2021 Manitoba Book Awards Winners!

We, at the Manitoba Writers’ Guild, are pleased to announce this year’s winners of the

Manitoba Book Awards / Les Prix du livre du Manitoba
2021 Winners List

 

Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction / Prix Alexander-Kennedy-Isbister pour les études et essais
Sponsor: Manitoba Arts Council

Winner – Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory by David A. Robertson, published by HarperCollins

Nominees:
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 / Prix littéraire Carol-Shields de la ville de Winnipeg
Sponsor: Winnipeg Arts Council, with funding from the City of Winnipeg

Winner – Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory by David A. Robertson, published by HarperCollins

Nominees:
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 Friesen Press

TreeTalkby 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 / Prix Chris-Johnson pour la meilleure pièce par un dramaturge manitobain
Sponsor: The Manitoba Association of Playwrights (MAP)

Winner – Dragonfly by Lara Rae, published by J. Gordon Shillingford

Nominees:
How it Ends by Debbie Patterson 
Produced by Sick & Twisted Theatre 

Inédit  par Eric Plamondon, publié par by 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
Sponsor: The Winnipeg Foundation

Winner – Once Removed by Andrew Unger, published by Turnstone Press

Nominees:
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 

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 / Prix Manitowapow
Sponsor: Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture, University of Manitoba

Winners Duncan Mercredi and Lenard Monkman

Nominees:
Wilfred Buck
David A. Robertson
Jen Storm

 

Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards / Prix Manuela-Dias de conception graphique et d’illustration en édition

I. Book Design / Conception de livre 

Winner – 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

Nominees:
My Claustrophobic Happinessby 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

Winner – I Will See You Again written and illustrated by Lisa Boivin, cover and interior design by Relish New Brand Experience, published by HighWater Press

Nominees:
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

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 Publishers

III. Graphic Novel / Roman graphique 

Winner – 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

Nominees:
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

Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction 
Sponsor: Manitoba Arts Council 

Winner – The Lightning of Possible Storms by Jonathan Ball, published by Book*hug Press

Nominees:
Here the Darkby 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

 

Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher / Prix Mary-Scorer pour le meilleur livre par un éditeur du Manitoba
Sponsor: Friesens Corporation

Winner – Making Believe: Questions About Mennonites and Art by Magdalene Redekop, cover design by David Drummond, interior design by Jess Koroscil, published by University of Manitoba Press

Nominees:
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

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  

McNally Robinson Book for Young People (Older Category) 
Sponsor: McNally Robinson Book Sellers 

Winner Harvey Comes Home by Colleen Nelson, illustrations by Tara Anderson, published by Pajama Press

Nominees:
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

Ghosts by David A. Robertson, published by HighWater Press

The Case of the Missing Auntie – A Mighty Muskrats Mystery: Book 2by Michael Hutchinson, published by Second Story Press

You Don’t Have to Die in the End by Anita Daher, cover design by Jennifer Gabriele, interior design by Terry Corrigan, published by Yellow Dog, an imprint of Great Plains Publications

McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award 
Sponsor: McNally Robinson Book Sellers 

Winner Here the Dark by David Bergen, published by Biblioasis

Nominees:
Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory by David A. Robertson, published by Harper Collins

Dragonfly by Lara Rae, published by J. Gordon Shillingford

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
Le Prix littéraire Rue-Deschambault  Commandite: Conseil des arts du Manitoba  

 

Le Prix littéraire Rue-Deschambault
Commandite: Conseil des arts du Manitoba

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

Candidats :
Buffet Froid par Louise Dandeneau, publié par Les Éditions du Blé

Ganiishomong: ou L’Extase du tempspar J. R. Léveillé, publié par Les Éditions du Blé

 

Congratulations to all winners and nominees!

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