Toronto/CMEDIA: Kate Cayley reportedly has been honored with the 2026 Toronto Book Award at the Toronto Reference Library for her novel Property, published by Coach House Books, the City of Toronto has announced.
“This award celebrates the outstanding literary talent that helps define Toronto’s cultural landscape and brings our city’s stories to life…remarkable contributions to Canadian literature. I hope readers across Toronto will pick up these books and come away inspired by their creativity, insight and range of perspectives,” Moe Hosseini-Ara, City Librarian & CEO, Toronto Public Library has said.
Property follows a cast of interconnected residents set over the course of a single spring day in a gentrifying neighbourhood, as they navigate family tensions, friendship, class and belonging in an increasingly stretched city. As their lives gradually converge, seemingly inconsequential encounters build toward a tragedy that leaves the West End neighbourhood forever changed.
Describing Property as “a novel of dazzling interiority,” by the 2026 Toronto Book Award jury, the novel skillfully explores the anxieties, desires and obsessions of four families living on a single Toronto street, praising the author’s ability to evoke life in Toronto through her thoughtful exploration of contemporary concerns.
Property was selected from a shortlist that included:
- Cherry Beach by Don Gillmor (Biblioasis)
- Fatal Confession: A Girl’s Murder, a Man’s Execution, and the Fitton Case by Carolyn Strange (UBC Press)
- Good Guys by Sharon Bala (McClelland & Stewart)
- You Started It by Jackie Khalilieh (Tundra Books)
Cayley will receive a $20,000 prize, while the remaining shortlisted authors will each receive $2,000.
Residents can explore and borrow shortlisted titles through the Toronto Public Library’s Toronto Book Awards webpage 
.
About the Toronto Book Awards
Honoring authors whose books are inspired by the city, The Toronto Book Awards was established in 1974, celebrating literary excellence and recognizing works that deepen understanding of Toronto’s people, places, histories and diverse communities.
An accomplished group of award-winning writers, publishing professionals, educators and literary advocates from across Toronto’s literary community were brought together by this year’s jury including author and poet Jake Byrne, novelist and non-fiction writer Kristen den Hartog, literary agent Julia Kim, educator, anti-racism advocate and writer Matthew R. Morris and poet, translator and curator Bänoo Zan.
As one of the many ways, the Toronto Book Awards supports the City’s creativity and culture through Culture Connects, the City’s 10-year action plan for culture. By recognizing and investing in authors whose work is inspired by Toronto, the awards elevate local voices, support literary excellence and help readers discover stories that reflect the city’s communities, histories and experiences.
More information about the award is available on the City’s Toronto Book Awards webpage.
