Rewarding outstanding editorial expertise in Canadian nonfiction books
Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing
Highlights
Prize
Winner $25,000
Finalists $2,500
2026 Submissions Now Open
Due date 1: Mar 18, 2026
Due date 2: May 13, 2026
Due date 3: Jul 8, 2026
Questions? Please contact:
Devon Jackson, Associate Program Director
djackson@writerstrust.com
About the Prize
The $25,000 Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing is awarded annually to an editor whose work has made an outstanding contribution to a full-length book of literary nonfiction published during the award cycle. The prize recognizes the vital role editors play in shaping, strengthening, and supporting nonfiction works, and honours editorial excellence that is central to a book’s success.
Eligible titles span a wide range of literary nonfiction, including memoirs, personal and journalistic essays, commentary, criticism, history, natural history, travel, science, and biography. Editors are recognized for ensuring consistency of authorial voice, helping position the work effectively, navigating editorial challenges, and providing guidance and support throughout the editorial process.
The winner is selected by a three-member, independent judging panel appointed annually by Writers’ Trust. Three finalist books are shortlisted each year, with each finalist receiving $2,500. The prizewinner is announced at the Writers’ Trust Awards. The prize is generously supported by Nancy Flight.
Considering that most authors are happy to acknowledge the contributions of their editors, it seems to me that the work of editors should be more widely recognized and rewarded. For this reason, I have decided to take this task on myself, along with a great deal of help from Writers’ Trust, for which I am very grateful.
—Nancy Flight
Prize founder and supporter
Sponsor
Nancy Flight is one of Canada’s most respected and influential nonfiction editors, with more than 45 years of experience in both in-house and freelance editing in Canada and the United States. Her contributions have earned her numerous honours, including the Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence, the inaugural Karen Virag Award for raising the profile of editors and editing, and recognition as an Honorary Lifetime Member of Editors Canada in 2017.
In 2026, Flight gave a generous and important gift by making a $483,000 commitment in the form of the Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing. Valued at $25,000 and awarded annually until 2033, the prize celebrates the craft of nonfiction editing and ensures lasting recognition for the editorial professionals who help Canadian books reach their fullest potential.
Flight is editor emerita at Greystone Books, where she worked for twenty-four years, first as editorial director and later as associate publisher. Over the decades, she has worked with an extraordinary range of writers, including David Suzuki, Evelyn Lau, Wade Davis, Candace Savage, Brian Brett, Wayne Grady, and Charlotte Gill, among many others.
In addition to her editorial work, Flight has played a significant role in mentoring the next generation of publishing professionals. She has taught at the Banff Book Editing Workshop, Simon Fraser University’s Writing and Publishing Program, and the SFU Master of Publishing Program, among others, and has held leadership roles across Canada’s publishing sector.