It’s Paul Coccia and Eric Walters. And we’re here to say how honored we are to accept the Richard Allen Chase memorial award in its inaugural year. All awards are important but an award named after somebody like Richard makes it even more important. Richard was the heart and soul of the Rocky Mountain Book Award. He was somebody whose life was devoted to literacy.

RMBA is delighted to announce the winner of the 2021 RMBA Gold Medal award! Congratulations to Sergeant Billy: The True Story of the Goat Who Went to War, written by Mireille Messier and illustrated by Kass Reich.

Here’s a special message from Mireille Messier:

Congratulations, and thank you to ALL 2021 nominees for creating exemplary Canadian literature for kids to enjoy.

• 2021 RMBA Winner – Sergeant Billy : the Story of the Goat That Went to War  by Mireille Messier
• 2nd Place – Bloom by Kenneth Oppel
• 3rd Place – Broken Strings by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer
• 4th  Place – The Copycat by Wendy McLeod MacKnight
• 5th Place – The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-El

2020/2021 marks 20 years of the Rocky Mountain Book Award!

Alice celebrates RMBA 20th Anniversary with limited edition t-shirt, mask and winning titles!

Past Winners

Announcing the Winners of the 2021 Registration Early Bird Draw

Students from Mike Mountain Horse School in Lethbridge, with their teacher and RMBA leader, Karen Bourassa announce the three winners of a set of the 2021 nominated titles. Congratulations to Ecole Mallaig, St. Catherine School and Lac La Biche County Library.

Our 2021 short list is here! Thanks to 2020 winner Susin Nielsen for recording a special video announcement sharing all 20 books.

Don’t miss Tait Low’s amazing tribute to “No Fixed Address” by Susin Nielsen.

Tait Low presents Susin Nielsen with the 2020 Rocky Mountain Book Award Gold Medal for the winning title “No Fixed Adress”.

We are thrilled to announce the 2020 Rocky Mountain Book Award winner is No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen, from Penguin Random House Canada! Here is a special message from Susin:

Advice from Cheryl Gilmore, Superintendent for Lethbridge School Division …whenever or wherever possible, read, read, and read some more… encourage the escape and joy that can be found in the magic of a story. Moving into the Growth Zone, Lethbridge Herald; May 6, 2020

In November the anchor of the Rocky Mountain Book Award, Richard Chase, passed away unexpectedly.  Since then we have been scrambling to understand all that he did for RMBA.  Then the world was brought to a standstill by COVID-19, further complicating our work of keeping the Rocky Mountain Book Award vibrant and inspiring.

Thank you to all of you who continue to support our award and our dream of getting outstanding Canadian literature into the hands of our amazing Canadian children.

Here is what we are working on:

Voting

• Voting will be extended until June 1, 2020.  The announcement of the winning title will be made virtually on June 8, 2020.
• If your students have read at least 5 of the 2020 titles, please feel free to vote at any time.

Registration REOPENED

We believe it is critical to foster the love of reading which makes us feel less isolated and more connected, sharing Canadian stories with Canadian families.  In order to create a sense of community, we are reopening registration allowing families and individuals the opportunity to help choose the winning title of the 2020 Award.

Accessing titles

You, our reading community, have asked us to find innovative ways to engage with the RMBA list.  Here are some ways you can access our titles.

Twentieth Anniversary Celebrations

2021 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Book Award.  Stay tuned for information on our celebration.

2021 Nominees

We are reading to create the list of nominated titles for the 2021 list.  The 2021 list will be unveiled on June 15.

We believe it is critical to foster the love of reading which makes us feel less isolated and more connected, sharing Canadian stories with Canadian families.  In order to create a sense of community, we are reopening registration allowing families and individuals the opportunity to help choose the winning title of the 2020 Award. 

You, our reading community, have asked us to find innovative ways to engage with the RMBA list.  Here are some ways you can access our titles.

We are constantly adding options for you to access these materials so be sure to refer back to this page.

Online ebooks and audio books

OverDrive/Rakuten: Using the SORA app (for the Alberta School Library Consortium) or Libby (from your local Public Library) many of the 2020 Rocky Mountain Book Award titles can be accessed in ebook format or audio format. These apps are available from the App Store or from Google Play Store. Check with your local public library or your child’s school librarian for information on how to login to these platforms.

Public Libraries

Edmonton Public Library:   https://epl.overdrive.com/library/kids/collection/1072608

Red Deer Public Library: https://rdpl.bibliocommons.com/list/share/107279556_rdpl_kids/1631327117_rocky_mountain_book_awards_2020

Chinook Arch Regional Library System: https://chinookarch.overdrive.com/library/kids/collection/1070505

Parkland Regional Library System:  https://ebook.yourcloudlibrary.com/library/prl/Featured/1791eca7d66340dca70c5143fc59be98

 Peace Regional Library System: titles are available in both Overdrive and cloudLibrary  https://www.peacelibrarysystem.ab.ca/eResources?formats%5B%5D=eBooks#eresources-list

 Shortgrass Regional Library System:  https://shortgrass.bibliocommons.com/list/share/264759587_shortgrass_library/1631769379_rocky_mountain_book_awards_2020

SORA – Alberta OverDrive Consortium

Access for SORA is available through your participating school anywhere in Alberta. https://soraapp.com/library/apssdcca/curated-1070981/page-1

Purchasing Hard Copies

University of Lethbridge Book Store offers online purchase, delivery or curbside pick up. https://bookstore.uleth.ca/shop_product_list.asp?catalog_group_id=Mg&catalog_group_name=Qm9va3M&catalog_id=1826&catalog_name=Um1iYSAyMDE5IC0gMjAyMA

United Library Services Information on how to order through United Library Services: https://rmba.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/RockyMountainBookAward-2020-YourPrice-FORM.pdf

United Library Services price list: RockyMountainBookAward-2020-YourPrice-FORM

Additional Information

Janet Wees talks about writing When We Were Shadows ( Second Story Press). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA5NAW01CmE&feature=youtu.be

Alex Lyttle received his Rocky Mountain Book Award 2019 Gold Medal, for his novel From Ant to Eagle, at the Lethbridge Public Library’s Word on the Street on September 21, 2019. The medal was presented by Rocky Mountain Book Award Co-chairs Ruth McMahon and Michelle Dimnik.

Faith Erin Hicks, author of the 2018 Gold Medal Book The Nameless City, was presented her medal on September 22,2018. The presentation took place at the Lethbridge Public Library’s Word on the Street Festival. The presentation was made by RMBA Co-Chairpersons Ruth McMahon and Michelle Dimnik.

The votes are in! Congraulations to Faith Erin Hicks, winner of the 2018 RMBA gold medal!

Thank you for taking part in RMBA 2018 and make sure to register in September for RMBA 2019. The RMBA Selection Committee is busy reading and will be ready in the next month to make the final choices for the 2019 nominee list!

For full voting results, visit our 2018 nominees page. Want to see all the past winners? Do so on the Winners page!

Svetlana Chmakova the author of the 2017 Gold Medal Award winning graphic novel Awkward visited schools in Alberta and received her Gold Medal at the Lethbridge Public Library”s Word On The Street.