2011 Banff Mountain
Book Competition

From the book Freedom Climbers, Grand Prize winner 2011 Banff Mountain Book Competition. © Krzysztof Wielicki Collection.
The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival celebrates mountain literature and film, bringing together filmmakers, writers, publishers, editors, photographers and – of course – readers. Featuring films screenings, guest speakers, readings, seminars, book signings and launches, the Festival offers a wide spectrum of experiences for participants and the film and book-loving audience.
2011 Banff Mountain Book Competition Winners
The Banff Mountain Book Festival thanks the writers, the photographers, their editors, and publishers for entering this year’s competition.
The 2011 Book Festival jury — Jon Popowich (Canada), John Porter (United Kingdom), and Geoff Powter (Canada) — chose the award winners.
View 2011 Winners
Past Winners of the
Banff Mountain Book Festival
2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 |
2011 BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK COMPETITION FINALISTS
The Banff Centre is pleased to announce the list of finalists in the 2011 Banff Mountain Book Competition, all entries are listed alphabetically by award category. Awards will be presented Thursday, November 3, 2011 at The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.
Adventure Travel
The 1000 Hour Day
Chris Bray, Pier 9 (Australia, 2010)
Call of the White: Taking the World to the South Pole
Felicity Aston, Summersdale Publishers (UK, 2011)
Crossing the Heart of Africa
Julian Smith, HarperCollins Publishers (USA, 2010)
The Magnetic North
Sara Wheeler, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (USA, 2011)
Travels in Siberia
Ian Frazier, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (USA, 2010)
White Planet: A Mad Dash through Modern Global Ski Culture
Leslie Anthony, Greystone Books (Canada, 2010)
Guidebooks
Bouldering in Ireland
David Flanagan, David Flanagan (Ireland, 2011)
Peak District Bouldering
Rupert Davies, John Coefield, Jon Barton, Vertebrate Publishing (UK, 2011)
West Country Climbs
Mark Glaister, Rockfax (UK, 2010)
Mountain & Wilderness Literature
All That Glitters: A Climber's Journey through Addiction and Depression
Margo Talbot, Sono Nis Press (Canada, 2011)
The Canterbury Trail
Angie Abdou, Brindle & Glass (Canada, 2011)
Desert Towers
Steve Bartlett, Sharp End Publishing (USA, 2010)
Fail Falling
Royal Robbins, Pink Moment Press (USA, 2010)
Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer
David Roberts, Broadway Books (USA, 2011)
Freedom Climbers
Bernadette McDonald, Rocky Mountain Books (Canada, 2011)
The Ledge
Jim Davidson, Kevin Vaughan, Ballantine Books (USA, 2011)
Murder in the High Himalaya
Jonathan Green, Public Affairs (USA, 2011)
No Way Down
Graham Bowley, HarperCollins Publishers (USA, 2010)
One Mountain Thousand Summits
Freddie Wilkinson, New American Library (USA, 2010)
Mountain Image
Pakistan's Golden Thrones
Tommy Heinrich, Tommy Heinrich (Argentina, 2010)
Path of Beauty: Photographic Adventures in the Grand Canyon
Christopher Brown, St. Martin's Press (USA, 2010)
The Sacred Headwaters: The Fight to Save the Stikine, Skeena, and Nass
Wade Davis, Greystone Books (Canada, 2011)
Unexpected: Thirty Years of Patagonia Catalog Photography
Jennifer Ridgeway, Jane Sievert, Patagonia (USA, 2010)
The 2011 Book Competition Entry Deadline has passed.
2012 Competition information will be posted in early 2012.
What is the Banff Mountain Book Competition?
The Banff Mountain Book Competition is an internationally recognized literary competition that will celebrate its 18th year in 2011. Winners will be announced during the Book Awards at the 2011 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in November.
- 2011 Regulations — for reference only
2011 Banff Mountain Book Competition Categories
Adventure Travel – includes fiction and non-fiction books with a theme of travel to, and exploration of, remote and/or rugged landscapes and their cultures. (English editions only) $1,000 (CAD)
Mountain Guide Books – includes hiking, climbing, mountaineering and “how-to” books dealing with physical activities in a mountain area. (English editions only) $1,000 (CAD)
Mountain Image – includes books with a primary focus on mountain images and with text in a subordinate role. Images may include photographs, drawings and reproductions. (Publications in all languages are eligible) $1,000 (CAD)
Mountain and Wilderness Literature – includes non-fiction and fiction books on mountaineering, mountain history, mountain travel, mountain culture and environment, mountain adventure and mountain or wilderness experience of any kind. (English editions only) $1,000 (CAD)
A Grand Prize of $2,000 (CAD) will be awarded to the best overall book, regardless of category.
(Please note: books written primarily for children and young adults are not suitable for this competition.)






