Edmonton, AB - A Canadian mountain book is a blockbuster success this summer. Climber's Paradise: Making Canada's Mountain Parks, 1906-1974 was awarded the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Honourable Mention for Ecology and Environment for non fiction. The award recognizes PearlAnn Reichwein's history of mountaineers, published by University of Alberta Press.
Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards are adjudicated by a select international panel of librarians and independent book sellers. Award winners were announced in San Francisco on June 26 at the annual American Library Association conference. Representing hundreds of independent and university presses of all sizes, the winners were selected after months of editorial deliberation over more than 1,500 entries in 63 categories. The winners exemplify the best work coming from today's indie authors and publishers.
Reichwein says, "It's remarkable to represent Canada among winning titles for Ecology and Environment. I am delighted to be recognized by librarians and booksellers. Being an IndieFAB author is an honour as well as a reminder of the ability of books to reimagine our changing world." An associate professor at University of Alberta, her scholarship has broad appeal, and is a research strength in U of A's Canadian Mountain Studies Initiative.
As many summer travelers head to the mountains, this book reconnects past and present. In Climber's Paradise, Reichwein looks at the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) as a lens on Canada's changing outlook on sport, tourism, land use, and conservation, particularly in iconic western mountain parks and the north. Mountaineers were intergenerational witnesses and advocates for the environment and public parks. Like writer Rachel Carson, Reichwein bring's her own voice to environmental literature, combining history and politics with lyrical nature writing and creative non-fiction at a critical moment for climate change.
Last month the book was awarded the Canadian Historical Association's prestigious Clio Prize (The Prairies) in Ottawa. It was a Finalist in the international Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival competition for Mountain and Wilderness Literature Non Fiction last fall. It won an American Association of University Presses book design award and it is currently showing with a travelling book exhibit of AAUP winners on tour across North America.
About the University of Alberta Press
The University of Alberta Press publishes in the areas of biography, history, language, literature, natural history, regional interest, travel narratives and reference books. With hundreds of scholarly and trade books, UAP contributes to the intellectual and cultural life of Alberta and Canada. www.uap.ualberta.ca
Contacts:
PearlAnn Reichwein, Associate Professor, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, pearlann.reichwein@ualberta.ca, 780-492-0579
Cathie Crooks, Sales/Marketing Manager, University of Alberta Press ccrooks@ualberta.ca, 780-492-5820