Michael Hutchinson and Timothy C. Winegard are among nine Canadian writers shortlisted for the 2025 High Plains Book Awards. 

Established in 2006, the annual awards recognize regional authors and/or literary works that examine and reflect life on the High Plains in North America. The regions include the Canadian provinces Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan and the American States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas. 

The award program recognizes books in 13 categories, including nonfiction, fiction, poetry, children's books, photography and short stories. The award winners each receive $500 and a commemorative plaque. 

Hutchinson is nominated for the Indigenous writer award for The Case of the Pilfered Pin, the latest in his Mighty Muskrat Mystery series. The book centres around a dispute between cottagers and members of the Windy Lake First Nation flares up over where the border of the reserve are. Years ago, a steel surveyors pin with the borders etched on it was stolen, and now cousins Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee, a.k.a. the Mighty Muskrats, are on the case — and it might be related to their grandpa's mysterious past.

Michael Hutchinson is a novelist and member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation. He currently lives in Ottawa and works at the Assembly of First Nations.

He is also the author of The Case of the Missing Auntie, The Case of Windy Lake, The Case of the Burgled Bundle and The Case of the Rigged Race. 

Timothy C. Winegard is nominated for the Nonfiction award for his book The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity. 

A follow-up to his bestselling book The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator, Winegard looks at how the horse has helped to shape human history.

The book examines how from the time humans tamed horses 5,500 years ago, they've served as everything from transportation to farming machines and served as inspiration for fashion, furniture, inventions and architecture.

Winegard is a professor at Colorado Mesa University. He has written four books covering a variety of topics, including military history, Indigenous studies, mosquitoes and now, horses.

Alberta writer David A. Poulsen is nominated for the Middle Grade award for his book The Unlikely Hero: The Story of Wolf 8, written with Rick McIntyre.

The book tells the story of Wolf 8, one of the wolves brought to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 in an effort to re-introduce the population to the area.

Wolf 8 was the runt of a litter who grew to become a courageous provider for an adopted family, and an icon of the successful reintroduction program.

Poulsen is a former broadcaster, teacher and the author over 27 mostly YA and middle-grade books. He is the former Saskatoon Public Library Writer-in-Residence.

Here is the full list of Canadian finalists: 

Art & Photography

• Bead Talk: Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics from the Flatlands (paskwawi masinahikewina/Prairie Writing # 1) by Carmen L Robertson, Judy Anderson, and Katherine Boyer

Visit the High Plains Book Awards' website for the full list of finalists. 

The winners will be announced on Oct. 4 in Billings, Mont.