Showing posts with label shortlist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shortlist. Show all posts

July 27, 2026

2026 Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award: Shortlist announced

A crow with a grape in its mouth and three other grapes on the ground sits next to the text "Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable"
Logo of the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable
The Vancouver Children's Roundtable (VCLR) is an organization that promotes Canadian children's literature with events, awards, and more. One of its awards is the Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award which was first granted in 2021 and which was named for the late Sheila Barry, the esteemed Groundwood publisher and editor. The $2500 cash award is given to an English-language picture book written by a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant and published by a Canadian publisher. The winner will be announced in late August.
 
Here are the titles of exceptional picture books shortlisted for this year's Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award: 
 
A red-haired child in yellow rubber boots looks into rain puddles.

Head Full of Clouds
Written by Joanne Schwartz
Illustrated by Afsaneh Sanei
Tundra Books
978-1774881613
40 pp.
Ages 4–7
 2025
 
A man with Japanese kasa hat and kimono rushes past a mosquitoe and a green pond with a carp and pink lily,

A Pond, a Poet, and Three Pests
Written by Caroline Adderson
Illustrated by Lauren Tamaki
Groundwood Books
978-1-773068930
32 pp.
Ages 3–7
2025
 
An older woman in a ribbon skirt, a child in a red T-shirt, and a woman look upon a display of shoes and candles.

Little Shoes
Written by David A. Robertson
Illustrated by Maya McKibbin
Tundra Books
978-1-77488-172-9
48 pp.
Ages 3–7
2025 
 
An older man and a boy holding a guitar stand in front of a green couch.

The One About the Blackbird 
Written by Melanie Florence
Illustrated by Matt James
Tundra Books
978-1-774882665
40 pp.
Ages 4–8
2025  
 

March 31, 2026

2026 Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children's Literature: Shortlist announced

 


Yesterday, the shortlist for the Ann Conner Brimer Award, one of the Atlantic Book Awards, was announced. This award, established in 1992 and administered by the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia and supported by Gavin Brimer, son of the teacher, researcher and bookseller for whom the award is named, celebrates outstanding contributions to writing for Atlantic Canadian young people, and comes with a $5,000 prize. 
 
Congratulations to the following titles and their authors on being shortlisted for this award.
 

Bertie Stewart Is Perfectly Imperfect
Written by Melanie Mosher
Nimbus Publishing
192 pp.
Ages 7–11
2024 
 

Joe and the Wreck of the Tribune
Written by Jacqueline Halsey
Nimbus Publishing
176 pp.
Ages 8–12 
2025 
 

The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall
Written by Charis Cotter
Tundra Books 
392 pp.
Ages 9–12 
2025 


The Newest Gnome
Written by Lauren Soloy
Tundra Books 
72 pp.
Ages 3–7 
2025 
 

Our Ancestor's Kitchen
Written by Willie Poll
Illustrated by Shaikara David 
Annick Press
36 pp.
Ages 4–7 
2025 
 

 
 Winners of all Atlantic Book Awards, including the Ann Connor Brimer Award, will be announced on Thursday, June 4, 2026 in Halifax.