Alberta Publisher of the Year

June 14, 2012

The University of Calgary Press team proudly poses with their award after being named Alberta Publisher of the Year during the 2012 Alberta Book Awards gala. Photo by Dave BrownUniversity of Calgary Press books have already made a splash this year. Now their publisher has joined them in being recognized for their achievements.

The University of Calgary Press was named Alberta Publisher of the Year on June 9 during the annual gala awards dinner of the 2012 Alberta Book Awards, where members Donna Livingstone, John King, Judy Powell, Melina Cusano, and Karen Buttner happily accepted the award.

“This is a tremendous honour,” says Livingstone, director of the University of Calgary Press. “We are very proud of the wonderful work of our authors, and appreciate the thoughtful guidance of our editorial board. Our colleagues at the Book Publishers Association have also been generous and a tremendous resource in supporting our work.”

This is the first time in the 22-year history of the Alberta Publisher of the Year award that the University of Calgary Press has been named its recipient.

"This publisher’s 2011 list displays its commitment to – and achievement in – every area considered by this award: editorial, design, production, promotion, marketing, sales, service to clients, and service to the community,” notes the jury. “This press tackled an ambitious and courageous catalogue ... with its compass always pointing west, with its nets always cast for a broad readership, and with spectacular results."

In presenting the award, Linda Cameron, president of the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, said University of Calgary Press has also shown exemplary efforts in marketing and promotion over the past year, and demonstrated an active leadership and commitment in the area of open access publishing.

University of Calgary Press books have gone on to win several awards this year. Happyland: A History of the ‘Dirty Thirties’ in Saskatchewan, 1914-1937 by Curt McManus won Best Nonfiction Book of the Year at the Saskatchewan Book Awards, and Hugh Dempsey’s autobiography, Always an Adventure, was awarded the Alan D. Ridge Award of Merit by the Archives Society of Alberta.

“We really want to thank our authors, readers, booksellers, our publishing partners, and the organizations that provide support for publishing for their assistance during this remarkable, award-winning year,” Livingstone said.