Pollon book up for literary awards
October 18th, 2024

Christopher Pollon’s (at right) Pitfall: The Race to Mine the World’s Most Vulnerable Places (Greystone $39.95), published in collaboration with the David Suzuki Institute, has garnered significant literary acclaim this fall. The book, a meticulously researched examination of global mining, won the 2024 Science in Society Journalism Book Award and secured First Place in the 2024 Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Competition for British Columbian Authors of Nonfiction. Additionally, it has been shortlisted as a finalist for the 2024 Banff Centre Mountain Book Competition in the Environmental Literature category and the 2024 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy.
In his book, Pollon explores the urgent and complex future of mining, focusing on the race to extract dwindling supplies of essential metals like copper, nickel and silver. These metals are crucial for transitioning to clean energy and building electric vehicles and green infrastructure. However, the extraction process is becoming more polluting, and much of the mining occurs in the global south, leading to increased social conflict, particularly among Indigenous communities. Pollon traces the rise of transnational mining companies from the 1960s, showing their dominance in Latin America, Africa and Asia. He warns of a disturbing future where we exploit even deeper resources, including ocean beds and asteroids, without regard for environmental or human rights.
“Writing Pitfall was a very solitary, all-encompassing endeavor, so getting this recognition means so much to me,” said Pollon. “The awards present an opportunity for my book to reach a wider audience and become part of a necessary conversation about the future––not just about mining, but how our civilization can collectively respond to climate change.”
The Banff Mountain Book Competition Prize will be announced on October 31, 2024, at the Banff Mountain Book and Film Festival. The Balsillie Prize for Public Policy, which awards a cash prize of $60,000 to the winning author, will be announced at an awards gala in Toronto on November 26, 2024.
Leave a Reply