Saskatoon-area poet Louise Bernice Halfe among top winners at 2017 Sask. Book Awards

Yann Martel and Louise Bernice Halfe were among the winners at Saturday's Saskatchewan Book Awards in Regina.

Bernice Halfe's latest book of poetry, Burning in this Midnight Dream, received three prizes.

Two went to her personally the Rasmussen, Rasmussen & Charowsky Indigenous Peoples' Writing Award and the Saskatchewan Arts Board Poetry Award while the third, the Indigenous Peoples' Publishing Award, was awarded to her publisher, Coteau Books.

"I just wasn't expectingit so it was really humbling to receive recognition," said Bernice Halfethe next day from her home in St. Denis, about 40 kilometres east of Saskatoon.

Halfe's collection of poems explored her feelings and experiences as a survivor of a residential school in Alberta. She attended Saturday's ceremony with her sister and niece both also residential school survivors and says she hopes other survivors take to expressing themselves.

"I just want people in my community to be moreliterate, and to know what's going on within their own lives. That it's OKto have dialogue."

Competing against a bigname

Bernice Halfe competed in one category against none other than Yann Martel, the celebrated author of Life of Pi.

"Oh yeah. I looked at Yann's name and I thought, 'I don't have a hope in hell.'Not that I was hoping. But it was pretty neat to be alongside those big names," she said.

Martel's latest novel, The High Mountains of Portugal, ultimately nabbed two awards in two other categories: Regina Public Library Book of the Year Award and the City of Saskatoon and Public Library Saskatoon Book Award.

Martel's book connects three novellas spanning several decades and all taking place in titular Portugal.

This marks the first time Martel, who lives in Saskatoon, has received a Saskatchewan Book Award.

The awards were presented at a ceremony at Regina's Conexus Arts Centre Saturday night.

Full list of winners in all 14categories

Awards for Writers

Regina Public Library Book of the Year Award
The High Mountains of Portugalby Yann Martel (Penguin Random House)

Muslims for Peace and Justice Fiction Award
New Albionby Dwayne Brenna (Coteau Books)

University of Saskatchewan Non-Fiction Award
A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905by Bill Waiser (Fifth House Publishers)

Rasmussen, Rasmussen & Charowsky Indigenous Peoples' Writing Award
Burning in this Midnight Dreamby Louise Bernice Halfe (Coteau Books)

O'Reilly Insurance and The Co-operators First Book Award
Along Comes a Wolfeby Angie Counios and David Gane (Your Nickel's Worth Publishing)

Saskatchewan Arts Board Poetry Award
Burning in this Midnight Dreamby Louise Bernice Halfe (Coteau Books)

Young Adult Literature Award
The Pain Eaterby Beth Goobie (Second Story Press)

City of Saskatoon and Public Library Saskatoon Book Award
The High Mountains of Portugalby Yann Martel (Penguin Random House)

City of Regina Book Award
Towards a Prairie Atonementby Trevor Herriot (University of Regina Press)

Jennifer Welsh Scholarly Writing Award
No Free Man: Canada, the Great War, and the Enemy Alien Experienceby Bohdan S. Kordan (McGill Queen's University Press)

Prix du livre franais
La voix de mon preby Madeleine Blais-Dahlem (ditions de la nouvelle plume)

Awards for Publishers

Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport Publishing Award
University of Regina Press forTowards a Prairie Atonementby Trevor Herriot

Advancing Education Award for Publishing in Education
University of Regina Press forMeasures of Astonishment: Poets on Poetrypresented by the League of Canadian Poets

Indigenous Peoples' Publishing Award
Coteau Books forBurning in this Midnight Dreamby Louise Bernice Halfe