 Message from the Executive DirectorHello BPAA members and colleagues, Spring session has concluded and MLAs will be returning to their constituencies for the summer, which means it is a perfect time to schedule a meeting with your local MLA. BPAA staff are preparing our annual summer advocacy toolkit, which includes our advocacy one-pager, tips on scheduling a meeting with your MLA, and our key messages. The summer advocacy toolkit will be shared in the following weeks. We are also in the process of preparing our summer book mailout, in which we mail an Alberta-published book to every Alberta MLA and MP. BPAA staff will be busy the first week of June preparing the 124 packages to be mailed across the province. Next week, I am attending the ACP’s Spring Conference in Victoria, BC. I’m looking forward to the professional development sessions the ACP staff have organized, as well as hearing updates from industry partners and connecting with colleagues from across Canada. If you will be attending, please let me know. I am saddened to share the news that Jude Pittman, founder of BWL Publishing, passed away earlier this month. I only had the opportunity to meet Jude once, but she left a lasting impression as a spirited woman who was deeply passionate about publishing. During her time at BWL Publishing, she supported many emerging authors and helped romance publishing flourish in Alberta. She will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. A message from JD Shipton, President of BWL Publishing, is included below. BWL Publishing has lost its founder and long time publishing industry fixture, Jude Pittman. She incorporated BWL 12 years ago. Afflicted suddenly and irreversibly by Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, she passed relatively quickly and painlessly with her daughter by her side. BWL is trying to adjust to continuing business without her, but it will not be easy, as she was an absolute dynamo, and loved the business and the industry. All the best, Megan Bishop Association NewsBPAA Members Spotlight
Please share your award announcements, interviews, and other big news with us so that we can feature it in future newsletters! Please note: The Book Publishers Association of Alberta staff are working from home on Mondays and Fridays, with in-person office hours Tuesday–Thursday. Industry NewsNow Hiring
Industry Events and AnnouncementsCreative Export Strategy Permanently RenewedLast week, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, announced the permanent renewal of Canada’s Creative Export Strategy, which will continue supporting Canada’s creative industries in expanding their international reach. Starting in 2026–27, the Government of Canada will devote $95 million to the Strategy over five years, as well as $19 million annually afterward, to continue offering creative firms tailored support measures designed to enhance their export potential, through direct funding, trade missions, business programming and advisory services. This funding also includes increased support through the Creative Export Canada program to help more companies achieve their international goals. As part of this renewal, the Government of Canada is also launching the application period for Creative Export Canada’s 2026–2027 Export-Ready Stream, which helps Canadian export-ready projects reach more people around the world. The deadline for submitting a funding application is Wednesday, June 10, 2026. The application period for the 2026–2027 Export Development Stream will also launch in the coming weeks. Livres Canada Books: 2026 Rights Canada Catalogue Registration OpenIncrease your titles’ visibility with the Livres Canada Books’ 2026 Rights Canada catalogue! Take advantage of greater promotion of your books to the international community of rights representatives, publishers, and literary agents all year long. Titles registered in the Rights Canada catalogue benefit from greater visibility thanks to enhanced promotion on the Livres Canada Books website, social media, Canada Stand, and trade missions. Inclusion in the catalogue is free of charge and space will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The catalogue will include up to 340 titles, and the number of titles a publisher can include in the catalogue corresponds to the number of titles published over the course of the year. For more information and to register, visit the Livres Canada Books website. The deadline to register is Friday, May 22, 2026. Upcoming EventsMay 26, 2026: University of Calgary Press Book Launch: Beneficiary (Calgary) May 28, 2026: Poetry Showcase at Audreys Books May 28, 2026: Tech Forum Webinar: Thriving together: How independent publishers and booksellers are a perfect match June 1–3, 2026: WBRA June Book Fair June 4–5, 2026: Paris Book Market June 7, 2026: HummingByrd House Book Signing: Martha Cream Cheese (Calgary) June 11, 2026: Durvile & UpRoute Book Launch Event: See-Me Street: My Indigenous Homeless Journey June 22–26, 2026: 2026 Seoul International Book Fair September 1–30, 2026: Alberta Culture Days October 7–11, 2026: Frankfurt Book Fair The BPAA, Edmonton Arts Council, and Calgary Arts Development all maintain calendars of upcoming arts and culture events. To submit events please email eacweekly@edmontonarts.ca, or use the submission forms for Calgary Arts Development and the BPAA. Awards, Grants, and Submission DeadlinesMay 22, 2026: Livres Canada Books 2026 Rights Canada Catalogue Registration June 1, 2026: Connections & Exchanges Initiatives Grant (Edmonton Arts Council) June 1, 2026: Invent & Adapt Grant (Edmonton Arts Council) June 1, 2026: Book Publishers Operating Grant (Alberta Media Fund) June 10, 2026: Creative Export Canada’s 2026–2027 Export-Ready Stream June 24, 2026: Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize (for books published between April 15, 2026 and September 30, 2026) June 24, 2026: Balsillie Prize for Public Policy (for books published between April 15, 2026 and September 30, 2026) June 24, 2026: Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction (for books published between April 15, 2026 and September 30, 2026) June 24, 2026: Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers (for books published between April 15, 2026 and September 30, 2026) July 6, 2026: Nominations for the Fall CIBA The Booksellers’ List Closes July 8, 2026: Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing October 7, 2026: Professional Arts Organizations Operating Grant Program (Calgary Arts Development) Ongoing: Alberta Export Expansion Program (Government of Alberta) Edmonton's Bestselling BooksFICTION
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* Alberta Author + Alberta Publisher Edmonton Bestseller List Week Ending 2026-05-17 Thank you to Audreys Books, Magpie Books, and Paper Birch Books for providing sales data, and to the Taproot Edmonton Arts Roundup who distributes the list each week. Calgary's Bestselling BooksFICTION
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Reading ListCanadian book buyers in 2025 (BookNet Canada) Dad Books Are a Dying Breed (The Wall Street Journal) Allison Belan Named New BISG Executive Director (Publishers Weekly) Quote of the BiWeek“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” — John Locke Copyright © 2026 Book Publishers Association of Alberta, All rights reserved. The Book Publishers Association of Alberta is grateful for the support of our funders: |
