The Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) announced the shortlists for the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards on June 26. The prizes recognize the best publishing in Alberta, and this year’s awards include the inaugural Mystery and Thriller Book of the Year Award.

The winners will be announced at a gala reception in Edmonton on September 21, 2023.

Three additional prizes will be announced at the awards: the Special Achievement in Publishing Awards (to an individual who has made a tremendous contribution to the world of books in Alberta), the Lois Hole Award for Editorial Excellence, and the Lifetime Achievement in Publishing Award (to an individual who best exemplifies the spirit of the Alberta book publishing community).

Mel Hurtig Publisher of the Year

• Durvile & UpRoute Books
• NeWest Press

Trade Fiction Book of the Year

• Ezra’s Ghosts by Darcy Tamayose (NeWest Press)
• Grieving for Pigeons: Twelve Stories of Lahore by Zubair Ahmad, translated by Anne Murphy (Athabasca University Press)
• The Taste of Hunger by Barbara Joan Scott (Freehand Books)

Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year

• Ghosts in a Photograph: A Chronicle by Myrna Kostash (NeWest Press)
• Modern Fables by Mikka Jacobsen (Freehand Books)
• A Stunning Backdrop: Alberta in the Movies, 1917–1960 by Mary Graham (University of Calgary Press)
• Tracking the Caribou Queen: Memoir of a Settler Girlhood by Margaret Macpherson (NeWest Press)

Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry

• Separation Anxiety by Gavin Bradley (University of Alberta Press)
• Transcribing Moonlight by Skylar Kay (Frontenac House)
• You Might Be Sorry You Read This by Michelle Poirier Brown (University of Alberta Press)

Graphic Novel of the Year

• Alberta Comics: Home by Alexander Finbow, Shea Proulx, and Emily Pomeroy, eds.; various artists (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
• Five Stalks of Grain by Adrian Lysenko and Ivanka Theodosia Galadza, ill. (University of Calgary Press)
• King Warrior by Jay Bulckaert, Erika Nyyssonen, and Lucas Green, ill. (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
• Siegfried: Dragon Slayer by Mark Allard-Will and Jasmine Redford, ill. (Renegade Arts Entertainment)

Children’s & Young Adult Book of the Year

• Howdy, I’m Flores LaDue by Ayesha Clough, and Hugh Rookwood with Keegan Starlight, ill. (Red Barn Books)
• King Warrior by Jay Bulckaert, Erika Nyyssonen, and Lucas Green, ill. (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
• Olya & Olena Escape the Invaders by Olya Illichov, Maddy Shyba, and Diana Bezukh, ill. (Durvile & UpRoute Books)
• Samuel and the Little People by Arnold James Isbister (Eschia Books)

Mystery & Thriller Book of the Year

• Going to Beautiful by Anthony Bidulka (Stonehouse Publishing)
• There Are Wolves Here Too by Niall Howell (NeWest Press)
• To Those Who Killed Me by J.T. Siemens (NeWest Press)
• Why Are You Still Here: A Lillian Mystery by Lynda Partridge and Dave Nicholson, ill. (Durvile & UpRoute Books)

Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction

• The Astronaut Always Rings Twice by Shannon Allen and JR Campbell, eds. (Tyche Books)
• Ezra’s Ghosts by Darcy Tamayose (NeWest Press)
• Pawns and Phantoms by Misha Handman (EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing)
• The Rosetta Mind by Claire McCague (EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing)

Regional Book of the Year

• Canadian Rockies Trail Guide by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson (Summerthought Publishing)
• Howdy, I’m Flores LaDue by Ayesha Clough, and Hugh Rookwood with Keegan Starlight, ill. (Red Barn Books)
• A Stunning Backdrop: Alberta in the Movies, 1917–1960 by Mary Graham (University of Calgary Press)

Scholarly & Academic Book of the Year

• Canadian Performance Documents and Debates: A Sourcebook by Anthony J. Vickery, Glen F. Nichols, and Allana C. Lindgren, eds. (University of Alberta Press)
• The Joint Arctic Weather Stations: Science and Sovereignty in the High Arctic, 1946-1972 by Daniel Heidt and P. Whitney Lackenbauer (University of Calgary Press)
• Memory and Landscape: Indigenous Responses to a Changing North by Kenneth L. Pratt and Scott A. Heyes, eds. (Athabasca University Press)

Learning Book of the Year

• Canadian Performance Documents and Debates: A Sourcebook by Anthony J. Vickery, Glen F. Nichols, and Allana C. Lindgren, eds. (University of Alberta Press)
• Principles and Techniques for the Aspiring Surgeon: What Great Surgeons Do Without Thinking by Dr. Keegan Guidolin (Brush Education)
• Vancouver Notes for Internal Medicine: High Yield Consult Guides by Dr. Brandon Tang, Dr. Meiying Zhuang, and Dr. James Tessaro (Brush Education)

Book Illustration

• Alberta Comics: Home by Alexander Finbow, Shea Proulx, and Emily Pomeroy, eds; various artists (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
• King Warrior by Jay Bulckaert, Erika Nyyssonen, and Lucas Green, ill. (Renegade Arts Entertainment)
• Olya & Olena Escape the Invaders by Olya Illichov, Maddy Shyba, and Diana Bezukh, ill. (Durvile & UpRoute Books)
• Siksikaitsitapi: Stories of the Blackfoot People by Payne Many Guns, Crystal Many Fingers, Sheena Potts, Latasha Calf Robe, Tim Fox, Marlene Yellow Horn, DerRic Starlight; various artists (Durvile & UpRoute Books)

Book Cover Design

• Grieving for Pigeons: Twelve Stories of Lahore by Zubair Ahmad, translated by Anne Murphy; design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design (Athabasca University Press)
• Little Wet-Paint Girl by Ouanessa Younsi, translated by Rebecca L. Thompson; design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design (Athabasca University Press)
• There Are Wolves Here Too by Niall Howell; design by Michel Vrana (NeWest Press)
• Who Has Seen the Wind (75th Anniversary Edition) by W.O. Mitchell; design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design (Freehand Books)

Book Design

• Ezra’s Ghosts by Darcy Tamayose; designed by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design (NeWest Press)
• Ghosts in a Photograph: A Chronicle by Myrna Kostash; designed by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design (NeWest Press)
• Memory and Landscape: Indigenous Responses to a Changing North by Kenneth L. Pratt and Scott A. Heyes, eds.; cover design by Marvin Harder, interior design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design (Athabasca University Press)
• Wan by Dawn Promislow, design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design (Freehand Books)