Children and Young Adult authors vie for eight major literary awards 

It’s that time of year again! 

Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) has just announced the finalists for eight major literary awards. These awards highlight some of the best books written by authors from across Canada – and Canada has some wonderful authors. 

The awards are for literature aimed at children and young adults in both fiction and non-fiction, as well as both English and French. The awards carry a value from between $5,000-$50,000, for a total of $185,000. 

They are as follows:

• TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($50,000)
• Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($50,000)
• Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000)
• Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction ($10,000)
• Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000)
• John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000)
• Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000)
• Prix Harry Black de l’album jeunesse ($5,000)

 “This year’s award nominees represent the exceptional quality of books for young people being published in Canada each year,” says Rose Vespa, Executive Director of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. “These books take readers to a small community in Nova Scotia in Africville, to a dystopian chapter of history in The House of One Thousand Eyes, on a journey through Indigenous history in Go Show the World and into the mind of a curious child in They Say Blue. The CCBC is proud to be able to elevate the original and vibrant books on this year’s shortlist and the authors, illustrators, and publishers who made them a reality.”

CCBC will be working with CBC/Radio-Canada and TD on a Fan Choice Award/Choix du public littérature jeunesse. Youth are to choose their favourite titles from TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse. 

The voting period with be from September 5 until October 3 for the English contest, and September 8 until October 6 for the French contest.

The winners for the English language awards will be announced at a Gala taking place at the Toronto Reference Library on October 15, 2019. 

It will take place in the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon and is by invitation only. The French language awards will be announced on November 7, 2019, at a Gala taking place it L’Astralin Montreal. It, too, is by invitation only.

 “Congratulations to this year’s nominees and the finalists of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Your passion and talent for writing and illustration is helping to inspire young generations to read, explore and imagine,” says Andrea Barrack, Global Head, Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship, TD Bank Group. 

“Each book a child reads when they’re young can help them develop literacy skills that are critical for continued success throughout life. That is why supporting early learning and children’s literature is an important part of TD’s corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment.”

Stay tuned for an update after the awards have been announced!

Happy Reading!

To see a full list of the finalists, visit the CCBC website.