Skip to main content
A scatter of book covers from a selection of 2024 book finalists

The 2024 Banff Mountain Book Competition longlist has been announced!

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 $29,000 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 2024, the Grand Prize will be announced on Thursday, October 31 at the Festival and category awards will be presented to winning authors.


2024 Rules and Regulations

Questions? Call the Banff Mountain Book Competition at: 403.762.6347
or email: banffmountainbooks@banffcentre.ca

2024 Category Finalists

2024 Banff Mountain Book Competition - Category Finalists  

We are pleased to announce the longlist of category finalists alphabetically by title in each award category.

2024 Banff Mountain Book Competition Category Finalists

 

Mountain Literature (non-fiction) – The Jon Whyte Award
$3000 - Sponsored by The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

Alpine Rising: Sherpas, Baltis, and the Triumph of Local Climbers in the Greater Ranges
Bernadette McDonald, Mountaineers Books (USA, 2024)

The Darkest White
Eric Blehm, HarperCollins USA (USA, 2024)

A Fine Line: Searching for Balance Among Mountains
Graham Zimmerman, Mountaineers Books (USA, 2023)

Headstrap: Legends and Lore from the Climbing Sherpas of Darjeeling
Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar, Mountaineers Books (USA, 2024)

A Light through the Cracks: A Climber’s Story
Beth Rodden, Little A (USA, 2024)

Tobin, the Stonemasters, and Me 1970-1980; Remembering Tobin Sorenson, the Best Climber in the World
Rick Accomazzo, Stonemaster Books (USA, 2024)


Mountain Fiction & Poetry
$3000 – Sponsored by the Town of Banff

Dreams of Lost Buttresses and Other Stories
Heather Dawe, Little Peak Press (UK, 2023)

Empty Spaces
Jordan Abel, McClelland & Stewart (Canada, 2023)

Kink Bands
David Martin, NeWest Press (Canada, 2023)


Environmental Literature
$3000 – Sponsored by Lolë

Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet
Ben Goldfarb, W.W. Norton & Company (USA, 2023)

Echo Loba, Loba Echo: Of Wisdom, Wolves and Women
Sonja Swift, Rocky Mountain Books (Canada, 2023)

Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World's Most Vulnerable Places
Christopher Pollon, Greystone Books (Canada, 2023)

Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future
Daniel Lewis, Avid Reader Press (USA, 2024)

The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future
Wayne McCrory, Harbour Publishing (Canada, 2023)


Adventure Travel
$3000 – Sponsored by Rocky Mountain Books

Blood Sweat Tears
Christine Reed, Rugged Outdoorswoman Publishing (USA, 2024)

Move Like Water: My Story of the Sea
Hannah Stowe, Tin House (USA, 2023)

The Two-Headed Whale: Life, Loss, and the Tangled Legacy of Whaling in the Antarctic
Sandy Winterbottom, Greystone Books (Canada, 2023)

Where the Falcon Flies: A 3,400 Kilometre Odyssey From My Doorstep to the Arctic
Adam Shoalts, Allen Lane Canada (Canada, 2023)


Mountain Image
$3000 – Sponsored by Mountain Life

The Art of Climbing
Simon Carter, Thames & Hudson (UK & USA, 2024)

El Arte En El Croquis De Escalada/Art in Climbing Topos
Eli Azurmendi, Rafa Elorza and Juancar Sanz, Expocroquis (Spain, 2023)

Monica Dalmasso: Sauvage!
Monica Dalmasso and Cédric Sapin-Defour, Glénat (France, 2023)

Speaking Stones: Rock Art of Ladakh 
Ahtushi Deshpande, Ahtushi Deshpande (India, 2024)


Guidebooks
$3000 – Sponsored by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides

The 4000m Peaks of the Alps – Selected Alpine Climbs & Ski Mountaineering Routes – Volume 1: West
Ben Tibbetts, Alpenglow Editions (UK, 2024)

Backpacking on Vancouver Island: The Essential Guide to the Best Multi-Day Trips and Day Hikes
Taryn Eyton, Greystone Books (Canada, 2024)

The Cairngorms & North-East Scotland
Iain Young, Anne Butler & Heather Morning, Scottish Mountaineering Club (UK, 2024)

High Sierra Climbing: Technical Rock and Ice Volume 3
Roger Putnam and Vitaliy Musiyenko, Kevin Daniels & Associates (USA, 2024)


Mountain Article
$3000 – Sponsored by Rab

Cayesh '83
Jeff Jackson, Summit Journal (USA, 2024)

Columns and Contradictions
Christopher Kalman, Summit Journal (USA, 2024)

Inseparably Roped: Early Club Culture, Climbing and Books
Zac Robinson, Canadian Alpine Journal (Canada, 2024)

The Terror of Turning a Corner 
Astra Lincoln, Climbing Magazine (USA, 2024)

Via Sedna: A Team of Women Sail Stormy Seas to Climb A Big Wall in Greenland
Caro North, Alpinist Magazine (USA, 2024)


Climbing Literature
$3000 - World Expeditions

Books whose primary focus is on climbing from the categories above are eligible for this award. Winner will be announced October 17, 2024.

Grand Prize 
$5000 – Sponsored by The Alpine Club of Canada

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 

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 

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

All titles that are longlisted and have a theme of climbing are eligible for this award.
 

Grand Prize

Awarded to a book chosen from the winners in the above categories.

Book Competition Sponsors:

Alpine Club Canada Logo Whyte Museum of the Rockies Logo ACMG Logo Lodge at Bow Lake Logo Lolë Logo Mountain Life Logo Rocky Mountain Books Logo Town of Banff Logo World Expeditions logo