Media Release: 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards Winners
Posted .
Edmonton – The Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards. These awards celebrate the essential role Alberta book publishers play in supporting authors and telling Alberta’s Story. As the critical middle piece of the storytelling process, Alberta book publishers enrich and sustain the cultural and social landscape of our province and we are proud to highlight their achievements.
The awards gala was hosted at the Matrix Hotel in Edmonton, and over 130 delegates from across Canada gathered to celebrate the Alberta book publishing industry. At this year’s gala, we presented George Melnyk, former publisher at NeWest Press, with a Lifetime Achievement in Publishing Award for his long standing contributions to Alberta’s literary and publishing community. We also presented the Special Achievement in Publishing Award to Anna Boyar, Heather Lohnes, and Karyn Wisselink for contributing to the creation and success of the Read Alberta website. These three truly exemplify the spirit of the Alberta book publishing community, and have left an enduring legacy for Alberta’s publishing landscape.
NeWest Press was awarded the Mel Hurtig Publisher of the Year Award and was also the inaugural winner of the Mystery & Thriller Book of the Year Award for To Those Who Killed Me by J.T. Siemens. A total of 17 awards were presented and we would like to congratulate all of the winning and shortlisted publishers, authors, and designers.
Thank you to our funders, in particular the Government of Alberta and the Canada Book Fund, and our award sponsors whose contributions helped to make this event possible. For those that were unable to attend, a recording of the awards gala will be available on the BPAA YouTube Channel in a few weeks. Please subscribe to our channel to be notified when it is released. We look forward to next year’s awards and the continued growth of the Alberta book publishing industry.
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For more information contact:
Kieran Leblanc, Executive Director
780.918.8375
e. kleblanc@bookpublishers.ab.ca