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2022 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Shortlist

The moment we’ve been waiting for is here—the announcement of the 2022 Alberta Book Publishing Awards shortlist!

These awards, presented by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA), honour excellence in book publishing in our province across over a dozen categories. Established in 1994, these annual awards celebrate the finest of Alberta book publishing as determined by leading professionals in the book industry from across Canada, and showcase the wide range of Alberta-published books.

This year, jurors evaluated 63 submissions from Alberta publishers across 14 different categories. The “Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction,” (formerly the Speculative Fiction Book of the Year Award) was renamed in 2021 to honour Douglas Barbour. Douglas was a tireless supporter of Alberta’s book publishing community and a huge fan of this genre of book.

The BPAA will also be awarding the “Lifetime Achievement in Publishing Award” to an individual who has made a tremendous contribution to the world of books in Alberta.

The winners of the 2022 Alberta Book Publishing Awards will be announced at a gala reception at the Hotel Arts in Calgary on September 16, 2022. The gala is open to the public and more information on how to purchase tickets will be shared on the BPAA website in mid-July. Leading up to the gala, the featured categories and shortlisted titles will be highlighted on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along and join in the conversation using the hashtags #ABPubShortlist and #ABPubAwards.

Click on the publisher name next to each shortlisted book listed below to find more information about that title. And click the “Shop Local” button at the top of the list, to find your local, independent bookstore.

Congratulations to this year’s finalists!

Find a bookstore near you:

Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction

The publishers nominated in this category are: Laksa Media Groups, and Tyche Books Ltd., for the following books:

Seasons Between Us: Tales of Identities and Memories

Vanessa Cardui (CA), Tyler Keevil (CA), Rich Larson (CA)

Published: Aug 08, 2021 by Laksa Media Groups Inc.
ISBN: 9781988140179
Tying the Knot book cover imageTying the Knot
by E.C. Bell
Published; April 27, 2021 by Tyche Books
ISBN: 9781989407257 

 

 

Water: Selkies, Sirens, and Sea Monsters booc cover image
Water: Selkies, Sirens, & Sea Monsters
Edited by Rhonda Parrish
Published; August 9, 2021 by Tyche Books
ISBN: 9781989407271

 

 

Learning

The publishers nominated in this category are: University of Alberta Press, and Brush Education, for the following books:

Dying in Good Hands: Palliative Massage and the Power of Touch

Christine Sutherland (CA)

Published: Jan 15, 2021 by Brush Education
ISBN: 9781550598506
Ethics for the Practice of Psychology in Canada, Third Edition

Derek Truscott (CA), Kenneth H. Crook (CA)

Published: Aug 11, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125429
Introduction to Early Childhood Education and Care: An Intercultural Perspective

Carole Massing (CA), Mary Lynne Matheson (CA)

Published: Jul 06, 2021 by Brush Education
ISBN: 9781550598841

Trade Fiction

The publishers nominated in this category are: Freehand Books, NeWest Press, and University of Calgary Press, for the following books:

Brief View from the Coastal Suite, A

Karen Hofmann (CA)

Published: May 01, 2021 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390177
Happy Sands

Barb Howard (CA)

Published: Sep 15, 2021 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773852164
The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour

Dawn Dumont (CA)

Published: Sep 27, 2021 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781988298870
Unlocking

Amy LeBlanc (CA)

Published: Jun 15, 2021 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773851396

Graphic Novel

The publisher nominated in this category is: Renegade Arts Entertainment, for the following books:

Genghis Con

Yi-Sung Oliver Ho (CA), Daniel Reynolds

Published: Nov 04, 2021 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781989754061
Hell's Flaw (Shame #5)

Lovern Kindzierski (CA)

Published: May 19, 2020 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781988903897
Electric Vice

Kyle Simmers (CA), Ryan Danny Owen

Published: Oct 19, 2021 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781988903859

Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry

The publishers nominated in this category are: University of Alberta Press, and Frontenac House, for the following books:

A Selected History of Soul Speak

Andrea Thompson (CA)

Published: Nov 04, 2021 by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781989466254
Bearmen Descend Upon Gimli

