The Lobster Trap wins 2026 Dafoe Book Prize

Greg Mercer’s The Lobster Trap: The Global Fight for a Seafood on the Brink has won the 2026 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize.

The $12,000 award, named after John Wesley Dafoe, the former editor of the Manitoba Free Press and Winnipeg Free Press, is presented annually to the best book on topics including “Canada, the West, and Canadians, as well as the Canadian nation in international affairs.”

Published by McClelland & Stewart in August 2025, The Lobster Trap examines the multibillion-dollar lobster industry and the impacts of climate change, trade wars and overfishing. The Lobster Trap is Mercer’s first book.

The award will be presented at an event later this fall.