisted for the Writers’ Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize and a National Magazine Award and longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize. Her first book, Even That Wildest Hope (Invisible Publishing, 2019), was a finalist for the Manitoba Book Awards’ Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction and the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book, and longlisted for the 2020 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Seyward lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Bill ArnottFinalists’ Judge Non-Fiction Prize

Bill Arnott is the BC Book Prize bestselling author of the Perfect Day Walks, the Season memoirs, and the award-winning Gone Viking travelogues. For his expeditions he’s been named Fellow of Britain’s Royal Geographical Society and serves as Ambassador for the Society as well as Canadian Geographic and Adventure Canada. Bill also writes for numerous magazines and presents for universities, TV and radio. When not trekking, Bill can be found around British Columbia, where he lives on Coast Salish land. Bill’s website.

Sonja LarsenFinalists’ Judge for Non-fiction

Sonja Larsen’s work has appeared in literary publications in the US, Canada and the UK. Her memoir Red Star Tattoo: My Life As a Girl Revolutionary (Random House Canada)  won the 2017 Edna Staebler Non Fiction award and was shortlisted for the Writers Trust Non Fiction Award. She lives in Vancouver BC where she is currently working on her second book about her experiences running a computer lab in an inner-city community centre. Sonja’s website

Richard LemmFinalists’ Judge Poetry Prize

Richard Lemm taught creative writing and literature at the University of Prince Edward Island from 1988 to 2025. He is the author of six poetry collections, a short fiction collection, and a biography of Milton Acorn, Canada’s People’s Poet. A past-president of The League of Canadian Poets and past co-chair of Access Copyright, he has served on juries for The Canada Council for the Arts, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the CBC Radio Literary Competition, and the Governor General’s Award for Poetry. Richard’s website

Rob TaylorFinalists’ Judge Poetry Prize

Rob Taylor is the author of five poetry collections: Weather (Gaspereau Press, 2024), Strangers (Biblioasis, 2021), Oh Not So Great: Poems from the Depression Project (Leaf Press, 2017), The News (Gaspereau Press, 2016) and The Other Side of Ourselves (Cormorant Books, 2011). Rob’s books have been won, or been a finalist for a number of awards, including the Raymond Souster Award (Weather, 2025), the Fred Cogswell Award (Weather, 2025), the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize (The News, 2017) and the Alfred G. Bailey Prize (The Other Side of Ourselves, 2010). Rob’s website.

Andreas OertelFinalists’ Judge Children’s Prize

Andreas Oertel was born in Germany, but he’s lived most of his life in Canada. He’s travelled all over the world and had a hundred different jobs—everything from rickshaw driver to health inspector—but he always goes back to writing. Andreas’s middle-grade fiction is critically acclaimed and has been nominated for many awards (Silver Birch Award, Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award, and Charlotte Award). He spends much of his free time visiting schools and talking to young people about the magic of reading and books. Andreas’ website.

Sheri RadfordFinalists’ Judge Children’s Prize

Sheri Radford has been a writer and editor for many years, covering lifestyle and sustainability topics for a variety of publications, and she is the author of five extremely silly books for children. Her household in downtown Vancouver is ruled by the whims of a large and opinionated Norwegian forest cat. Sheri’s website.