Quill & Quire reports:

2016 Whistler Independent Book Award recipient Miji Campbell

The Whistler Independent Book Awards, which debuted at last year’s Whistler Writers Festival as the first awards recognizing self-published authors in Canada, have announced the addition of a new category for 2017.

WIBA will now offer professional editing and design services, as well as publication and a book launch at the festival, for the best original unpublished fiction or non-fiction manuscript. Appointees of Vivalogue Publishing and Behind the Book will name a shortlist March 15, and last year’s prize winners, Byrna Barclay and Miji Campbell, will select the winner. As per the inaugural awards, all entrants will receive a written assessment with feedback from the judges.

WIBA director Lynn Duncan says in a press release:

Last year we received many entries with significant potential that were published too early, lacking both professional editing and design… Building on the success of the inaugural awards, we want to encourage and support writers at an earlier stage of the independent publishing process.

Submissions can be made at tidewaterfestival.com.