In the age of short-form content and shortening attention spans, we recommend stretching your reading muscles once in a while with some longer reads. Reading non-fiction keeps us in the loop with what’s going on in the world and exposes us to realities much different from our own, allowing us to empathize with what real people are going through. Plus, you’ll often find that the stories are just as engrossing as a fiction read– as Mark Twain once said, “Truth is stranger than fiction… fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.”
With so many phenomenal pieces published every year, it can be difficult to know where to start! Here are our top picks, ranging in length and topic.
Our Recommendations
Long-Form Features
L’effet MBC
L’actualité
Marie-Hélène Proulx
Collaborateur : Josée Désaulniers, rédactrice principale
A Monster in the Classroom
Maclean’s
Omar Mouallem
The Curious Case of Gina Adams
Maclean’s
Michelle Cyca
Endless Exile
The Walrus
Annie Hylton
Contributors: Harley Rustad, handling editor; Mashal Butt, fact checker; Jeremy Leung, illustrator
Libfeld vs. Libfeld vs. Libfeld vs. Libfeld
Toronto Life
Luc Rinaldi
The $11-Billion Subway War
Toronto Life
Nicholas Hune-Brown
Violence conjugale : prévenir le pire
Châtelaine
Catherine Dubé
Collaborateurs : Daniel Chrétien et Johanne Lauzon, éditing; Imelda Jeuris, illustrations et design graphique
Aux armes, Ukrainiens !
L’actualité
Fabrice de Pierrebourg
Collaborateur : Josée Désaulniers, rédactrice principale
The Long History (and Scary Future) of Our Broken Health Care System
The Local
Simon Lewsen
Contributors: Nicholas Hune-Brown, handling editor; Nick Iwanyshyn, photographer
Plovers quarrel: a tiny, endangered bird returns to Sauble Beach to find sunbathers dug into the sand
The Narwhal
Fatima Syed
Contributors: Denise Balkissoon, Elaine Anselmi
Giant Mine’s Toxic Legacy
The Walrus
Eva Holland
Contributors: Carmine Starnino, handling editor; Leila El Shennawy, fact checker
Divine Intervention
The Walrus
Wendy Glauser
Contributors: Carine Abouseif, handling editor; Emily Baron Cadloff, fact checker; Sebastien Thibault, illustrator
The Only Woman in the Room
Toronto Life
Christina Frangou
The Death Cheaters
Toronto Life
Courtney Shea
Short Features
The People’s Forest
BESIDE
Mark Mann
Contributor: Catherine Métayer, editor-in-chief
Welcome to the Neighbourhood
Canadian Business
Katie Underwood
Contributors: Boldtron, illustrator; Emily Landau, editorial features director; Charlotte Herrold, editor-in-chief; Laura Hensley, digital director; Maryam Sanati, SVP, content and creative; Della Rollins, director of photography; Vanda Marasan, senior designer; Vanessa Wyse, creative director; Lucinda Wallace, associate creative director
Incest Survivors Need Their #MeToo Movement
Chatelaine
Julie S. Lalonde
Contributor: Denise Balkissoon, editor
They Wanted A Baby. They Turned To Facebook
Chatelaine
Alison Motluk
Contributors: Erica Lenti, editor; Sara Hashemi, fact checker
En avant pour l’environnement !
Châtelaine
Catherine Dubé
Collaborateurs : Daniel Chrétien et Johanne Lauzon, éditing
The Hardest Climb
Maclean’s
Eva Holland
When the Virus Moves In
Maclean’s
Christina Frangou
Fracasser le mur du temps grâce à l’ADN
Québec Science
Raphaëlle Derome
Collaborateurs : Marine Corniou, Mélissa Guillemette
Fires, Plagues and Also High School
The Local
Katherine Laidlaw
Contributors: Nicholas Hune-Brown, handling editor; Galit Rodan, photographer
What will be the fate of Lake Superior’s last, lonely caribou?
The Narwhal
Emma McIntosh
Contributors: Denise Balkissoon, Emma Gilchrist
The Orange Tent
Alberta Views Magazine
Bonnie Larson
Violences sexuelles sur les campus: Un vent de changement salutaire
Châtelaine
Chloé Machillot
Collaborateurs : Johanne Lauzon et Daniel Chrétien, éditing
Faire son épicerie dans les poubelles
Clin d’oeil
Sabrina Myre
Friendly Fires
Cottage Life
Ray Ford
Contributor: Liann Bobechko
New Looks
ELLE Canada
Alex Viens
Contributor: Théo Dupuis-Carbonneau, assigning editor
Dites «cheese»
ELLE Québec
Gabrielle Lisa Collard
Collaborateur : Théo Dupuis-Carbonneau, chef de contenu beauté
The grandmothers who stopped a pipeline
Maclean’s
Lindsay Jones
Contributors: Charlie Gillis, editor; Darren Calabrese, photographer
How to Skin a Muskrat
Maisonneuve
Samantha Nock
Contributors: Madi Haslam and Sarah Ratchford, editors
Water Ways
MONTECRISTO Magazine
Barb Sligl
Contributor: Kamil Bialous, photographer
Digital Features
Libres sur la banquise
ICI Grand Nord
Matisse Harvey
Collaborateurs : Justine de l’Église, Marylene Tetu, Claudiane Samson
Se partager nos codes : regards sur une réalité linguistique
Le Devoir
Sandrine Vieira, Sarah Rahmouni, Sarah Boumedda, journalistes
Collaborateurs : Cédric Gagnon, direction artistique; Antoine Noreau, développement; Valerian Mazataud, photo; Simon Gionet, photo
Soulever le poids du passé : Le récit du premier homme fort autochtone du Canada
Radio-Canada – ICI Alberta
Julien Latraverse
