After 30 years, big changes are coming to Book Week; the annual touring program will re-launch in the spring of 2011.
Monday, March 22, 2010 (Toronto, Ontario) — The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is moving its annual TD Canadian Children’s Book Week touring program from the fall to the spring. The next Book Week tour will run from April 30 – May 7, 2011. There will not be a Book Week tour in 2010.
TD Canadian Children’s Book Week is Canada’s largest national festival celebrating Canadian children’s authors, illustrators, books and the importance of reading. Established in 1977, the Book Week tour sends emerging and established Canadian authors, illustrators and storytellers to schools, libraries, community centres and bookstores all across Canada.
For over 30 years, Book Week has traditionally been a fall program of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, running each November. However, in recent years, winter weather has affected some of the tours and the busy fall schedule for schools and libraries has made it increasingly difficult for the CCBC’s volunteer Book Week Coordinators to organize the tours between the time when school resumes in September and the start of the Book Week tours in November.
Shannon Howe Barnes, the CCBC’s Program Coordinator, explains: “The weather in parts of Canada in November can be very unpredictable and in past years, we’ve had to cancel readings because of snowstorms. Also, we felt that Book Week was not reaching its maximum potential. The tight scheduling left very little time for publicity and promotion of the tour, or for authors and illustrators to arrange book sales prior to their visits to the schools and libraries.”
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre did not make this decision lightly. In February 2009 they conducted a survey of over 75 teachers and librarians who have participated in Book Week over the years. A majority of the respondents thought moving Book Week to the spring was a good idea. This would give them more time to prepare their students for Book Week and introduce them to the work of the author, illustrator or storyteller who would be visiting.
The new schedule has the Book Week touring program following the school calendar year, with the touring authors, illustrators and storytellers being announced on the Book Week website (www.bookweek.ca) in September. Schools and libraries will still apply in the fall, but the Book Week Coordinators will have more time to plan the tour with the many schools and libraries who are interested in hosting a Book Week visitor. By February, the schools and libraries who will be receiving a Book Week author, illustrator and storyteller will be notified so that they can begin preparing for the special visit.
Application forms for authors and illustrators interested in applying to tour for Book Week 2011 will be available on the Book Week website under ‘Information for Artists’ on April 1, 2010. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2010. Authors and illustrators with 2010 releases and spring 2011 releases are eligible to tour.
By September 2010, full details about the 2011 TD Canadian Children’s Book Week tours will be available on the Book Week website and teachers and librarians interested in hosting an author, illustrator or storyteller can apply online.
In the meantime, visit the Book Week website and look under ‘Book Week 2009’ to read all about the experiences of the authors, illustrators and storytellers who toured last year and see photos from their Book Week tours.
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About the Canadian Children’s Book Centre
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is a national, not-for-profit organization founded in 1976. We are dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for young readers. Our programs, publications, and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents select the very best for young readers. For more information, please visit www.bookcentre.ca.
About TD Canadian Children’s Book Week
This annual week-long festival tours Canadian authors, illustrators, and storytellers across the country to meet young readers. In communities of all sizes, in all provinces and territories, Canada’s book creators reach over 30,000 children and teens annually through the Book Week touring program, giving over 400 readings and workshops. For more information, please visit www.bookweek.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Shannon Howe Barnes
Program Coordinator
Canadian Children’s Book Centre
40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite 101
Toronto, Ontario
M4R 1B9
Tel: 416 975-0010
Fax: 416 975-8970
shannon@bookcentre.ca