Sam Wiebe’s The Last Exile - Finalist for the 2026 BC and Yukon Book Prize’s Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize
Harbour Publishing is thrilled to announce that The Last Exile by Sam Wiebe, is a finalist for the 42nd Annual 2026 BC and Yukon Book Prize’s Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize is awarded to the author of the best work of literary fiction:
- Sarah Louise Butler, Rufous and Calliope (Douglas & McIntyre)
- Bill Gaston, Tunnel Island: Stories (Thistledown Press)
- Susan Juby, Contemplation of a Crime (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
- Maria Reva, Endling (Knopf Canada)
- Sam Wiebe, The Last Exile (Harbour Publishing)
PI Dave Wakeland returns to the streets of Vancouver for his most dangerous case yet.
Maggie Zito is being held for murder. The volatile single mother is accused of killing the retired leader of the notorious Exiles motorcycle gang and his wife aboard their million-dollar houseboat. With a mystery witness putting Maggie at the scene, and the Exiles baying for her blood, it’s unlikely she’ll make it to the trial alive.
Desperate, Maggie’s lawyer, Shuzhen Chen, calls in a favour to Dave Wakeland: Find evidence of Maggie’s innocence and get her client out of custody.
Wakeland reluctantly returns to a changing city, full of unfamiliar dangers. To prove Maggie’s innocence, he and Shuzhen must reckon with the Exiles crime syndicate and their bloodthirsty leader. The bikers are on the verge of a civil war, and an unseen foe is gunning for the top spot.
AUTHOR STATEMENT: This is the greatest place to live in the world. Even when it's raining. Especially when it's raining. And yet it presents incredibly frustrating life-and-death challenges. Dave Wakeland is someone who struggles to reconcile those facts about his home. As I do.
Writing a series of detective novels about Vancouver and its attendant social issues is a privilege and a joy. For The Last Exile to be recognized means a lot. Special thanks to everyone at Harbour, and to fellow mystery writers Iona Whishaw and Susan Juby.
Sam Wiebe is the author of the bestselling Ocean Drive (2024), as well as the Wakeland novels, one of the most authentic and acclaimed detective series in Canada, including Sunset and Jericho (2023) and The Last Exile (2025), the fifth book in the series. Guns Across the River, the sixth book in the Wakeland series published in March 2026. His work has won the Crime Writers of Canada award, the Kobo Emerging Writers prize, and a silver medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and been shortlisted for the Edgar, Hammett, Shamus and City of Vancouver book prizes. Wiebe lives in New Westminster, BC.
The Mission of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes is to recognize and promote the achievements of the book community in BC and Yukon through the BC and Yukon Book Prizes and related programs.
The BC and Yukon Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia and Yukon writers, illustrators and publishers. The 10 Prizes are presented annually at the BC and Yukon Book Prizes Gala and are administered and awarded by members of a non-profit society who represent all facets of the publishing and writing community.
A soirée to celebrate the shortlisted authors will be held on Thursday, May 21, at 6:30 pm at Book Warehouse in Vancouver (632 West Broadway). This casual, celebratory event to kick off the festivities is free and open to the public. Finalist books will be available to purchase.
The winners in the eight categories will be announced at the BC and Yukon Book Prizes Gala on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at the University Golf Club in Vancouver, along with the recipient of the 2026 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence and the Borealis Prize: The Commissioner of Yukon Award for Literary Contribution. For a list of all the finalists for all prizes, visit Winners & Finalists - BC and Yukon Book Prizes