Books BC has announced the winners of two awards that celebrate the best of the province’s publishing industry. 

Medicine Wheel Publishing is set to receive the Jim Douglas Publisher of the Year award, while industry veteran Marisa Alps is being recognized with the Gray Campbell Distinguished Service Award. 

Medicine Wheel Publishing was founded by Teddy Anderson (Ye√≠l S‚Äôaghi), an adopted member of the Carcross Tagish First Nations of the Tlingit Community, with a mandate to create authentic, educational Indigenous books, guided by a council of Elders and knowledge keepers. The company has published more than 40 books, and is the publishing partner of the Orange Shirt Society. It has also donated over 15,000 books to Indigenous schools and communities. 

In a release, Books BC notes that the Jim Douglas award recognizes a company that has “earned the respect and applause of the community of publishers for a specific publishing project, an extraordinary contribution to the BC publishing community, and/or its extended commitment to excellence in publishing.” 

Marisa Alps, current artistic director of the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, has worked in publishing for three decades. With stints at Harbour Publishing, Nightwood Editions, and Douglas & McIntyre, Alps has trained dozens of interns and co-op students, and says she values advocacy and mentoring industry newcomers. 

The Gray Campbell Award celebrates “an individual or individuals who have made a significant contribution to the book publishing industry in the province.” 

The recipients will be recognized at a bi-annual industry reception on May 8 in Vancouver.