We are guided by:

Our Mission

The Saskatchewan Book Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence and diversity in Saskatchewan writing and publishing. It is a principal ambassador for the province’s literary community, promoting greater awareness of Saskatchewan books, authors, and publishers through its awards, public reading events, and other promotional initiatives.

Our Vision

The Saskatchewan Book Awards is a widely recognized and respected literary awards program, and its solid reputation for celebrating artistic excellence in style is recognized nationally.

SBA’s annual activities raise public awareness of, and promote, Saskatchewan books, authors, and publishers, by celebrating excellence and recognizing the diversity of Saskatchewan writing and publishing, including emerging literary genres of interest.

Our awards directly benefit authors and publishers by providing an incentive to strive for excellence, which, in turn, benefits Saskatchewan’s literary community, by increasing the number and calibre of publications produced each year. Our awards and promotional activities lead to commercial success for Saskatchewan writers and publishers.

Our Values

Integrity: The integrity of SBA’s awards process is ensured through the use of consistent criteria and highly-qualified out-of-province jurors.

SBA’s criteria are applied consistently by jurors who are recognized as leaders with significant expertise in each award category. Strict confidentiality is maintained until the public announcement of the winners at each year’s Awards Gala.

Excellence: SBA sets high standards for its award winners, its jurors, and its events.

SBA’s highly- qualified jurors only select a winner in each award category if there is a high-calibre work which merits the award that year. The awards are given at events which are organized to the highest standards, and include guest speakers who are nationally and/or internationally-recognized literary personalities.

Diversity: SBA encourages diversity with an extensive variety of writing and publishing awards.

SBA’s 14 annual and semi-annual awards include Canada’s first mainstream First Peoples’ Publishing Award and Scholarly Writing Award, as well as the Prix du livre français, which recognizes francophone writing.

Equal Opportunity: SBA provides equal opportunity for all Saskatchewan nominees to promote their diverse books to a variety of audiences.

SBA holds a series of public readings in major urban centres and a number of smaller centres each year, as well as on both University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina campuses. In addition, it advertises nominees in a variety of media and venues.

Recognition and Respect for Writers: SBA encourages recognition and respect for writers.

SBA creates promotional opportunities for Saskatchewan writers, and encourages respect and recognition for writers from the Saskatchewan public through initiatives such as establishing the first officially recognized Poet Laureate in Canada as a spokesperson for the Saskatchewan writing community.

Commercial Success: SBA promotes commercial success for writers and publishers.

SBA’s cash awards often provide the financial means for the author to write another book, and provide publishers with the means to promote their books.

In addition, SBA publicizes and promotes short-listed books at a news conference/reception, Shortlist Reading events, and its annual Awards Gala. These events showcase and promote Saskatchewan books, provide readers with the opportunity to purchase the books, and provide opportunities for authors to meet their readers and autograph books, which increases sales.

Bookstores are provided with free posters and encouraged to promote the annual shortlist of nominees. Media promotion, displays, public events, and other promotional programs throughout the year increase awareness of, and encourage the purchase of, Saskatchewan books.