Alberta Book Publishing Awards

About the awards

As the critical middle piece of the storytelling process, Alberta book publishers enrich and sustain the cultural and social landscape of our province. Releasing a range of quality titles each year, they bring Alberta’s Story to life and share it locally, nationally and internationally.

Created to recognize and celebrate the best of the Alberta book publishing industry, the Alberta Book Publishing Awards have grown alongside the industry to capture the excellence and innovation of Alberta’s book publishers.

Each year, the winners of the Alberta Book Publishing awards are selected through a peer jury process in up to 16 award categories. This much-anticipated event draws industry, government, and media attention to the world-class excellence of Alberta’s publishing industry.

This year, jurors evaluated 107 submissions from Alberta publishers across 15 different categories.

The winners of the 2024 Alberta Book Publishing Awards were announced at a gala reception, held at the Varscona Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, on September 24, 2024.

2024 Winners

Download the PDF Media Release

You can find copies of the winning titles through the following links:

Read Alberta eBook Collections

Children’s & Young Adult Book of the Year

Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year

Learning Book of the Year

Brush Education
Last But Not Least: A Guide to Proofreading Text
by Leslie Vermeer

Mystery and Thriller Book of the Year

Cover for Secrets of Jarrow by Bill Slavin. Illustration of character holding a sword and looking fearfully towards a castle atop a mountain of snow.

Renegade Arts Entertainment
Secrets of Jarrow
written and illustrated by Bill Slavin

Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry

University of Calgary Press
Muster Points
by Lucas Crawford

Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
Super-Earth Mother: The AI that Engineered a Brave New World
by Guy Immega

Scholarly & Academic Book of the Year

University of Calgary Press
The Canadian Mountain Assessment: Walking Together to Enhance Understanding of Mountains in Canada
edited by Graham McDowell, Madison Stevens, Shawn Marshall, et al.

Graphic Novel of the Year

Renegade Arts Entertainment
Secrets of Jarrow
written and illustrated by Bill Slavin

Trade Fiction Book of the Year

Freehand Books
Coq
by Ali Bryan

Regional Book of the Year

Book Cover Design

Book Design

Athabasca University Press
Indigiqueerness: A Conversation about Storytelling
by Joshua Whitehead, in dialogue with Angie Abdou
cover, art direction, and illustrations by Brnesh Berhe
interior book design by Natalie Olsen (Kisscut Design)

Book Illustration

Renegade Arts Entertainment
Secrets of Jarrow
written and illustrated by Bill Slavin

Lois Hole Award for Editorial Excellence

Brush Education
Last But Not Least: A Guide to Proofreading Text
by Leslie Vermeer
edited by Kay Rollans

Mel Hurtig Publisher of the Year

Laberinto Press

Special Achievement in Publishing Awards

Kate Edwards, CEO of Access Copyright

Thank you to our Funders and Gala Sponsors!

Past winners

You can find copies of the winning and nominated titles through the following links:

Read Alberta eBooks and Prairie Indigenous eBook Collections

2024 Awards