Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award
Submission Rules
The Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award is for books that are fun to read. No angst, no gravitas, no brutality or horribleness. It’s for traditional mysteries, cozies, capers, satires, heists, humorous books (from gentle humour to laugh-out-loud fun), books that don’t hammer us with A Message. In other words, books that entertain us, that make us feel good, that make us smile.
Your book is eligible if:
- it was published for the first time between January 1 and December 31, 2026. The book can have been published in any format: print, e-book, or audio book;
- it is in English;
- it is a minimum of 60,000 words; and
- you are either a Canadian citizen (you do not have to be living in Canada) or a permanent resident of Canada.
We are accepting entries in e-book format only. Entries may be submitted as an ePUB, PDF, or DOC/DOCX, preferably in all three formats. Entries should be sent to award@bonyblithe.ca with “BB submission” in the email subject line. Include your name, phone number, and email address as well as the book title and publisher (self or publisher name) in your email. We will contact you to let you know we’ve received your submission. You may submit as many books as you like as long as they follow the above eligibility criteria. There is a $10 fee per submitted title. The fee should be e-transferred to info@bonyblithe.ca.
The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2026.
The shortlist will be released on April 16, 2027. The award will be presented at the 2027 Bony Blithe Mini-con on Friday, May 14, 2027. The Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award is sponsored by the Toronto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and author Jan Field. The prize is $1000 plus the jolly plaque shown above.
For more info, contact us at info@bonyblithe.ca.Last updated 3 July 2026.