No Canadian Authors Win at Banff Mountain Book Competition

No Canadian authors took home a category award at this year’s Banff Mountain Book Competition, a notable outcome for one of the world’s leading celebrations of mountain literature. Three Canadian titles reached the finalist stage, however none won their category, as international authors swept all eight awards at the 50th anniversary festival in Banff.

The Grand Prize was awarded to Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Women’s Ascent of Denali by American author Cassidy Randall. The book revisits a groundbreaking 1970 expedition that challenged deep-rooted gender barriers in mountaineering and retells the story of six women who refused to be sidelined in a male-dominated climbing world. Jury members praised the book for its meticulous research, narrative drive, and vivid portrayal of the psychological and physical limits faced by the team on North America’s highest peak.

Randall’s work also won the Mountain Literature (non-fiction) category, making it the only book to secure two awards this year. The jury described it as “a masterful tribute to mountains as places to challenge individual and social limits, in ways both historic and intimate.”

A Global Sweep in a Milestone Year

The Banff Mountain Book Competition, part of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, marked its 50th edition this year. The competition received 142 submissions from 11 countries, with 29 books selected as category finalists. The competition awards $29,000 in cash prizes, including $5,000 for the Grand Prize and $3,000 for each of the eight category awards.

The winners of the eight category awards included:

• Mountain Fiction & Poetry – An Abundance of Wild Roses (UK)
  A mythic and poetic novel set in the mountains of Pakistan, exploring loss, tradition, and human connection to a harsh yet spiritually rich landscape.

• Environmental Literature – The Wild Dark (USA)
  A reflective journey into the night sky and the impacts of light pollution, blending travel narrative with a meditation on our relationship with darkness and the natural world.

• Adventure Travel – Into the Thaw (USA)
  A travel memoir through the Arctic that documents shifting ice, wildlife, and culture in a region transformed by the climate crisis.

• Mountain Image – Eden: A Portrait of Mountain Biking in Aotearoa New Zealand (New Zealand)
  A visually rich photography book showcasing New Zealand’s mountain biking culture and the dramatic landscapes that shape it.

• Guidebooks – Northern Horizons (UK)
  A hybrid guidebook and personal narrative celebrating the mountains of Cumbria and Scotland, offering routes alongside reflective essays.

• Mountain Literature (Non-fiction) – Thirty Below (USA)
  The story of the first all-women’s ascent of Denali, capturing the physical and societal challenges faced by the pioneering 1970 expedition team.

• Mountain Article – Fleet-Winged Ghosts of Greenland (USA)
  A long-form feature examining the history, ecology, and recovery of peregrine falcons on Greenland’s cliffs, blending science, travel, and personal narrative.

• Climbing Literature – Moving the Needle (UK)
  A personal exploration of climbing and growth by Scottish climber Dave MacLeod, focusing on mindset, challenge, and the psychology of performance.

Canadian Voices Reached the Shortlist, but Not the Podium

Three Canadian authors were among this year’s finalists. Mike Brown’s 5.7 | Haikus for the Climber was shortlisted for Mountain Fiction and Poetry, while A Woman Among Wolves by Diane K. Boyd and Travels Up the Creek by Lorne Fitch were both finalists in Environmental Literature. In 2024, two Canadian authors earned category wins, however no Canadian titles claimed an award this year.

Why Thirty Below Resonated

Thirty Below recounts the first all-women’s expedition to summit Denali. Led by climber and physician Grace Hoeman and her teammate Arlene Blum, the team sought to prove that women belonged on the world’s highest peaks at a time when many expeditions refused to accept them except in support roles. Randall’s book draws from archival research and original interviews to bring to life the discrimination, physical hardship, and internal tensions that shaped the journey.

The climbers faced significant challenges on the mountain, from storms to altitude illness, and the team’s decisions carried consequences that extended far beyond the summit attempt. The book captures a pivotal moment in both mountaineering and women’s history, while also offering a contemporary reflection on who gets to tell mountain stories and whose achievements are remembered.

Evolving Themes in Mountain Literature

This year’s winners reflect a broadening definition of mountain writing. Alongside traditional climbing narratives and guidebooks were works exploring light pollution, mythology, conservation, identity, and human connection to place. Several selections centered on climate-related change in mountain regions, from Arctic ice melt to biodiversity loss.

With winning and recognized titles coming from Pakistan, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, this year’s selections reflected an increasingly global range of mountain storytelling, reaching beyond the North American and European voices that long shaped much of the genre.