Cole Nowicki, Jarret Hartnell and A.J. Devlin are among winners of the 2025 Alberta Book Publishing Awards.
The prizes, administered by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, annually celebrate the province’s best books of the year across 16 categories.
Laser Quit Smoking Massage is a short story collection by Cole Nowicki. (NeWest Press)
Nowicki won the Trade Non-Fiction book of the Year category for Laser Quit Smoking Massage, which explores questions of family, community and belonging amid the rural and urban spaces that make up Western Canada.
Nowicki is a writer, producer and publisher originally from Lac La Biche, Alta., who now lives and works in Vancouver.
His work has been featured in publications such The Walrus, Catapult, Vice, The Outline, Maisonneuve and Quartersnacks.
He is the author of Right, Down + Circle, was a columnist for King Skateboard Magazine, lead writer for the acclaimed documentary series Post Radical, and writes Simple Magic, a weekly newsletter about skateboarding, the Internet and other means of escape.
The Next ChapterBar karaoke characters and life in Western Canada in Cole Nowicki’s essay collection
Vancouver-based writer and former skateboarder Cole Nowicki talks about the inspiration behind his essay collection Laser Quit Smoking Massage.
Hartnell’s graphic novel Shout Kill Revel won three awards — the Graphic Novel of the Year, Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction and Book Illustration of the Year.
(Renegade Arts )
In Hartnell’s fantasy Western, a ruthless cult called the Undrowned Order rules the land as they enact their evil plans.
They believe that Helmina is their messiah who will unleash unspeakable horror upon the earth. After a lifetime of wrestling with her cosmic affliction, Helmina decides to take her destiny into her own hands.
Jarret Hartnell is a comic writer and artist based in Calgary. Shout Kill Revel is his debut graphic novel.
A.J. Devlin’s novel Bronco Buster won in the Mystery and Thriller Book of the Year category.
Bronco Buster is the latest in Devlin’s award-winning “Hammerhead” Jed mystery series, which includes Cobra Clutch, Rolling Thunder and Five Moves of Doom.
The book follows former pro wrestler-turned-P.I. “Hammerhead” Jed Ounstead as he’s back on the case investigating the Colossal Cloverdale Rodeo and County Fair to find out what happened to a man he and his cousin Declan spent the night drinking with.
Bronco Buster is a mystery novel by A.J. Devlin. (NeWest Press)
A.J. Devlin is a Vancouver-raised crime and mystery novelist. He spent six years in Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Screenwriting from Chapman University and a Master of Fine Arts in screenwriting from The American Film Institute.
He has since moved back to British Columbia and now lives in Port Moody with his wife and two children.
His debut novel, Cobra Clutch, was released in 2018. It is the first in the “Hammerhead” Jed Mystery series and it won the 2019 Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel.
The Next ChapterA.J. Devlin on Rolling Thunder
A.J. Devlin on his latest book, Rolling Thunder.
You can find the full list of winners below:
Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year: Laser Quit Smoking Massage by Cole Nowicki Learning Book of the Year: Common Clinical Presentations by Dr. Christopher Naugler Mystery and Thriller Book of the Year: Bronco Buster by A.J. Devlin Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry: Attic Rain by Samantha Jones Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction: Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell Scholarly & Academic Book of the Year: Indigenous Legalities, Pipeline Viscosities: Colonial Extractivism and Wet’suwet’en Resistance by Tyler McCreary Graphic Novel of the Year: Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell Trade Fiction Book of the Year: Art of Camouflage by Sara Power Regional Book of the Year: The Art of Making: Rediscovering the Blackfoot Legacy by Jared Tailfeathers Book Cover Design: Juiceboxers by Benjamin Hertwig, book design by Natalie Olsen Book Design: Every Night I Dream I’m a Monk, Every Night I Dream I’m a Monster by Damian Tarnopolsky, book design by Natalie Olsen Book Illustration: Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell Lifetime Achievement in Alberta Publishing Award: Kieran Leblanc
The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Grey Eagle Resort in Calgary.