2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Shortlist
The Book Publishers Association of Alberta have announced the shortlist for the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards!
Created to recognize and celebrate the best of the Alberta book publishing industry, the Alberta Book Publishing Awards have grown alongside the industry to capture the excellence and innovation of Alberta’s book publishers. This year, jurors evaluated 126 submissions from Alberta publishers across 15 categories.
The inaugural Mystery & Thriller Book of the Year Award will be awarded to a work of mystery, crime, noir, or thriller fiction published primarily for the trade or bookstore market, and the Mel Hurtig Publisher of the Year Award will be awarded to an Alberta publisher who exemplifies the spirit of the Alberta book publishing community. 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, and the Special Achievement in Publishing Award, honouring an individual who best exemplifies the spirit of the Alberta book publishing community.
The winners of the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards will be announced at a gala reception at the Matrix Hotel in Edmonton on Thursday, September 21, 2023. 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:
Learning Book of the Year
Keegan Guidolin
Published: Apr 25, 2022 by Brush Education
ISBN: 9781550599190
Published: Oct 14, 2022 by Brush Education
ISBN: 9781550598995
Published: Aug 24, 2022 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772126044
Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction
Claire McCague
Published: Aug 18, 2022 by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
ISBN: 9781770532137
Pawns and Phantoms: An Everland Mystery
Misha Handman
Published: Aug 18, 2022 by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
ISBN: 9781770532106
Darcy Tamayose
Published: Apr 15, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390474
The Astronaut Always Rings Twice
ed. Shannon Allen & JR Campbell
Published: Aug 16, 2022 by Tyche Books
ISBN: 9781989407448
Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry
Skylar Kay
Published: by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781989466346
Gavin Bradley
Published: Mar 18, 2022 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772126013
Michelle Poirier Brown
Published: Mar 16, 2022 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772126037
Graphic Novel of the Year
Jay Bulckaert , Erika Nyyssonen
Published: Sep 14, 2022 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781989754146
Mark Allard-Will
Published: Feb 16, 2022 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781989754115
Jillian Fleck
Published: Sep 14, 2022 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781989754160
Adrian Lysenko
Published: Nov 15, 2022 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773853758
Children’s & Young Adult Book of the Year
Jay Bulckaert , Erika Nyyssonen
Published: Sep 14, 2022 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781989754146
Ayesha Clough
Published: Mar 08, 2022 by Red Barn Books
ISBN: 9781989915042
Olya Illichov, Maddy Shyba
Published: Aug 01, 2022 by Durvile Publications
ISBN: 9781990735141
Arnold Isbister
Published: Mar 01, 2023 by Eschia Books
ISBN: 9781990321092
Book Illustration
Jay Bulckaert , Erika Nyyssonen
Published: Sep 14, 2022 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781989754146
Jillian Fleck
Published: Sep 14, 2022 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781989754160
Olya Illichov, Maddy Shyba
Published: Aug 01, 2022 by Durvile Publications
ISBN: 9781990735141
Payne Many Guns , Crystal Many Fingers , Sheena Potts
Published: Apr 26, 2022 by Durvile Publications
ISBN: 9781988824833
Mel Hurtig Publisher of the Year
Lois Hole Award for Editorial Excellence
To be announced at the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Gala
Mystery & Thriller Book of the Year
Anthony Bidulka
Published: May 01, 2022 by Stonehouse Publishing
ISBN: 9781988754352
J.T. Siemens
Published: Apr 01, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390436
Niall Howell
Published: Sep 01, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390597
Lynda Partridge , Dave Nicholson
Published: Sep 01, 2022 by Durvile Publications
ISBN: 9781988824826
Scholarly & Academic Book of the Year
Daniel Heidt , P. Whitney Lackenbauer
Published: Apr 15, 2022 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773852577
Published: Aug 24, 2022 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772126044
Published: Oct 31, 2022 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771993159
Trade Fiction Book of the Year
Barbara Joan Scott
Published: Sep 01, 2022 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781990601187
Zubair Ahmad
Published: May 31, 2022 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771992817
Darcy Tamayose
Published: Apr 15, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390474
Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Mary Graham
Published: Oct 31, 2022 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773853932
Mikka Jacobsen
Published: Sep 01, 2022 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781990601217
Myrna Kostash
Published: Oct 01, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390573
Margaret Macpherson
Published: Oct 15, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390610
Regional Book of the Year
Brian Patton
Published: May 15, 2022 by Summerthought Publishing
ISBN: 9781926983530
Mary Graham
Published: Oct 31, 2022 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773853932
Ayesha Clough
Published: Mar 08, 2022 by Red Barn Books
ISBN: 9781989915042
Book Cover Design
W.O. Mitchell
Published: Nov 08, 2022 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781990601125
Zubair Ahmad
Published: May 31, 2022 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771992817
Little Wet-Paint Girl
Ouanessa Younsi
Published: Oct 31, 2022 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781778290060
Niall Howell
Published: Sep 01, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390597
Book Design
Dawn Promislow
Published: May 01, 2022 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781988298993
Published: Oct 31, 2022 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771993159
Darcy Tamayose
Published: Apr 15, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390474
Myrna Kostash
Published: Oct 01, 2022 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390573
Special Achievement in Publishing Awards
To be announced at the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Gala
Lifetime Achievement in Publishing Award
To be announced at the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Gala
“No Definition of Alberta Culture is complete without recognizing the herculean efforts of Alberta publishers to bring the prodigious talents of Canadian writers to eager readers everywhere.”
~ Steve Budnarchuk, Audreys Books