This has been a wonderful week of award announcements, and we are proud to celebrate recent critical recognition for our authors and their books.
Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction
On Foot to Canterbury: A Son’s Pilgrimage, by Ken Haigh, has been shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.
Jury members had this to say:
“On Foot to Canterbury is a beautifully written and eloquent story that skillfully weaves historical anecdotes into a journey through rural England, leaving the reader with practical, sage advice on how to deal with loss and depression, but most of all, on how to live. Haigh’s eye to detail is a delight to read, as are his frequent musings on landscape and history. This subtle, moving story stays with you long after the book is finished.”
Oral History Association Book Award
The 2021 Oral History Association Book Award goes to Our Whole Gwich’in Way of Life Has Changed / Gwich’in K’yuu Gwiidandài’ Tthak Ejuk Gòonlih: Stories from the People of the Land, by Leslie McCartney and Gwich’in Tribal Council. The creation of this massive document involved the passions and labour of many people, including the 23 Gwich’in Elders who shared their stories for this book. We are grateful to Sharon Snowshoe and the Gwich’in Tribal Council for letting us be a part of this amazing project. Thanks to co-author Leslie McCartney, who dedicated years of her life to researching and recording these stories, and to Ingrid Kritsch for her foundational research.
For other posts about this remarkable title, see:
Alan Brownoff’s Work Recognized by AU Presses Once Again
Indexing Gwich’in Oral History: A Workshop
Alberta Book Publishing Awards
Recognition from peers is always sweet, and this year we were delighted to receive important awards in two critical “Book of the Year” categories from the Alberta Book Publishing Awards.
Scholarly
Our Whole Gwich’in Way of Life Has Changed / Gwich’in K’yuu Gwiidandài’ Tthak Ejuk Gòonlih: Stories from the People of the Land won the Scholarly Book of the Year Award.
Nonfiction
An Autobiography of the Autobiography of Reading won the Nonfiction Book of the Year Award. This book has its roots in a provocative and illuminating lecture delivered by the amazing Dionne Brand at the University of Alberta in April 2019, as part of the Kriesel Lecture series organized by the Canadian Literature Centre | Centre de littérature canadienne, which is also our co-publisher for this series.
Our People
These awards honour the creators of the work we publish. I also want to recognize the whole UAlberta Press team: Mat Buntin, Michelle Lobkowicz, Cathie Crooks, Alan Brownoff, Duncan Turner, and Elisia Snyder, as well as interns Tanvi Mohile, Richard Costa, Keely Shirt, and Alex Ventimilla. I also want to thank our talented and experienced freelancers on these projects: editors Joanne Muzak and Maya Fowler, and indexer Stephen Ullstrom.
We have a phenomenal team and they dedicate themselves everyday to making sure our books are published with quality and care – care for our authors, our readers, our many partners, and for the Land here in Treaty Six territory.
