October 17, 2003
Banff Mountain Book Festival Finalists Announced
From West Africa to Peru, the Bugaboos to Everest, the finalists for
the 10th annual Banff Mountain Book Festival bring stories of
adventure and discovery to life from around the globe. There is a stunning
collection of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge photos, a unique book on
mental training for climbing, a work about mountain art in a trail guide
format, and a page-turning novel about a lifelong relationship between two
climbers.
"This year’s finalists reflect a wide range of experiences that all
capture, in different ways, the power, the passion, and the enticing
nature of mountains," says Bernadette McDonald, vice-president, Mountain
Culture, The Banff Centre. "What strikes me this year is the diversity,
from a look at the personal toll of mountaineering deaths on friends and
family, to an historical overview of Mount Everest expeditions since the
first ascent in 1953."
This year, more than 150 books were entered into the competition, up 17
per cent from last year’s figures. An international jury will select the
winning books from the 30 finalists. As part of the evening program on
Thursday, November 6 beginning at 8 p.m., winners will be announced in the
following categories:
- Grand Prize: Phyllis and Don Munday Award, sponsored by the Alberta
Sections of the Alpine Club of Canada: $2000
- Jon Whyte Award for Mountain Literature, sponsored by The Whyte
Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, Alberta: $1000
- Best Book - Mountain Exposition, sponsored by Mountain Lights
Bookstore, Lake Louise, Alberta: $500
- Best Book - Mountain Image, sponsored by Spotted Dog Press, Bishop,
California: $500
- Best Book - Adventure Travel, sponsored by Batstar Adventure Tours,
Port Alberni, BC: $500
- Best Book - Mountaineering History, sponsored by the UIAA: $500
For a complete list of 2003 Banff Mountain Book Festival finalists,
click on
www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/festivals/book/finalists/
The Banff Mountain Book Festival runs November 5 to 7 at The Banff
Centre and is the only festival of its kind in North America. In addition
to the international competition, it features readings, seminars, a book
fair, book signings and launches, and speakers. This year’s highlights
include:
Wednesday, November 5
Evening presentations (8 p.m.) by author Peter Matthiessen (End of
the Earth: Voyages to Antarctica) and photographer Subhankar Banerjee
(Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land).
Thursday, November 6
Daytime (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
- Douglas Chadwick – True Grizz: Biologist Douglas Chadwick
will give a refreshingly clear-eyed view of individual grizzlies and
their complex personalities, offering a realistic yet poignant picture
of the grizzly as big, strong, bright and adaptable omnivores trying to
get by in the modern world any way they can.
- Ray Huey: Ray Huey will give an evolutionary biologist’s perspective
on high-altitude mountaineering, including startling statistics on
success and death on Everest expeditions.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): A panel discussion with
Gwich’in First Nations caribou coorrdinator Sandra Newman, Alberta
natives Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison, and photographer Subhankar
Banerjee. Heuer and Allison just completed a 2,000 kilometre journey
following the Porcupine caribou herd from their wintering range near Old
Crow, Yukon, to the endangered calving grounds in Alaska’s ANWR. The
U.S. government will decide later this fall whether to drill for oil in
this area.
Literary Lunch (12 noon)
- Geoff Powter -The Man Who Would Be First: The Story of Earl Denman:
A story about Canadian Earl Denman’s 1947 attempt to illegally climb
Everest from the north, accompanied by Sherpas Ang Dawa and Tenzing
Norgay.
Evening (8 p.m.)
- Presentations by author Maria Coffey (Where the Mountain Casts
Its Shadow) and Norwegian adventurer Borge Ousland, and the 2003
Banff Mountain Book Festival awards.
Friday, November 8
Daytime (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
- Presentations by Gordon Wiltsie (Mongolian Nomadic Herders), George
Lowe (Voices of Adventure series), and Ed Douglas (Tenzing: the Hero
of Everest).
Literary lunch, 12 noon
- Simon Mawer–The Fall: Mawer is the winner of the 2003
Boardman Tasker Award for Mountaineering Literature for his newest
novel, The Fall.
For tickets to the 2003 Banff Mountain Book Festival call The Banff Centre Box Office at 403-762-6301
or 1-800-413-8368 or buy
online
