The High Plains Book Awards announced the winners for the 2023 prizes on October 7.

Canadians won in six categories, including the creative nonfiction, fiction, Indigenous writer, poetry, short fiction, and YA categories.

The book awards recognize regional authors and literary works that examine and reflect life on the High Plains, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

The Canadian winners are:

Creative Nonfiction
David Carpenter, I Never Met a Rattlesnake I Didn’t Like (Thistledown Press)

Fiction
Zarqa Nawaz, Jameela Green Ruins Everything (Simon & Schuster Canada)

Indigenous Writer
Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) and Andrew Stobo Sniderman, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation (HarperCollins)

Poetry
Emily Riddle, The Big Melt (Nightwood Editions)

Short Stories
Brady Harrison, The Term Between (Twelve Winters Press)

Young Adult Book
Lorna Schultz Nicholson, Behind the Label: Gloria and Willa (Red Deer Press)