Toronto, May 3, 2023 – Today, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) and the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) released the shortlists for the 2023 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards. The Schwartz Awards are the only Canadian literary award where student juries work together to choose the winning books.
Student juries from Jesse Ketchum Junior and Senior Public School in Toronto, Ontario will debate the shortlisted books and come to a consensus on the 2023 winners. The winning books will be announced at a school assembly later this month.
ABOUT THIS YEAR’S SHORTLIST
The 2023 shortlists feature Canadian authors and illustrators from diverse backgrounds, working in a variety of literary and artistic styles. The Children’s Picture Book category features exciting adventures through all kinds of terrain. Characters in these books learn about our connections to ecosystems and to each other, and also imagine what the future might hold. The characters in these books are inquisitive, imaginative and full of wonder. The Young Adult / Middle Reader category includes books with spooky mysteries and enchanted landscapes. There are quests for identity – both real and fantastical – along with tests of friendships
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK AWARD CATEGORY | |
| Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince (Burns Lake, B.C.) and Gabrielle Prince (Prince George, B.C.) illustrations by Carla Joseph (Prince George, B.C.) Orca Book Publishers |
| Journey of the Midnight Sun
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| Pink, Blue, and You!: Questions for Kids about Gender Stereotypes by Elise Gravel (Montreal, Que.) with Mykaell Blais (Lévis, Que.) illustrations by Elise Gravel (Montreal, Que.) Anne Schwartz Books |
| The Most Magnificent Idea by Ashley Spires (Delta, B.C.) Kids Can Press |
 | This Is the Boat that Ben Built by Jen Lynn Bailey (Ottawa, Ont.) illustrations by Maggie Zeng (Montreal, Que.) Pajama Press |
YOUNG ADULT / MIDDLE READER | |
| Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse by Marthe Jocelyn (Stratford, Ont.) Tundra Books |
| Eight Days by Teresa Toten (Toronto, Ont.) Scholastic Canada Ltd. |
| Forever Birchwood by Danielle Daniel (Little Current, Ont.) HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. |
| Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad (Surrey, B.C.) Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster |
 | Haunted Canada: The Third Terrifying Collection
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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, this year comprising students at Jesse Ketchum Junior and Senior Public School. Five students in grade 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.
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.
The nomination committee that chose this year’s shortlist consisted of Brooke Windsor (Youth Services Librarian, Stratford Public Library), and Alison Dunn (bookseller and children’s literature specialist, Beggar’s Banquet Books, Gananoque).
Click here to see the complete list of past laureates
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MEDIA INQUIRIES
Shoshana Wasser, Senior Communications Coordinator, OAC
swasser@arts.on.ca
ONTARIO ARTS FOUNDATION INQUIRIES
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director, OAF
bbennett@oafdn.ca
The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2021-2022, the OAF paid over $4.4 million in endowment income and $300,000 in awards and scholarships.
For more than 55 years, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts and artists for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. In 2021-2022 the Ontario Arts Council invested $56.4 million in 237 communities across Ontario through 2,665 grants to individual artists and 1,050 grants to organizations.
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