Hello, BPAA members and colleagues, 

The Alberta 2026 Budget was announced on February 26, and funding for the Book Publishers Operating Grant through the Alberta Media Fund remained stable. While we are grateful that our funding remains stable, we will continue to advocate for an increase to the program so that it can better support the growth, stability, and long-term health of the industry.

Submissions for the Alberta Book Publishing Awards closed on February 27. We received 91 submissions in 14 categories. Candace and Jackie packaged and shipped 33 packages to our jurors last week. A big thank you to our jurors who will spend the next two months reading and evaluating dozens of submissions. 

A final reminder that submissions for Alberta Books for Schools close tomorrow. Submission details were shared with BPAA members by email, but please reach out if you have any questions. 

Finally, we have an open call for submissions for our conference this September. We are particularly interested in panellists who can share examples of successful partnerships between libraries and publishers. More information is available here, and we appreciate you sharing it with anyone who may be interested.

All the best,

Megan Bishop
Executive Director

• Check out this article, Never Trust Any Writer’s Explanations About Process or Anything Else, from Event Magazine, where they interviewed Freehand Books' author Tim Bowling (Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand).
• Durvile & UpRoute's books Blind Visionaries and AI, Music of the Earth's Heartbeat, and See-Me Street were included in CBC Books' article 50+ Canadian nonfiction titles we're excited about this spring.
• Check out this book review by Alberta Views of Durvile & UpRoute's book Canada Unscripted: Conversations with Canadian Media Icons.
• Congratulations to Athabasca University Press and designer Natalie Olsen for My Works, Ye Mighty receiving an honourable mention in the poetry category of the Alcuin Awards.

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.

• Greystone Books is hiring a Production Editorial Assistant. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, March 24, 2026. 

Join Livres Canada Books for their upcoming webinar, Exporting to China, on Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. MDT.

China boasts a dynamic and competitive book market with unique IP and innovative publishing models. Well-regarded international publishing events like the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair and the Beijing International Book Fair are also important symbols of the incredible growth in China’s book market.  

The country’s publishers and readers alike are looking to their own rich cultural traditions for stories, as well as for more information about world history and cultures. Take this opportunity to learn about the Chinese book market and hear what it has to offer as a potential export market for your titles.  

Topics include: 

• An overview of the Chinese book market. 
• Presence and opportunities for Canadian books in the Chinese market.
• Attending the Beijing International Book Fair. 
• Sale and purchase of translation rights, and co-editions.

This live webinar will be followed by an interactive Q&A period with the hosts. 

Cost is Free! Register today!

Are you looking for financial support to sharpen your expertise?

Access Copyright Foundation’s Professional Development Grants program may be able to help.

The Foundation offers grant funding to facilitate professional-development opportunities for Canadian writers, visual artists and publishers as well as staff members at organizations that represent them.

If you’re considering undertaking education and skills training through workshops, internships, courses or distance education, we encourage you to consider applying for a grant from the Foundation by visiting the SK Arts Portal. The Foundation’s grant programs are administered by SK Arts.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. MDT.

Learn more about the Foundation’s Professional Development Grant program by downloading the Foundation's Application Guidelines.

Important eligibility information about Access Copyright Foundation’s granting programs

Access Copyright Foundation wants to make sure its granting programs provide the widest and most equitable opportunity to those communities that the Foundation serves. That’s why the following eligibility restrictions are in place for grant recipients. 

• Applicants may be awarded a maximum of two Foundation grants within a 24-month period;
• Successful grant applicants must wait two years before applying for another grant in the same category. For example, an individual or organization that was awarded a Professional Development Grant for 2025 will be able to apply again in 2027.

The 2026 ABC Copyright Group have announced that the program for the 2026 ABC Copyright Conference is now live. Find the 2026 Program at the ABC Copyright Conference website.

The Conference will take place from May 7 – 8, 2026, in Edmonton. 

The ABC Copyright group is a grassroots organization made up of individuals involved in the day-to-day aspects of copyright and its implications for their respective organizations.

For more information or to register, please visit the ABC Copyright Conference website.

Livres Canada Books has released their updated market guide, Selling Canadian Books in Brazil, 2nd edition (2026), which provides an overview of the book publishing sector in Brazil, including a set of detailed tools for understanding the structure of the Brazilian book market, its main players, the situation of its bookstores and physical distribution channels, and recent developments in digital publishing.

The guides are available for purchase on their website or are available free of charge to FRMAP and Mentoring program recipients.

TMU / The Chang School's part-time publishing program seeks new students: if you or anyone in your organization would like to develop skills related to your roles, or maybe some ancillary ones, you can take a course (or two, or three), without having to commit to a full certificate. The courses are flexible for learners who have full-time priorities, as there is no requirement to be at one's desk at a certain date or time. Courses are either 7 or 13 weeks. You can see the list of courses on The Chang School's Publishing website.

