By Saskatchewan Book Awards

Celebrating Saskatchewan Writers

27th Saskatchewan Book Awards

Feb 12, 2020 | 11:05 AM

The shortlist for the 27th Saskatchewan Book Awards was announced today in Regina and Saskatoon at each city’s public library. Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun by Paul Seesequasis has been nominated for four awards: the Book of the Year Award, the Indigenous Writing Award, the Non-Fiction Award, and the Saskatoon Book Award. Kaidenberg’s Best Sons by first-time author Jason Heit has been nominated for the First Book Award, the Fiction Award, and the Saskatoon Book Award.

“We are very excited about the 2020 Saskatchewan Book Awards shortlist,” says Executive Director Kam Teo. “The shortlist represents the excellent books that are written and published each year in Saskatchewan.”

SBA was formed in 1993 and remains the only provincially-focused book awards program in Saskatchewan. It is a principal ambassador for the province’s literary community, with a nationally recognized reputation for celebrating artistic excellence. The 13 award categories offered this year are diverse, representative of Saskatchewan’s literary production, and responsive to emerging areas of interest. Award winners are determined through a selective jury process.

Award winners will be announced at the 27th Saskatchewan Book Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 25th, 2020 at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina. The ceremony will be hosted by Kris Alvarez, a prominent theatre artist, comedian, and director in Regina’s theatre community.

Tickets for the Awards Ceremony are now on sale and can be purchased online through PayPal or by cheque. Get them at the early bird price of $60/ticket until the end of March. On April 1, tickets will be $75 each, so act fast to get your tickets.

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Writing Awards
Book of the Year Award
Sponsored by the Regina Public Library

• Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun by Paul Seesequasis (Knopf Canada)
• Birds of Saskatchewan, edited by Alan R. Smith, C. Stuart Houston, and J. Frank Roy (Nature Saskatchewan)
• Peace and Good Order by Harold R. Johnson (McClelland & Stewart)
• Strangers in the House by Candace Savage (Greystone Books)
• Voice by Adam Pottle (University of Regina Press)

Children’s Literature Award
Sponsored by the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation

• The Absence of Sparrows by Kurt Kirchmeier (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Critters by Allan Dotson (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)
• The Haunting of Room 909: Junior Paranormal Investigators by Michael James (Hollow Hills)
• The Underdog Duckling by Sally Meadows (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)
• When We Had Sled Dogs by Ida Tremblay and Miriam Körner (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)

Fiction Award
Sponsored by Muslims for Peace and Justice

• At the Wolf’s Door by Chaz Osburn (Hellgate Press)
• Bone Black by Carol Rose GoldenEagle (Nightwood Editions)
• Kaidenberg’s Best Sons by Jason Heit (Coteau Books)
• Master of the World by Edward Willet (DAW)

First Book Award
Sponsored by the Ministry of Parks, Culture, and Sport

• The Absence of Sparrows by Kurt Kirchmeier (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Kaidenberg’s Best Sons by Jason Heit (Coteau Books)
• Naked Dreams by Edgar Roland King (self-published)

Indigenous Peoples’ Writing Award
Sponsored by Rasmussen & Co. Barristers & Solicitors

• Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun by Paul Seesequasis (Knopf Canada)
• Bone Black by Carol Rose GoldenEagle (Nightwood Editions)
• Peace and Good Order by Harold R. Johnson (McClelland & Stewart)

Jennifer Welsh Scholarly Writing Award
Sponsored by the University of Regina Faculty of Arts and the University of Saskatchewan Faculty of Arts and Science

• Back to Blakeney, edited by David McGrane, John Whyte, Roy Romanow, and Russell Isinger (University of Regina Press)
• Imagining Child Welfare in the Spirit of Reconciliation, edited by Dorothy Badry, H. Monty Montgomery, Daniel Kikulwe, Marlyn Bennett and Don Fuchs (University of Regina Press)
• Vasily Grossman and the Soviet Century by Alexandra Popoff (Yale University Press)

Non-Fiction Award
Sponsored by the University of Saskatchewan President’s Office

• Birds of Saskatchewan, edited by Alan R. Smith, C. Stuart Houston, and J. Frank Roy (Nature Saskatchewan)
• Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun by Paul Seesequasis (Knopf Canada)
• Vasily Grossman and the Soviet Century by Alexandra Popoff (Yale University Press)
• Peace and Good Order by Harold R. Johnson (McClelland & Stewart)
• Strangers in the House by Candace Savage (Greystone Books)

Poetry Award

• The Dry Valley by Bernadette Wagner (Radiant Press)
• Phases by Belinda Betker (Coteau Books)
• This Hole Called January by Paula Jane Remlinger (Thistledown Press)

Regina Book Award
Sponsored by the City of Regina

• Critters by Allan Dotson (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)
• Five Red Sentries by Raye Hendrickson (Thistledown Press)
• A Walk in Wascana by Stephanie Vance (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)
• Wide Open by D.M. Ditson (Coteau Books)

Saskatoon Book Award

• At the Wolf’s Door by Chaz Osburn (Hellgate Press)
• Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun by Paul Seesequasis (Knopf Canada)
• Kaidenberg’s Best Sons by Jason Heit (Coteau Books)
• Strangers in the House by Candace Savage (Greystone Books)
• Voice by Adam Pottle (University of Regina Press)

Publishing Awards
Indigenous Peoples’ Publishing Award

• Adam’s Tree by Gloria Mehlmann (Radiant Press)
• In My Own Moccasins by Helen Knott (University of Regina Press)
• Performing Turtle Island, edited by Jesse Rae Archibald-Barber, Kathleen Irwin, and Moira J. Day (University of Regina Press)
• No Surrender by Sheldon Krasowski (University of Regina Press)
• The Voyageurs by Zoey Roy (Gabriel Dumont Institute Press)

Publishing Award
Sponsored by Creative Saskatchewan

• Angry Queer Somali Boy by Mohamed Abdulkarim Ali (University of Regina Press)
• Black Writers Matter, edited by Whitney French (University of Regina Press)
• In My Own Moccasins by Helen Knott (University of Regina Press)
• Phases by Belinda Betker (Coteau Books)
• When We Had Sled Dogs by Ida Tremblay and Miriam Körner (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)

Publishing in Education Award
Sponsored by SaskBooks

• Frenemy Nations by Mary Soderstrom (University of Regina Press)
• Imagining Child Welfare in the Spirit of Reconciliation, edited by Dorothy Badry, H. Monty Montgomery, Daniel Kikulwe, Marlyn Bennett and Don Fuchs (University of Regina Press)
• Lac Pelletier by Cecile Blanke (Gabriel Dumont Institute Press)
• Performing Turtle Island, edited by Jesse Rae Archibald-Barber, Kathleen Irwin, and Moira J. Day (University of Regina Press)
• When We Had Sled Dogs by Ida Tremblay and Miriam Körner (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing)