Kate Cayley wins $20,000 Toronto Book Award for Property

Kate Cayley won the 2026 Toronto Book Award and $20,000 for her novel Property, the City of Toronto said. The award, established in 1974, honours authors whose books are inspired by the city.

Property, from Coach House Books, is set over one spring day in a gentrifying West End neighbourhood. The jury said it explores the anxieties, desires and obsessions of four families on a single Toronto street.

Four other books were shortlisted: Cherry Beach by Don Gillmor, Fatal Confession by Carolyn Strange, Good Guys by Sharon Bala and You Started It by Jackie Khalilieh. Each of those authors receives $2,000.

City Librarian Moe Hosseini-Ara of Toronto Public Library, the City’s partner in the awards, said he hopes readers across Toronto will pick up the shortlisted books, which residents can borrow through the library. Borrowing is recovering, too: Government of Ontario data show items borrowed from the library rose 13% to 28.1 million in 2024 from 25.0 million, the highest since 2019. But that is still below the 32.5 million borrowed in 2015.

Sources: City of Toronto · Government of Ontario