| Year | Winner | Book | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Stuart McLean | Home From the Vinyl Cafe | Penguin Books of Canada |
| 1998 | Mordecai Richler | Barney's Version | Alfred A.Knopf Canada |
| 1997 | Arthur Black | Black in the Saddle Again | Stoddart Press |
| 1996 | Marsha Boulton | Letters from the Country | Little, Brown |
| 1995 | Josh Freed | Fear of Frying and Other Fax of Life | Vehicule Press |
| 1994 | Bill Richardson | Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast | Douglas & McIntyre |
| 1993 | John Levesque | Waiting for Aquarius | Mosaic Press |
| 1992 | Roch Carrier | Prayers of a Very Wise Child | Penguin |
| 1991 | Howard White | Writing In The Rain | Harbour |
| 1990 | W. O. Mitchell | According to Jake and the Kid | McClelland & Stewart |