The program is also calling for any internships or job opportunities that can be shared with program learners. As a part-time program, internships are not a requirement for graduation, so learners would welcome knowing about any opportunity to start their careers. Internships can be remote, hybrid, or in-office, as long as it's clearly indicated. The only requirement is that internships are paid positions, at least at minimum wage, and in accordance with the Ontario Employment Standards Act.

For more information, visit The Chang School's Publishing Certificate webpage. Any additional questions can be directed to the program's coordinator Kelvin Kong.

Organizations representing Canada’s publishing, writing, and bookselling sectors stand in solidarity with artists, cultural workers, and arts organizations across Nova Scotia as communities prepare to gather at rallies throughout the province calling for the reversal of sweeping cuts to arts and culture funding. 

The proposed provincial budget includes a 30% reduction to operational funding for arts, culture, and heritage organizations, a $14 million cut to discretionary funding within the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, and the elimination or reduction of more than 70 grant programs totalling over $130 million. 

We are especially alarmed by the Government of Nova Scotia’s decision to eliminate all provincial funding for independent publishers through the cancellation of the Publishers Assistance program. This devastating cut effectively reduces annual support for publishers from $700,000 to zero, making Nova Scotia the only province in Canada that does not invest in its own book publishers.

Read the full release here.

March 10–12, 2026: The London Book Fair

March 24, 2026: Tech Forum Webinar: Trendspotting: Book subjects on the move in the Canadian market

March 25, 2026: Canada Council for the Arts Annual Public Meeting
March 26–29, 2026: 2026 Brussels Book Fair

March 31, 2026: Durvile & UpRoute Book Launch Event: Music of the Earth’s Heartbeat: Blackfoot Legacy Vol. 2 
April 13–16, 2026: The 2026 Bologna Children’s Book Fair
April 25, 2026: Canadian Independent Bookstore Day

April 28, 2026: University of Alberta Press Literary Editions (save the date)

May 7–8, 2026: 2026 ABC Copyright Conference

May 14, 2026: Durvile & UpRoute Book Launch Event: The Headache Files: True Tales and Real Relief 
May 14–16, 2026: IBPA Publishing University

June 1–3, 2026: WBRA June Book Fair

June 4–5, 2026: Paris Book Market

June 11, 2026: Durvile & UpRoute Book Launch Event: See-Me Street: My Indigenous Homeless Journey 

June 22–26, 2026: 2026 Seoul International Book Fair
August 6–9, 2026: 40th IBBY World Congress

September 1–30, 2026: Alberta Culture Days
September 16–17, 2026: 2026 BPAA Annual Conference and AGM
September 17, 2026: 2026 Alberta Book Publishing Awards

October 7–11, 2026: Frankfurt Book Fair

March 15, 2026: Alberta Culture Days Grant

March 18, 2026: Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing
April 1, 2026: Access Copyright Foundation PD Grants

April 1, 2026: Canadian Book Fund Support for Publishers

April 10, 2026: Registration for the Canada Stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair

April 10, 2026: Foreign Rights Marketing Assistance Program (FRMAP)

April 10, 2026: Livres Canada Books Mentoring Program

April 15, 2026: Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize (for books published between February 11, 2026 and April 14, 2026)

April 15, 2026: Balsillie Prize for Public Policy (for books published between February 11, 2026 and April 14, 2026)

April 15, 2026: Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction (for books published between February 11, 2026 and April 14, 2026)
April 17, 2026: Giller Prize (Books published between March 1, 2026, and April 30, 2026)
May 1, 2026: Governor General’s Literary Awards (for books published between July 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026)

May 4, 2026: Nominations for the Summer CIBA The Booksellers’ List Closes

May 6, 2026: Project Grant Program – Organizations (Calgary Arts Development)

May 13, 2026: Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing
June 1, 2026: Connections & Exchanges Initiatives Grant (Edmonton Arts Council)

June 1, 2026: Invent & Adapt Grant (Edmonton Arts Council)
June 19, 2026: Giller Prize (Books published between May 1, 2026, and June 30, 2026)

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)

July 6, 2026: Nominations for the Fall CIBA The Booksellers’ List Closes

July 8, 2026: Nancy Flight Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Editing
August 14, 2026: Giller Prize (Books published between July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026)
September 1, 2026: Grants for Individuals & Collectives (Edmonton Arts Council)

October 7, 2026: Professional Arts Organizations Operating Grant Program (Calgary Arts Development)
November 1, 2026: Access Copyright Foundation Events Grants

Ongoing: Alberta Export Expansion Program (Government of Alberta)
Ongoing: Canada Digital Adoption Program
Ongoing: Representation and Promotion (Canada Council for the Arts)
Ongoing: Sector Support, Innovation and Development (Canada Council for the Arts)
Ongoing: Student Work Placement Program (Cultural Human Resources Council)
Ongoing: Micro-grants (Canada Council for the Arts)

