Best Canadian essays, Selected by brian bethune

Biblioasis, 2026

In the 2026 edition of Best Canadian Essays (Bibiloasis) you’ll find crafted, moving writing from some of Canada’s most renowned essayists (Mark Kingwell, Kyo Maclear, Stephen Marche), recovering poets (Chris Banks, Shane Neilson, Ronna Bloom), literary shapeshifters (Hollie Adams, Darryl Whetter, Basma Kavanagh), and emerging scribes (Andreae Callanan and Kelsey Gilchrist, whose entry, “Driver’s Test,” was originally published in Issue 6 of The Ampersand Review). At their best these essays reckon with the ecstasy and agony of being human: dreaming, searching, losing, feeling. Highlights include Cynthia Gralla’s moving reflection on childlessness, Peter Babiak’s intimate, heartbreaking meditation on suicide, and Ian Roy’s uncanny rumination on fatherlessness.  

––Owen Percy, Dundas