Daniel Lockhart (CA)

Published: Nov 04, 2021 by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781989466261
Tell the Birds Your Body is Not a Gun

Rayanne Haines (CA)

Published: Apr 15, 2021 by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781989466216
The Bad Wife

Micheline Maylor (CA)

Published: Mar 09, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125481

Book Illustration

The publishers nominated in this category are: Red Barn Books, Renegade Arts Entertainment, and Durvile & UpRoute Books, for the following books:

Alberta Blue: A prairie sky lullaby

Pat Hatherly (CA)

Published: Oct 10, 2021 by Red Barn Books
ISBN: 9781989915028
Electric Vice

Kyle Simmers (CA), Ryan Danny Owen

Published: Oct 19, 2021 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781988903859
The River Troll: A Story About Love in Color

Rich Théroux (CA)

Published: Feb 15, 2022 by Durvile Publications
ISBN: 9781988824949

Trade Non-Fiction

The publishers nominated in this category are: University of Alberta Press, Freehand Books, and Athabasca University Press, for the following books:

Big Reader: Essays

Susan Olding (CA)

Published: May 01, 2021 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781988298818
Bucking Conservatism: Alternative Stories of Alberta from the 1960s and 1970s

Published: Nov 30, 2021 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771992572
Impact: Women Writing After Concussion

Published: Sep 07, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125818
On Foot to Canterbury: A Son’s Pilgrimage

Ken Haigh (CA)

Published: Sep 16, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125450
This Strange Visible Air: Essays on Aging and the Writing Life

Sharon Butala (CA)

Published: Sep 13, 2021 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781988298962

Regional

The publishers nominated in this category are: Athabasca University Press, University of Calgary Press, and NeWest Press, for the following books:

Bucking Conservatism: Alternative Stories of Alberta from the 1960s and 1970s

Published: Nov 30, 2021 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771992572
Coconut

Nisha Patel (CA)

Published: Apr 01, 2021 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390238
Sustainability Matters: Prospects for a Just Transition in Calgary, Canada’s Petro-City

Noel Keough (CA)

Published: Sep 15, 2021 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773852485

Scholarly and Academic

The publishers nominated in this category are: University of Alberta Press, and Athabasca University Press, for the following books:

Appealing Because He Is Appalling: Black Masculinities, Colonialism, and Erotic Racism

Published: Jun 10, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125436
Indigenous Women and Street Gangs: Survivance Narratives

Amber, Bev, Chantel

Published: Sep 15, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125498
Regime of Obstruction: How Corporate Power Blocks Energy Democracy

Published: Apr 15, 2021 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771992893

Book Cover Design

The publishers nominated in this category are: University of Alberta Press, NeWest Press, Athabasca University Press, and Freehand Books, for the following books: 

Deriving

Jennifer Bowering Delisle (CA)

Published: Mar 05, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125474
Impact: Women Writing After Concussion

Published: Sep 07, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125818
Last Tide

Andy Zuliani (CA)

Published: Oct 01, 2021 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390344
Plastic Legacies: Pollution, Persistence, and Politics

Published: Jun 30, 2021 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771993272
The Party Is Here

Georgina Beaty (CA)

Published: Sep 27, 2021 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781988298931

Book Design

The publishers nominated in this category are: NeWest Press, Freehand Books, and University of Alberta Press, for the following books: 

Coconut

Nisha Patel (CA)

Published: Apr 01, 2021 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390238
Great Adventures for the Faint of Heart

Cary Fagan (CA)

Published: Sep 13, 2021 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781988298900
On Foot to Canterbury: A Son’s Pilgrimage

Ken Haigh (CA)

Published: Sep 16, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125450
rump + flank

Carol Steski (CA)

Published: Sep 01, 2021 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390283
Situating Design in Alberta

Published: Dec 17, 2021 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772125788

Children’s & YA

To be announced at the 2022 Alberta Book Publishing Awards

Emerging Publisher of the Year Award

To be announced at the 2022 Alberta Book Publishing Awards

Lifetime Achievement in Publishing Award

To be announced at the 2022 Alberta Book Publishing Awards