Collaborateurs : Images : Geneviève Tardif, images; Justine de l’Église, conseillère au contenu numérique; Mélanie Morin et Marylène Têtu, réalisation; Martin Labbé, designer
The great junk transfer is coming. A look at the burden (and big business) of decluttering as Canadians inherit piles of their parents’ stuff
The Globe and Mail
Erin Anderssen
In the year after Kamloops, a family of residential-school survivors reclaim those who didn’t make it home
The Globe and Mail
Tanya Talaga
Contributor: Melissa Tait
A former GM plant in St. Catharines is leaking toxic chemicals
The Narwhal
Ashley Okwuosa
Contributors: Ramona Leitao, Denise Balkissoon, Mike De Souza
‘This was our forever home’: floods, climate change and the end of one Alberta community
The Narwhal
Drew Anderson
Contributors: Leah Hennel, Sharon J. Riley, Emma Gilchrist
The frontline of conservation: how Indigenous guardians are reinforcing sovereignty and science on their lands
The Narwhal
Jimmy Thomson
Contributors: Carol Linnitt, Shawn Parkinson, Arik Ligeti, Ashley Tam
Residents of Peguis First Nation face an impossible choice as they tackle yet another major flood
The Narwhal and Winnipeg Free Press
Julia-Simone Rutgers
Contributors: Aaron Vincent Elkaim, Mike De Souza, Scott Gibbons
Instagram changed, but the artists using it didn’t
CBC Arts
Leah Collins
Contributor: Eleanor Knowles, editor
How to Decolonize Conservation
Hakai Magazine
Erica Gies
Femmes afghanes, entre désespoir et résistance
Radio-Canada
Marie-Eve Bédard
Collaborateur : Philippe Chevalier, secrétaire de rédaction
L’Abitibi-Témiscamingue en mode séduction
Radio-Canada
Davide Gentile, Daniel Boily
Collaborateurs : Patrick André Perron, photographe; Bernard Leduc, secrétaire de rédaction
Tuning into the melodic mystery of bird song
The Globe and Mail
Marcus Gee
Contributors: Melissa Tait, Jeremy Agius, Murat Yükselir
‘That river is full of life’: Wet’suwet’en celebrate return of salmon amidst threats to keystone species
The Narwhal
Matt Simmons
Lindsay Sample, Emma Gilchrist
Hurry Up And Wait: The Absurd Realities Of Captive Calgary Transit Riders
The Sprawl
Ximena González
This Soup’s for You
The Tyee
Josh Kozelj
Jackie Wong, editor
‘Disaster Land Grabs’ Worldwide and in British Columbia
Co-produced by The Tyee and The Global Reporting Centre
Amanda Follett Hosgood
Contributors: Fellows at The Global Reporting Program (based out of UBC’s School of Journalism, Writing and Media)
The Demon River
Hakai Institute
J.B. MacKinnon
Contributors: Tyee Bridge, Serena Renner, Jeremy Latham, Bennett Whitnell
Whales in the Cliff Face
Hakai Magazine
Devon Bidal
Les maisons de paille de Valérie Plante
Journal de Montréal
Dominique Cambron-Goulet, Charles Mathieu
Collaborateurs : Alexandre Pellet, motion designer; David Lambert, réalisateur et designer; Cécilia Defer, développeure et intégrtatice web; Charles Trahan, directeur création éditoriale
L’épidémie invisible
La Presse
Philippe Mercure
Collaborateurs : Maxime Jean, Sébastien Rodrigue
The last of the untamed: Wedzin Kwa and the Wet’suwet’en fight to save her
Ricochet Media
Brandi Morin
Contributor: Amber Bracken, photos
In her defence
The Globe and Mail
Jana G. Pruden
Contributor: Amber Bracken
Canada’s boar war
The Globe and Mail
Jana G. Pruden
Contributors: Fred Lum, Carys Mills, Murat Yükselir, Steven P Hughes
How pollution from Canadian coal mines threatens the fish at the heart of communities from B.C. to Idaho
The Narwhal
Ainslie Cruickshank
Contributors: Carol Linnitt, Jesse Winter, Emma Gilchrist
“The New Residential School System”: How a First Nation Rallied against the Foster Care System
The Walrus
Amy Romer
Contributors: Harley Rustad, handling editor; Lucy Uprichard fact checker
Trade/Professional Features
Reimagining the Box
Canadian Grocer
Shellee Fitzgerald
The North redefined
CIM Magazine
Herb Mathisen, Carolyn Gruske
Carrying a heavy load
ReNew Canada
Andrew Snook
A reality check on the metaverse
strategy
Josh Kolm
Accès refusé
Affaires universitaires
Jean-François Venne
Architecture During Wartime
Azure
Eric Mutrie
“We are desensitized”: Violence escalating in struggling emergency departments
CMAJ
Diana Duong and Lauren Vogel
The Indigenous Advantage
Director Journal
Barrie McKenna
Contributors: Simon Avery, editor; Lionel Bebbington, art director; Hawlii Pichette, illustrator
The boss is not okay
Director Journal
Prasanthi Vasanthakumar
Contributors: Simon Avery, editor; Lionel Bebbington, art director
Prescription for change
Director Journal
Virginia Galt
Contributors: Simon Avery, editor; Lionel Bebbington, art director
Next In Line
Pivot
John Lorinc
Contributor: Paul Ferriss, handling editor
Back to the drawing board
Precedent
Luc Rinaldi
Band of Brothers
Queen’s Alumni Review
Blair Crawford
Looking for more amazing work coming out of the Canadian publishing industry? Check out our full list of nominees for the 2023 National Magazine Awards, Digital Publishing Awards, and National Magazine Awards: B2B.