My young-YA/middle-grade fantasy Fireboy, already a finalist for Best Young Adult Novel in this year’s Aurora Awards and finalist for a 2027 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award in the Northern Lights Division, has just been named a finalist for Best YA Novel in the 2026 High Plains International Book Awards
The High Plains International Book Awards, established in 2007, celebrate literary works which examine and reflect life in the High Plains region, which includes the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
The High Plains International Book Awards Board selects readers to evaluate all nominations, and identifies finalist books based upon reader evaluations. The Board selects judges to determine the winning entry in each category.
Winners for all Book Awards will be announced at an Awards event held in October 2026 in Billings, Montana. Each Book Award winner will receive a $500 award. I’m planning to be there!
You can see the complete list of nominees on the High Plains International Book Awards website. Other nominees in the YA category are Away by Megan E. Freeman and K-Jane by Lydia Kang.
It’s an honour to be nominated!
