Vice President, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, based in Alberta, Canada, is now accepting entries for its 2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition aimed at celebrating mountain literature, film, and photography as well as bringing together filmmakers, writers, publishers, editors, photographers, athletes, adventurers, and readers.
It will culminate in festival that features film screenings, guest speakers, readings, seminars and book signings. It offers a wide spectrum of experiences for the mountain film and book-loving audience.
As a key programme 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 eight awards selected by an international jury of writers, adventurers and editors.
The short list of category award winners who will also be eligible for the Grand Prize is announced in October every year.
Prizes will be awarded in each of the following categories:
- Adventure Travel – Non-fiction books with a theme of travel to, and exploration of, remote and/or rugged landscapes and their cultures.
- Mountain Fiction and 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 – All titles that are longlisted and have a theme of climbing are eligible for this award.
The Grand Prize is awarded to a book chosen from the winners in the above categories.
Books written primarily for children and young adults are not suitable for this competition. All entries shipped from outside Canada must include a completed Customs Form (or a Commercial Invoice) attached to the outside of the parcel. Please note that the declared value should be equivalent to the cost of materials only. Shipping, customs duty and taxes are the responsibility of the entrant.
For rules and regulations and more information, please visit https://bit.ly/3Qu8Swf.
For inquiries, please call the Banff Mountain Book Competition at: 403.762.6347 or email: banffmountainbooks@banffcentre.ca. Entries close on June 30, 2022.
