Mountain Book Competition
Banff Mountain Book Competition 2022 Finalists
The 2023 Banff Mountain Book Competition is now open!
2023 Banff Mountain Book Competition Rules & Regulations
Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival celebrates mountain literature, film, and photography, bringing together filmmakers, writers, publishers, editors, photographers, athletes, adventurers, and - of course - readers. Featuring film screenings, guest speakers, readings, seminars and book signings, the Festival offers a wide spectrum of experiences for the mountain film and book-loving audience.
As a key program of Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, the Book Competition is an internationally recognized literary competition that celebrates mountain literature in all its forms. Over $20,000 in cash is awarded annually with 8 awards selected by an international jury of writers, adventurers and editors. The short list of category award winners eligible for the Grand Prize is announced in October every year. In 2023, the Grand Prize will be announced on Thursday, November 2 at the Festival and category awards will be presented to winning authors.
Deadline - June 30, 2023
Questions? Call the Banff Mountain Book Competition at: 403.762.6347
or email: banffmountainbooks@banffcentre.ca
Book Competition Categories
Prizes will be awarded in each of the following categories:
(Please note: books written primarily for children and young adults are not suitable for this competition.)
Adventure Travel
Non-fiction books with a theme of travel to, and exploration of, remote and/or rugged landscapes and their cultures.
Mountain Fiction & Poetry
Includes fiction and poetry books with a focus on mountain topics. Creative narratives about climbing and mountaineering, exploration and mountain culture are acceptable.
Guidebook
Non-fiction books dealing with physical activities in mountain environments; including hiking, climbing, mountaineering and "how-to" books.
Mountain Image
Includes books with a primary focus on mountain images and with text in a complementary role. Images may include photographs or reproductions of artwork.
Mountain Article (New for 2022)
Includes articles or short form essays under 7,000 words with mountain themes including, but not limited to: climbing, adventure, conservation and mountain literature. Articles may be fiction, historical or non-fiction narratives, and can be submitted by either an editor or author of the article. This category accepts articles that have been published in print or digitally.
Environmental Literature (New for 2022)
Includes books that pertain to the environment, specifically related to flora, wildlife, conservation and climate change. Scholastic research and academic papers/texts will not be accepted.
Mountain Literature
Includes non-fiction books, such as memoirs, biographies and narratives on mountaineering, climbing history, mountain exploration, mountain culture, and human experiences of any kind in the mountain wilderness.
Climbing Literature
Grand Prize
Awarded to a book chosen from the winners in the above categories.
2022 Category Finalists
2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition - Category Finalists
We are pleased to announce the long list of category finalists alphabetically by title in each award category.
2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition Category Finalists
Mountain Literature
$2500 - Sponsored by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies
Edward Feuz Jr.: A Story of Enchantment
D. L. Stephen, Rocky Mountain Books (Canada, 2021)
Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams
Katie Ives, Mountaineers Books (USA, 2021)
The Mountain Path
Paul Pritchard, Vertebrate Publishing (UK, 2021)
The Fox of Glencoe
Hamish MacInnes, Scottish Mountaineering Press (UK, 2021)
Valley of Giants: Stories from Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing
Lauren DeLaunay Miller, Mountaineers Books (USA, 2022)
Mountain Fiction & Poetry
$2500 - Sponsored by the Town of Banff
Fossil
Siddharth Pandey, A Published Event (Australia, 2021)
A Path of Shadows
John Porter, Little Peak Press (UK, 2022)
Native Air
Jonathan Howland, Green Writers Press (USA, 2022)
Environmental Literature
$2500 – Sponsored by Canadian Mountain Network
Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water
Kazim Ali, Milkweed Editions (USA, 2022), Goose Lane Editions (Canada, 2022)
Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America's Woods
Lyndsie Bourgon, Greystone Books (Canada, 2022)
The Environmentalist's Dilemma: Promise and Peril in an Age of Climate Crisis
Arno Kopecky, ECW Press (Canada, 2021)
Adventure Travel
$2500 - Sponsored by Rocky Mountain Books
A Year in the Woods: Twelve Small Journeys into Nature
Torbjørn Ekelund, Greystone Books (Canada, 2021)
Lost in the Valley of Death
Harley Rustad, Penguin Random House Canada (Canada, 2022)
The Farthest Shore
Alex Roddie, Vertebrate Publishing (UK, 2021)
Windswept: Walking in the Paths of Trailblazing Women
Annabel Abbs, Tin House (USA, 2021)
Mountain Image
$2500 - Sponsored by Mountain Life
Above
Thomas Crauwels, Thomas Crauwels Fine Alpine Photography (Switzerland, 2021)
Forest for the Trees: The Tree Planters
Rita Leistner, Dewi Lewis Publishing (UK, 2021)
Overexposure: A Story about a Skier
Chad Sayers, Rocky Mountain Books (Canada, 2021)
Matagi
Javier Corso and Alex Rodal, Oak Stories (Spain, 2021)
There and Back: Photographs from the Edge
Jimmy Chin, Ten Speed Press (USA, 2021)
Guidebooks
$2500 – Sponsored by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides
Classic Cascade Climbs: Select Routes in Washington State
Jim Nelson, Tom Sjolseth and David Whitelaw, Mountaineers Books (USA, 2021)
Peak Bagging Wainwrights
Karen Parker, Vertebrate Publishing (UK, 2021)
The Alberta Bouldering Guide
Ian Holms, Analog Art House (Canada, 2022)
The Packraft Handbook
Luc Mehl, Mountaineers Books (USA, 2022)
Mountaineering Article
$2500 – Sponsored by Fjällräven
In Search of the Light
Leigh Ann Henion, Washington Post Magazine (USA, September 2021)
Lost Souls
Michael Wejchert, Climbing Magazine (USA, September 2022)
The Girl in the Gully
Astra Lincoln, Climbing Magazine (USA, September 2022)
The Hardest Climb
Eva Holland, Maclean’s Magazine (Canada, May 2022)
Climbing Literature
$2000 - Sponsored by Mountain Equipment Company
Books whose primary focus is on climbing from the categories above are eligible for this award. Winner will be announced in mid-October.
Grand Prize - The Phyllis and Don Munday Award
$5000 – Sponsored by the Alpine Club of Canada
The shortlist of category award winners eligible for the Grand Prize will be announced in mid-October.
2022 Banff Mountain Competition category award winners will be announced in October and presentations will be part of our virtual festival October 29 – November 6. The Grand Prize will be announced Thursday November 3rd.
