Toronto, May 7, 2019 – The shortlists for the 2019 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were announced today. The Schwartz Awards are the only Canadian literary award where student juries work together to choose the winning books.
The 2019 winners will be decided by two student juries from Scarborough’s Eastview Public School – a school with a large Indigenous community, offering Ojibwa language instruction and other Indigenous programming. The winners will be announced during a school assembly in une 2019.
ABOUT THIS YEAR’S SHORTLIST
This year’s shortlist features Canadian authors and illustrators from diverse backgrounds working in a variety of literary and artistic styles. The Children’s Picture Book category includes books about exploring one’s own history and culture, and how this can build confidence and self-esteem. The Young Adult / Middle Reader shortlist features stories of young people learning how to preserve through adversity and loss with courage, strength and determination.
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CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK AWARD CATEGORY |
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Africville |
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Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes |
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Island in the Salish Sea |
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Mustafa |
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The Origin of Day and Night |
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YOUNG ADULT / MIDDLE READER |
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Fire Song |
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No Fixed Address |
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Planet Grief |
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Sadia |
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Very Rich |
ABOUT THE RUTH AND SYLVIA SCHWARTZ CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS
The two awards, of $6,000 each are presented annually to recognize artistic excellence in writing and illustration in English-language Canadian children’s literature. The winners are selected by two juries of young readers, which this year are students at Eastview Public School in Scarborough. Five students in grades 3 and 4 will select the recipient(s) of the Children’s Picture Book Award. Five students in grades 7 and 8 will select the recipient of the Young Adult / Middle Reader Award.
QUOTES
“Authors and illustrators always tell us what an honour it is to be nominated for the Schwartz Awards, knowing that the winners will be selected by their most important audience – young readers themselves. My congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and to the student jurors who will work collaboatively to choose this year’s winning books.”
Peter Caldwell, Director & CEO, Ontario Arts Council
“This remarkable award encourages young people to read and discuss the work of Canadian authors and illustrators. What a wonderful way to encourage critical thinking while recognizing the talented pool of Canadian authors and illustrators this country has to offer.”
Alan Walker, Executive Director, Ontario Arts Foundation
LEARN MORE
The Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were established in 1976 by Sylvia Schwartz in memory of her sister, Ruth Schwartz, a respected Toronto bookseller. In 2004, the family renamed the awards to honour both sisters. The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) administers the awards with the support of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), which manages the nomination and jury process. These awards are funded through the Ruth Schwartz Foundation.
The nomination committee that chose this year’s shortlist consisted of Dorothy Ferreira (teacher-librarian, Toronot District School Board, Toronto), Feather Maracle (CEO / Director of Library Services, Six Nations Public Library, Ohsweken), and Charlotte Stein (co-owner, Parry Sound Books, Parry Sound).
Click here to see the full list.
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MEDIA INQUIRIES
Shoshana Wasser, Senior Communications Coordinator, Ontario Arts Council
416-969-7434 /1-800-387-0058, ext. 7434 | swasser@arts.on.ca
ONTARIO ARTS FOUNDATION INQUIRIES
Alan Walker, Executive Director, Ontario Arts Foundation
416-969-7413 | awalker@oafdn.ca
The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2017-2018, the OAF paid over $3.35 million in endowment income and $260,000 in awards and scholarships.
For more than 50 years, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. In 2017-2018, the OAC invested $58.7 million in 231 communities across Ontario through 2,294 grants to individual artists and 1,474 grants to organizations.
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