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Manitoba Book Awards 2021: Shortlists

Saturday, May 01, 2021 at 5:38pm

The finalists for the 2021 Manitoba Book Awards have been announced! You can find the complete lists after the jump.

The awards are divided into eleven categories and showcase the very best in writing, editing, design, and publishing here in Manitoba.

Congratulations to all of the nominees!

Sadly the pandemic means that we cannot celebrate together at a gala, so instead the winners will be announced via media release and social media on Thursday, May 20 at 11:00 a.m.


 

McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award
 
Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory by David A. Robertson, published by HarperCollins

Dragonfly by Lara Rae, published by J. Gordon Shillingford
 
Here the Dark by David Bergen, published by Biblioasis
 
My Claustrophobic Happiness by Jeanne Randolph, published by ARP Books
 
Tablet Fragments by Tamar Rubin, published by Signature Editions
 
The World is Mostly Sky by Sarah Ens, published by Turnstone Press 


 

McNally Robinson Books for Young People (Older Category)
 
From the Roots Up: Surviving the City Vol. 2 by Tasha Spillett, illustrations by Natasha Donovan,  published by HighWater Press
 
Ghosts by David A. Robertson, published by HighWater Press
 
Harvey Comes Home by Colleen Nelson, illustrations by Tara Anderson, published by Pajama Press
 
The Case of the Missing Auntie - A Mighty Muskrats Mystery: Book 2 by Michael Hutchinson, published by Second Story Press
 
You Don’t Have to Die in the End by Anita Daher, published by Yellow Dog, an imprint of Great Plains Publications


 

Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction
 
Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory by David A. Robertson, published by HarperCollins

For The W: A Look Back at the 2019 Grey Cup Championship Season by Ed Tait, edited by Rhéanne Marcoux, published by The Winnipeg Football Club 
 
Peculiar Lessons: How Nature and the Material World Shaped a Prairie Childhood by Lois Braun, published by Great Plains Publications
 
Reinventing Bankruptcy Law: A History of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act by Virginia Torrie, published by University of Toronto Press


 

Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award

Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory by David A. Robertson, published by HarperCollins
 
Dispelling the Clouds: A Desperate Social Experiment by Wilma Derksen, published by Amity Publishers
 
From the Roots Up: Surviving the City, Vol. 2 by Tasha Spillett, illustrations by Natasha Donovan, published by HighWater Press
 
Harley’s Bootstraps by Lois C. Henderson, published by FriesenPress
 
TreeTalk by Ariel Gordon, with illustrations by Natalie Baird, published by At Bay Press
 
Vignettes from My Life by Tannis M. Richardson, published by Heartland Associates


 

Chris Johnson Award for Best Play by a Manitoba Playwright

Dragonfly by Lara Rae, published by J. Gordon Shillingford

How it Ends by Debbie Patterson, produced by Sick + Twisted Theatre

Inédit par Eric Plamondon, publié par Les Éditions du Blé

The Paper Bag Princess by Alissa Watson, produced by Prairie Theatre Exchange

Torn Through Time by Carrie Costello, Frances Koncan, and Cherissa Richards, produced by Manitoba Theatre for Young People


 

Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book

A Strange Kind of Comfort by Gaylene Dutchyshen, published by Dundurn Press

Heart Broken: Our Family’s Story of Surviving Medical Tragedy by Donald Lepp, published by Word Alive Press 

Once Removed by Andrew Unger, published by Turnstone Press
 
Tablet Fragments by Tamar Rubin, published by Signature Editions
 
The Case of Windy Lake - A Mighty Muskrats Mystery by Michael Hutchinson, published by Second Story Press


 

Manitowapow Award

Wilfred Buck
Duncan Mercredi
Lenard Monkman
David A. Robertson
Jen Storm


 

Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards

I. Book Design / Conception de livre
Becoming Our Future: Global Indigenous Curatorial Practice edited by Dr. Julie Nagam, Carly Lane, Megan Tamati-Quennell, original front cover design by Johnson Witehira, design and layout by Relish New Brand Experience, published by ARP Books
 
My Claustrophobic Happiness by Jeanne Randolph, book design and layout by LOKI, published by ARP Books
 
The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent by Darren Bernhardt, cover artwork by Christine Fellows, design and typography by Relish New Brand Experience, published by Great Plains Publications
 
The Muse Sings by Dennis Cooley, illustrations by Cori Jaye Elston, cover and interior design by M. C. Joudrey and Matthew Stevens, published by At Bay Press
 
TreeTalk by Ariel Gordon, with illustrations by Natalie Baird, cover and interior design by M. C. Joudrey and Matthew Stevens, published by At Bay Press
 
Words of the Inuit: A Semantic Stroll through a Northern Culture by Louis-Jacques Dorais, cover design by Marvin Harder, interior design by Jess Koroscil, published by University of Manitoba Press

II. Illustration 
For The W: A Look Back at the 2019 Grey Cup Championship Season by Ed Tait, edited by Rhéanne Marcoux, cover and interior design by Rhéanne Marcoux and Carrie Berndsen, various photographers, published by The Winnipeg Football Club 
 
I Will See You Again by Lisa Boivin, illustrations by Lisa Boivin, cover and interior design by Relish New Brand Experience, published by HighWater Press
 
The Automatic Age, written, illustrated, and cover design by G.M.B. Chomichuk, design assistance by Relish New Brand Experience, published by Yellow Dog, an imprint of Great Plains Publications
 
III. Graphic Novel / Roman graphique
Breakdown: The Reckoner Rises, Vol 1 by David A. Robertson, illustrations by Scott B. Henderson and Donovan Yaciuk, cover and interior design by Jennifer Lum, published by HighWater Press
 
From the Roots Up: Surviving the City Vol. 2 by Tasha Spillett, illustrations by Natasha Donovan, cover and interior design by Relish New Brand Experience, published by HighWater Press
 
This Place: 150 Years Retold by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm et al., illustrations by Tara Audibert et al., cover and interior design by Relish New Brand Experience, published by HighWater Press  


 

Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction
 
Here the Dark by David Bergen, published by Biblioasis
 
Kate Wake by Mariianne Mays Wiebe, published by DC Books
 
My Claustrophobic Happiness by Jeanne Randolph, published by ARP Books
 
Still Me: A Golf Tragedy in 18 Parts by Jeffrey John Eyamie, published by Turnstone Press
 
The Lightning of Possible Storms by Jonathan Ball, published by Book*hug Press


 

Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher

Becoming Our Future: Global Indigenous Curatorial Practice edited by Dr. Julie Nagam, Carly Lane, Megan Tamati-Quennell, original front cover design by Johnson Witehira, design and layout by Relish New Brand Experience, published by ARP Books
 
From the Roots Up: Surviving the City Vol. 2 by Tasha Spillett, illustrations by Natasha Donovan, cover and interior design by Relish New Brand Experience, published by HighWater Press
 
I Will See You Again written and illustrated by Lisa Boivin, cover and interior design by Relish New Brand Experience, published by HighWater Press
 
Making Believe: Questions About Mennonites and Art by Magdelene Redekop, cover design by David Drummond, interior design by Jess Koroscil, published by University of Manitoba Press
 
TreeTalk by Ariel Gordon, with illustrations by Natalie Baird, cover and interior design by M. C. Joudrey and Matthew Stevens, published by At Bay Press


 

Prix littéraire Rue-Deschambault

Boussole Franche par Amber O’Reilly, publié par Les Éditions du Blé 

Buffet Froid par Louise Dandeneau, publié par Les Éditions du Blé
 
Ganiishomong: ou L'Extase du temps par J. R. Léveillé, publié par Les Éditions du Blé

Categories: Awards, Winnipeg, Prairie Writing, Canadian Lit

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