The J.W. Dafoe Foundation is proud to announce that Greg Mercer’s The Lobster Trap has won the 2026 Book Prize!
Published by McClelland and Stewart, this book is a page-turning examination of how a multi-billion-dollar industry creates enormous wealth and endless heartache. Violent fights have broken out over who has the right to catch one of the most recognizable luxury foods. Now overfishing, trade wars, and climate change are threatening the future of this fishery in deeply troubling ways.
The J.W. Dafoe Foundation thanks this year’s dedicated jury members, Dale Barbour, Gregory Mason, and Jean Friesen, for their service to the J.W. Dafoe Foundation.
The J.W. Dafoe Book Prize, worth $12,000, will be formally awarded later this fall at the J.W. Dafoe Foundation’s Book Prize Event. Details to come soon.
The Prize is one of the richest book awards in Canada for excellence in non-fiction, with a focus on major subjects involving Canada, the West, and Canadians, as well as the Canadian nation in international affairs.
It memorializes John Wesley Dafoe, one of the most significant Canadian newspaper editors of the 20th century. During his tenure at the Manitoba Free Press, later renamed the Winnipeg Free Press, from 1901-1944, Dafoe was known for his advocacy of western development, free trade, national independence, and the British Commonwealth.
The Foundation’s activities also support a $10,000 fellowship for M.A. students pursuing studies in international relations, international conflict resolution, economics, history, law or politics at the University of Manitoba; a $1,000 writing award for Manitoba post-secondary students; the annual J.W. Dafoe Political Studies Students’ Conference (PSSC); a prize for student and community newspaper writers established in partnership with the Winnipeg Press Club; and a number of colloquia on Canada in international affairs.