Three local authors win the 2025 Ottawa Book Awards and Prix du Livre d’Ottawa

Three local authors - Nina Berkhout, Denise Chong and Emmanuelle Erny - win the 2025 Ottawa Book Awards and Prix du Livre d’Ottawa at a ceremony at the Les Lye Studio Theatre.

We are tickled pink to announce the winners of the 2025 Ottawa Book Awards and the 2025 Prix du livre d’Ottawa. The three winners were recognized at a ceremony this past Saturday, November 15 at the Les Lye Studio Theatre – Meridian Theatres in Centrepointe. The awards have been presented annually for the past 39 years to recognize Ottawa’s rich literary talent.

This year’s Ottawa Book Award winners are:

• English fiction - Nina Berkhout for This Bright Dust (Goose Lane Editions)
• English non-fiction - Denise Chong for Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur's Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse (Random House Canada)
• Prix du livre – Emmanuelle Erny for Charlotte au pays des mots (Les Éditions L’Interligne)

The shortlisted finalists and winners were selected by a jury of peers. This year’s jury panel read literary works that dealt with the human condition and how it is shaped by life’s events.

“This Bright Dust leads the reader through the make-or-break year of 1939 as two families struggle to survive in the prairies amidst crippling poverty and ecological disaster,” summarized the jury about the work of Nina Berkhout. “A tale of survival and yearning set against the brutal backdrop of the Great Depression and a looming war, This Bright Dust is an unforgettable novel.”

The jury thought Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur's Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse written by past Ottawa Book Award winner Denise Chong “deserves recognition for its honesty and unflinching portrayal of one of the darker sides of domestic life.” The jury panel highlighted the indiscriminatory nature of violence against women and noted that “Denise offers a powerful description of Rumana’s struggles that makes us feel as if we are sharing her trials and tribulations.”

The jury, enthused by Emmanuelle Erny’s Charlotte au pays des mots, noted “This short fantasy novel delivers a unique and entertaining tribute to the French language,” and “The author's lavish prose spins a captivating, refreshing tale full of twists and turns, in which Molière's language, constantly in the spotlight, wins the hearts of young and old alike.”

It is with great sadness that we mark the recent passing of Ottawa Book Awards finalist, Tim Cook. A four-time winner for English non-fiction, Mr. Cook was a renowned and prolific author and military historian. His passing is a significant loss to Ottawa’s literary community and was acknowledged during the awards ceremony.

More information about the Ottawa Book Awards, including full jury statements, and a full list of this year’s nominees is available at Ottawa Book Awards | City of Ottawa.

The books of this year’s winners and nominees, as well as those of past years, are available at Ottawa Public Library (OPL). An OPL card is free for everyone who lives in Ottawa.

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