Winner of the HarperCollinsPublishersLtd/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction

Bethany Sampson wins publishing deal, agency representation

HarperCollinsPublishersLtd, the UBC School of Creative Writing and CookeMcDermid Literary Management are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2026 HarperCollinsPublishersLtd/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction, co-sponsored by CookeMcDermid Literary Management, is:

· Bethany Sampson for her romantic comedy novel TO HATE AND TO HOLD

The jury writes: “This smart, funny, well-executed Own Voices rom-com is hard to resist. Imy, an autistic woman, and Cal, an autistic man, must set their rivalry aside in order to prevent their mutual best friend from marrying her toxic fiancé. Hijinx—and inconvenient romantic feelings—ensue! This novel has it all: a fantastic hook, lively characters you can't help but fall in love with, sharp, truly funny prose, and genuine, butterfly-inducing chemistry. Sampson's authentic voice shines, and you would be hard pressed to find a reader who won't be charmed by this book.”

Bethany Sampson is a Nova Scotian writer and educator. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia where her work was supported by a SSHRC Master's Scholarship, as well as other fiction and screenwriting awards. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. She lives on the East Coast with her cat, Mila, and her puppy, Rou, where she writes love stories that reflect her own experiences as a neurodivergent adult. As the winner, Sampson is represented by Paige Sisley at CookeMcDermid Literary Management, and TO HATE AND TO HOLD has been acquired by Molly Ketcheson, to be published by HarperCollinsPublishersLtd in summer 2028.

“I am grateful and honoured to have been chosen for this year's HarperCollins/UBC Best New Fiction Prize,” says Sampson. “Writing this book brought me so much joy, and I'm so excited to see it come to life at HarperCollins Canada! I am very appreciative to UBC, CookeMcDermid, and HarperCollins for providing me with this incredible opportunity.”

“To Hate And To Hold has all the right elements for an unputdownable rom-com,” says Ketcheson, Sampson’s editor at HarperCollinsPublishersLtd. “Sampson’s charming and deeply romantic novel has such great energy and is the perfect mix of entertaining and heartfelt. Readers are sure to fall in love with Imy and Cal, and I know so many people will feel seen by these characters.”

Now in its 14th year, the HarperCollinsPublishersLtd/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction, co-sponsored by CookeMcDermid Literary Management, has recognized as winners the works of such writers as Tammy Armstrong, Michelle Good, Ellen Keith, Jasmine Sealy, and now, Bethany Sampson.

Known worldwide for the quality of its list, HarperCollinsPublishersLtd is the proud home of many bestselling and award-winning authors, including Esi Edugyan, Heather O’Neill, Lawrence Hill, Kamal Al-Solaylee, Mark Sakamoto, Emily St. John Mandel, Tracey Lindberg, Tara Westover, Hilary Mantel, Rachel Cusk, Anthony Horowitz, Uzma Jalaluddin, Amanda Peters, Zoe Whittall, Carrianne Leung, Jael Richardson, Emma Donoghue, Helen Humphreys, and Thomas King, among many more found at www.harpercollins.ca. HarperCollins is committed to publishing the best books of our generation and to work with authors over the length and breadth of their careers. HarperCollinsPublishersLtd published the first books by UBC MFA graduates Michael Christie, Michelle Good, and Ellen Keith as well as debut short story writers and novelists Ayelet Tsabari, Janie Chang and Jasmine Sealy. HarperCollinsPublishersLtd publishes fiction, non-fiction, reference books and books for children.

CookeMcDermid Literary Management is one of Canada’s biggest and most successful literary agencies. It was founded in 2017 when two preeminent agencies, The Cooke Agency and The McDermid Agency, amalgamated, combining nearly 50 years of experience. It is a full-service literary agency representing authors in every genre, across Canada, the United States, and throughout the world. CookeMcDermid’s clients’ books have been national bestsellers, recipients of the most prestigious literary awards, adapted into major motion pictures, and translated into over 60 languages.

The UBC School of Creative Writing is Canada’s oldest and largest university writing program. It has fostered the talents of hundreds of notable Canadian authors, and remains at the forefront of literary training. The program was founded in 1963 by Earle Birney.

The HarperCollinsPublishersLtd/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction was created in 2013 and is awarded bi-annually. The next opportunity will be in 2028.

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For further information contact Lauren Morocco, Director, Publicity, at HarperCollinsCanada, lauren.morocco@harpercollins.com, or Regina Ng, Marketing & Communications Specialist at UBC, crwr.comms@ubc.ca.