Deadline: 3 July 2025
The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival celebrates mountain literature and film, bringing together filmmakers, writers, publishers, editors, photographers, athletes, adventurers, and – of course – readers.
Featuring film screenings, guest speakers, readings, seminars, and book signings, the festival offers a wide spectrum of experiences for the mountain enthusiast.
Categories
- Prizes will be awarded in each of the following categories:
- Adventure Travel: includes non-fiction books with a theme of travel to, and non-motorized exploration of, remote and/or rugged landscapes and their cultures.
- Mountain Fiction & Poetry: includes fiction and poetry books with a focus on mountain topics. Creative narratives about climbing and mountaineering, exploration and the experiences and cultures of mountain people are accepted.
- Mountain Literature: includes non-fiction books such as memoirs, biographies, and narratives on mountaineering, climbing history, mountain exploration, mountain people and culture, and human experiences of any kind in the mountains and in wilderness areas.
- Environmental Literature: includes books that pertain to the environment, specifically related to flora, wildlife, conservation, and climate change. Scholastic research and academic papers/texts will not be accepted.
- Guidebook: non-fiction books dealing with physical activities in mountain environments including hiking, climbing, mountaineering and “how-to” books.
- Mountain Image: includes books with a primary focus on mountain images and with text in a complementary role. Images may include photographs or reproductions of artwork. This category will be reviewed by their Photo Competition jury.
- Mountain Article: includes articles or short form essays under 7,000 words with mountain themes including, but not limited to: climbing, adventure, conservation, and mountain literature. Articles may be fiction, historical or non-fiction narratives, and can be submitted by either an editor or author of the article. This category accepts articles that have been published in print or digitally.
- Climbing Literature: will be awarded to the best long-listed book on mountaineering or climbing.
- Grand Prize: will be awarded to a book chosen from amongst the winners in the above categories.
Prize Information
- Grand Prize: $5000
- Adventure Travel: $3000
- Mountain Fiction & Poetry: $3000
- Mountain Literature: $3000
- Environmental Literature: $3000
- Guidebook: $3000
- Mountain Image: $3000
- Mountain Article: $3000
- Climbing Literature: $3000
Eligibility Criteria
- First Editions: to be eligible for the 2025 Mountain Book Competition, entries must be first editions published in 2024 or 2025 (before July 31, 2025).
- Each book entry must include five finished copies of the book (or two advance reading copies). These are necessary for the preview and judging process and will not be returned.
- Each book entry should also be submitted with a pdf or digital format.
- New editions of previously published titles may be eligible if previous editions have not been entered in the competition in the past. Each title may be entered in the competition only once.
- Entries for all categories may be submitted by authors or publishers.
For more information, visit Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