1. Starry Starry Night - Shani Mootoo (Book*hug Press)

2. The Correspondent - Virginia Evans (Crown)

3. Game Changer - Rachel Reid (Carina Press)

4. The Cure for Drowning - Loghan Paylor (Random House Canada)

5. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir (Ballantine Books)

6. Dungeon Crawler Carl - Matt Dinniman (Ace)

7. What We Can Know - Ian McEwan (Knopf)

8. Alchemised - SenLinYu (DelRey)

9. A Minor Chorus - Billy-Ray Belcourt (Hamish Hamilton) *

10. The Astral Library - Kate Quinn (William Morrow)

1. Whose Nest Is Best? - Lyndsay Wasko (Tiger Tales) *

2. Every Story Is a Call to Action - David A. Robertson (University of Alberta Press) +

3. Talk Treaty to Me - Crystal Gail Fraser and Sara Komarnisky (Collins) *

4. Here Comes the Sun - Bill McKibben (WW Norton) 

5. The Earth Transformed - Peter Frankopan (Vintage) 

6. Adult Braces - Lindy West (Grand Central Publishing) 

7. No Place Like Home - Jessica Barrett (Viking) *

8. Understory - Kevin Van Tighem (RMB | Rocky Mountain Books) *

9. Elbows Up! - ed. Elamin Abdelmahmoud (McClelland & Stewart)

10. The Fabric of Civilization - Virginia Postrel (Basic Books) 

1. Beaver Hills Forever - Conor Kerr (Arsenal Pulp Press) *

2. Oh Witness Dey! - Shani Mootoo (Book*hug Press) 

3. Little Alleluias - Mary Oliver (Grand Central Publishing)

4. Dog Show - Billy Collins, illus. Pamela Sztybel (Random House) 

5. Nighthawks - Lisa Martin (University of Alberta Press) * +

6. I Do Know Some Things - Richard Siken (Copper Canyon Press) 

7. This Wound is a World - Billy-Ray Belcourt (Frontenac House) * +

8. Treaty 6 Deixis - Christine Stewart (Talonbooks) *

9. The Late Season - patti sinclair (At Bay Press) *

10. 20/15 - Peter Midgley (Agatha Press) * +

1. Terrace IV - ed. Sarah L. Pratt and Robert Bose (The Seventh Terrace) * +

2. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir (Ballantine Books)

3. Strange Buildings - Uketsu (HarperVia) 

4. Theo of Golden - Allen Levi (Simon & Schuster)

5. Krevax - L. C. Walters (Wicked Ink Publishing) +

6. Tilly and the Crazy Eights - Monique Gray Smith (Second Story Press)

7. The Measure - Nikki Erlick (William Morrow)

8. My Heart Fills With Happiness - Monique Gray Smith, illus. Julie Flett (Orca Book Publishers) 

9. Finding Grace - Loretta Rothschild (St. Martin's Press) 

10. The Berry Pickers - Amanda Peters (Harper Perennial)

1. Sharing the Light - Monique Gray Smith (House of Anansi Press)

2. Nightstead - David Martin (Palimpsest Press) * 

3. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults - Robin Wall Kimmerer, Monique Gray Smith, illus. Nicole Neidhardt (Zest Books)

4. More Everything Forever - Adam Becker (Basic Books) 

5. The First Survivor - Lisa Banfield, Sherri Aikenhead, and Maureen Banfield (Sutherland House Publishing) 

6. Upstream - Mary Oliver (Penguin Books)

7. Enshittification - Cory Doctorow (MCD)

8. Murdoku - Manuel Garand (Puzzlewright Press) 

9. wîhtamawik / Tell Them - Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer (University of Regina Press) *

10. The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards - Jessica Waite (Simon & Schuster) *

* Alberta Author  + Alberta Publisher
Calgary Bestseller List Week Ending 2026-03-05

Thank you to Shelf Life Books and Owl's Nest Books for providing sales data.

Around 10k authors protest AI commercial research exception with publication of empty book (The Bookseller)

What I Learned About American Men in My All-Male Book Club (Literary Hub)

Worried about the demise of reading? Come to France, where we’re up to our eyes in print (The Guardian)

"Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul."

— Joyce Carol Oates

Copyright © 2026 Book Publishers Association of Alberta, All rights reserved.

The Book Publishers Association of Alberta is grateful for the support of our funders:
City of Edmonton | Edmonton Arts Council | City of Calgary | Calgary Arts Development | Canada Council for the Arts | Department of Canadian Heritage | Government of Alberta | Arts, Culture, and Status of Women | Access Copyright Foundation