{"id":132752,"date":"2025-10-19T22:25:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/132752\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T22:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:25:14","slug":"banff-mountain-festival-announces-2025-book-award-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/132752\/","title":{"rendered":"Banff Mountain Festival Announces 2025 Book Award Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, will be hosting the 50th annual Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival this year. The event brings together adventurers, writers, filmmakers, and enthusiasts to celebrate the mountains. As part of the festival, the Book Competition recognises outstanding mountain literature across various genres, awarding $29,000 annually through eight awards. The winners are chosen from a longlist of 29 finalists, drawn from 142 submissions across 11 countries.<\/p>\n<p>The 2025 Book Competition jury includes David Chambre (France), Paul Scully (UK), and Kate Neville (Canada). The Grand Prize ($5,000, sponsored by The Alpine Club of Canada) will be announced on Nov. 6. All category winners listed below are eligible for this prestigious award.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Climbing Literature<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by NOLS<br \/>Title: Moving the Needle<br \/>Author: Dave MacLeod<br \/>Publisher: Rare Breed Productions (UK, 2024)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cMacLeod, a daring climber, shares a transparent account of his journey from a working-class Scottish background. This core climbing book offers deep insights into the psychology of overcoming self-doubt to achieve extreme feats.\u201d \u2013 David Chambre<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/MovingtheNeedle.webp.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64484 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/MovingtheNeedle.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"729\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/729;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mountain Literature (Non-Fiction) \u2013 The Jon Whyte Award<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies<br \/>Title: Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Women\u2019s Ascent of Denali<br \/>Author: Cassidy Randall<br \/>Publisher: Abrams (USA, 2025)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cA trailblazing tale of courage, ambition, and history reclaimed. Randall brings to life the long-overlooked story of the first all-women\u2019s expedition to summit North America\u2019s highest peak. Meticulously researched yet swift in pace, this is a powerful portrait of perseverance and solidarity, giving voice to the women whose stories echo across time.\u201d \u2013 Paul Scully<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760912713_435_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64477 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760912713_435_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1020\" height=\"1530\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1020px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1020\/1530;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mountain Fiction &amp; Poetry<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by the Town of Banff<br \/>Title: An Abundance of Wild Roses<br \/>Author: Feryal Ali-Gauhar<br \/>Publisher: Canongate (UK, 2024)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cHarsh, haunting, and mythic, this novel takes us into Pakistan\u2019s mountains, weaving bold, poetic prose with the lives of spirit-beings and villagers. Ali-Gauhar links the losses of snow leopards, markhors, and cedar forests with the struggles of those bound by social strictures, fear, and grief.\u201d \u2013 Kate Neville<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/9781838858162.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64478 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/9781838858162.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"557\" height=\"886\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 557px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 557\/886;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Environmental Literature<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by Rab<br \/>Title: The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light<br \/>Author: Craig Childs<br \/>Publisher: Torrey House Press (USA, 2025)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cChilds\u2019 delightful bicycle journey from Las Vegas to Nevada\u2019s dark skies connects our earth-bound lives to the cosmos. With tenderness, he explores our fraught ties with wildness and domesticity, showing how charting planetary rhythms can rebuild relationships on the ground.\u201d \u2013 Kate Neville<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-19-10.28.58-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64479 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-19-10.28.58-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"594\" height=\"810\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 594px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 594\/810;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Adventure Travel<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by Rocky Mountain Books \u2013 RMB<br \/>Title: Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Arctic Climate Crisis<br \/>Author: Jon Waterman<br \/>Publisher: Patagonia Books (USA, 2024)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cWaterman\u2019s love for the Arctic shines through in this journey through geography and time. Stunning imagery and elegant prose, paired with rich scientific footnotes, make this a powerful narrative balancing despair and optimism in the face of climate change.\u201d \u2013 David Chambre<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Thaw.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64480 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Thaw.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"913\" height=\"1000\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 913px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 913\/1000;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mountain Image<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by Mountain Life Media<br \/>Title: Eden: A Portrait of Mountain Biking in Aotearoa New Zealand<br \/>Author: Nick Stevenson<br \/>Publisher: Thames &amp; Hudson Australia (Aotearoa New Zealand, 2025)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cA breathtaking collection capturing mountain biking in New Zealand\u2019s stunning landscapes. These images, crafted by top photographers, celebrate the alchemy of light, motion, and terrain, highlighting why this land shapes world-class riders.\u201d<br \/>\u2013 Mason Mashon<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Eden.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64481 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Eden.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1638\" height=\"2048\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1638px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1638\/2048;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guidebooks<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides \u2013 ACMG<br \/>Title: Northern Horizons<br \/>Author: Will Herman<br \/>Publisher: Scottish Mountaineering Press (UK, 2025)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cA lyrical blend of memoir and guidebook, Herman\u2019s work invites readers to feel the Cumbrian and Scottish mountains. Stunning photographs and evocative prose stir a longing for wild spaces and a meditative connection with the landscape.\u201d \u2013 Paul Scully<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/71TdDQ3DnEL._UF8941000_QL80_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64482 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/71TdDQ3DnEL._UF8941000_QL80_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"859\" height=\"1000\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 859px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 859\/1000;\"\/><\/a>Northern Horizons<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mountain Article<\/strong><br \/>$3,000 \u2013 Sponsored by The Lodge at Bow Lake<br \/>Title: Fleet-Winged Ghosts of Greenland<br \/>Author: Caroline Van Hemert<br \/>Publisher: Hakai Magazine\/BioGraphic (USA, 2024)<br \/>Jury Comment: \u201cVan Hemert\u2019s brilliant article traces peregrine falcon recovery in Greenland\u2019s fjords, blending science, history, and personal exploration. A lively, deeply researched piece that reveals the precariousness and possibility of redemption.\u201d\u2013 Kate Neville<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-19-10.37.55-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64483 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-19-10.37.55-AM.png\" alt=\"Read the article here\" width=\"900\" height=\"415\"  data- style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 900px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 900\/415;\"\/><\/a>Read the article <a href=\"https:\/\/hakaimagazine.com\/features\/the-fleet-winged-ghosts-of-greenland\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Grand Prize:<\/strong> $5,000 \u2013 Sponsored by The Alpine Club of Canada. All category winners are eligible for the Grand Prize, to be announced on Thursday, November 6, 2025, during the 50th Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DP7ewrSikKc\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, will be hosting&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132753,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[359,18,117,1176,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-132752","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-featured","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}