The Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) has announced the 2025 shortlists for the annual Alberta Book Publishing Awards.
The awards, which encompass trade and academic publishing, and include design awards, celebrate the best in Alberta publishing in 12 categories.
The winners will be announced at a gala reception in Calgary on Sept. 18.
In addition to the book awards, the Lifetime Achievement in Alberta Publishing Award will be handed out to an individual who has positively impacted the province’s book publishing community.
The September event will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the BPAA in 1975.
The shortlisted titles are:
Trade Fiction Book of the Year
- Art of Camouflage by Sara Power (Freehand Books)
- Hiroshima Bomb Money by Terry Watada (NeWest Press)
- Rubble Children: Seven and a Half Stories by Aaron Kreuter (University of Alberta Press)
- We are Already Ghosts by Kit Dobson (University of Calgary Press)
Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry
- Moving to Delilah by Catherine Owen (Freehand Books)
- Attic Rain by Samantha Jones (NeWest Press)
- Deviant by Patrick Grace (University of Alberta Press)
- That Audible Slippage by Margaret Christakos (University of Alberta Press)
Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year
- Against the Odds: The Indigenous Rights Cases of Thomas R. Berger by Drew Ann Wake (Durvile & UpRoute)
- Homing: A Quest to Care for Myself and the Earth by Alice Irene Whittaker (Freehand Books)
- Laser Quit Smoking Massage by Cole Nowicki (NeWest Press)
- Stories Left in Stone: Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain by Troy Nahumko (University of Alberta Press)
Graphic Novel of the Year
- Quid Pro Crow: Mordecai Crow, Book Two by Bill Slavin (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
- Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
- Wheetago War Roth by Richard Van Camp and Christopher Shy, ill. (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
Mystery and Thriller Book of the Year
- Bronco Buster: A “Hammerhead” Jed Mystery by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press)
- Call of the Void: A Sloane Donovan Mystery by J.T. Siemens (NeWest Press)
- Quid Pro Crow: Mordecai Crow, Book Two by Bill Slavin (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
Regional Book of the Year
- Writing Ukraine by Myrna Kostash (Athabasca University Press)
- The Art of Making: Rediscovering the Blackfoot Legacy by Jared Tailfeathers (Durvile & UpRoute)
- Half-Light: Westbound on a Hot Planet by Amy Kaler (University of Alberta Press)
- Strong and Free: My Journey in Alberta Politics by Ted Morton (University of Calgary Press)
Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction
- The Tongue Trade by Michael J. Martineck (EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing)
- Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
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Wheetago War Roth by Richard Van Camp and Christopher Shy, ill. (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
-
Carpe Noctem by Megan Fennell and Leslie Van Zwol, eds. (Tyche Books)
Learning Book of the Year
- The Boundaried Therapist: Sustaining Yourself in the Counselling Profession by Nicole Perry (Brush Education)
- Common Clinical Presentations by Dr. Christopher Naugler (Brush Education)
- Îethka: Stories and Language in Stoney Nakoda Country Îethka Îabi ne Îethka Mâkochî nen by Trent Fox and Valentina Fox (Durvile & UpRoute)
- For the Public Good: Reimagining Arts Graduate Programs in Canadian Universities by Loleen Berdahl, Jonathan Malloy, and Lisa Young (University of Alberta Press)
Scholarly and Academic Book of the Year
- Cape Breton in the Long Twentieth Century: Formations and Legacies of Industrial Capitalism edited by Lachlan MacKinnon and Andrew Parnaby (Athabasca University Press)
- Feministing in Political Science edited by Alana Cattapan, Ethel Tungohan, Nisha Nath, Fiona MacDonald, and Stephanie Paterson (University of Alberta Press)
- Indigenous Legalities, Pipeline Viscosities: Colonial Extractivism and Wet’suwet’en Resistance by Tyler McCreary (University of Alberta Press)
- A History of Public Health in Alberta, 1919–2019 edited by Lindsay McLaren, Donald W.M. Juzwishin, and Rogelio Velez Mendoza (University of Calgary Press)
Book Illustration of the Year
- Buffalo Traces by Mark Vitaris (Frontenac House)
- Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
Book Cover Design of the Year
- Cape Breton in the Long Twentieth Century: Formations and Legacies of Industrial Capitalism edited by Lachlan MacKinnon and Andrew Parnaby; design by Martyn Schmoll / The Design Office (Athabasca University Press)
- Resisting the Dehumanization of Refugees edited by Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Michael Frishkopf, Reza Hasmath, and Anna Kirova; design by John van der Woude / JVDW Designs (Athabasca University Press)
- Juiceboxers by Benjamin Hertwig; design by Natalie Olsen / Kisscut Design (Freehand Books)
- Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell; design by Jarret Hartnell (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
Book Design of the Year
- Game Genie Poems by Kevin Stebner; design by Kyle Flemmer (The Blasted Tree Publishing Co.)
- Every Night I Dream I’m a Monk, Every Night I Dream I’m a Monster by Damian Tarnopolsky; design by Natalie Olsen / Kisscut Design (Freehand Books)
- Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell; design by Jarret Hartnell (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
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