Freedom Climbers wins Grand Prize
Nice work to Bernadette McDonald on her latest work "Freedom Climbers". I'm excited to read it, especially since I just learned that it received the Grand Prize in this year's Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival. I've copied the press release below. Also, copied below the trailer (first book trailer I've seen - but it's pretty cool!). Thanks Bernadette for sharing these inspiring stories with us!
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CANADIAN WRITER WINS GRAND PRIZE AT INTERNATIONALLY-RENOWNED BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK AND FILM FESTIVAL
For Immediate Release
(October 25, 2011) RMB | Rocky Mountain Books is thrilled to announce that Freedom Climbers by Bernadette McDonald has been awarded the Grand Prize at the 2011 Banff Mountain Book Festival. The $2,000 award will be presented on Thursday, November 3 in the Max Bell Auditorium at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta.
Freedom Climbers is a passionate tale of international adventure, politics, suffering, death and inspiration. At a time when Polish citizens were locked behind the Iron Curtain, these intrepid explorers found a way to travel the world in search of extreme adventure. From Alaska to Afghanistan, South America to Pakistan, this stalwart collection of adventurers evolved into the toughest group of Himalayan climbers the world has ever known.
Freedom Climbers was also recently shortlisted for the prestigious Boardman Tasker Prize. The annual £3,000 award celebrates an original book that has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature. The 2011 Boardman Tasker Prize will be awarded on November 20, 2011 at the Kendal Mountain Festival.
Bernadette McDonald is the founding vice-president of Mountain Culture at the Banff Centre and the author of seven books on international mountaineering. McDonald is the winner of numerous awards including the Alberta Order of Excellence, the Summit of Excellence Award from the Banff Centre, the King Albert Award for international leadership in the field of mountain culture and environment, and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. Bernadette divides her time between Naramata, BC and Banff, Alberta.
Please contact Neil Wedin for more information or to arrange interviews.
Freedom Climbers
by Bernadette McDonald
978-1-926855-60-8
352 pages
hardcover
$32.95 (CAD)
