Angie Abdou, Fernie BC a Finalist at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival

Angie Abdou of Fernie, BC is a Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival Book Competition finalist in the Mountain and Wilderness Literature category with her most recent novel The Canterbury Trail!

The Banff Mountain Book Competition is an internationally recognized literary competition (books were submitted by 11 countries this year) as part of the Film and Book Festival taking place October 29 to November 6 where "The world’s best mountain films, books, and speakers take the spotlight for nine days each fall in Banff. "

Having already been on the festival program to speak with climber/dirtbag cartoonist Tami Knight and requested to meet with a U of C class during the festival, Angie was thrilled when she heard the news.

“I’m off-the-charts excited about The Canterbury Trail’s selection as a finalist for the Banff Mountain Book of the Year in the Literature category. This nod from the mountain community means so much to me. It’s like an Olympian telling me The Bone Cage is a worthwhile book: I want the culture represented to think the book is significant and important. I always feel like a bit of an outsider in mountain culture (I was after all raised in Moose Jaw) so this nomination is a very important thumbs-up from the insiders.”

The Mountain and Wilderness Literature category includes "non-fiction and fiction books on mountaineering, mountain history, mountain travel, mountain culture and environment, mountain adventure and mountain or wilderness experience of any kind." The winner of this category will be awarded $1000.

There is also a Grand Prize of $2000 (CAD) awarded to the best overall book of the competition!

While Angie is honoured to be a finalist, she is also excited to attend the festival with her husband Marty.

"I’m especially looking forward to seeing Bernadette McDonald who wrote Freedom Climbers (Rocky Mountain Books), an excellent account of Polish mountaineers which I just reviewed for the Quill and Quire. And, of course, you can’t go to Banff without seeing Sid Marty, especially when the event is called Words & Whisky."

Good luck Angie, and more importantly have a fabulous time!