TORONTO — May 7, 2014 — The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is excited to announce the winners of the Book Week 2014 Writing Contest for Kids & Teens. Over 500 entries were received from young writers in every province and territory across the country.

The national contest is a much-anticipated part of TD Canadian Children’s Book Week — the largest celebration of Canadian books for young people in Canada, which is happening now (Saturday, May 3 to Saturday, May 10, 2014).

The winner from each grade will receive a $250 gift certificate for the bookstore of his or her choice. Two honourable mentions from each grade category will also receive $50 gift certificates.

The winning stories and honourable mentions can be read online at www.bookweek.ca.

The WINNERS of the Book Week 2014 Writing Contest are:

GRADE 4:
Maureen Habben of St. Albert, Alberta for Fiddle

GRADE 5:
Jessica Von Hollen of Calgary, Alberta for Burned but Unblemished

GRADE 6:
Sydney Russo of Bolton, Ontario for The Weight of the Mail

GRADE 7:
Jeremy Antonio Chiu Phy of Markham, Ontario for AIDS

GRADE 8:
Tatiana Figueiredo of Kitchener, Ontario for The House Next to Yours

GRADE 9:
Paige Duncan of Orono, Ontario for Untitled

GRADE 10:
Emmy Liu of Maple, Ontario for Rock Sugar Sailor

GRADE 11:
Lia Codrington of Ottawa, Ontario for Balloon Strings

GRADE 12:
Megan Bingham of Vancouver, British Columbia for The Day That Could Not Fix The Void

The HONOURABLE MENTIONS of the Book Week 2014 Writing Contest are:

GRADE 4:
Rahmah Rahmani of Mississauga, Ontario for How the Zebras Became Striped
Andrew Feng of Mississauga, Ontario for A Visit to Montreal

GRADE 5:
Malakye Abel of Qualicum Beach, British Columbia for Willett
Kishore Sharma Jaiswal of Burlington, Ontario for My Homework

GRADE 6:
Darragh Clayton of North Wiltshire, Prince Edward Island for Plastic Treasure
Amanda Rees of Brampton, Ontario for Rocket Science

GRADE 7:
Henning Jiang of Windsor, Ontario for Dog Food
Renee Cheuy of Toronto, Ontario for Wings

GRADE 8:
Genevieve Redmond of Calgary, Alberta for The Forgotten Goddess
Benjamin Donnelly of Toronto, Ontario for Why Porcupines Have Quills

GRADE 9:
Rhea Basu of Markham, Ontario for Writer’s Block
Maya Schwartz of Winnipeg, Manitoba for The Lopsided House on Albert Road

GRADE 10:
Kirsten Marquez of Burlington, Ontario for Molly the Puppeteer
Brooke Barker of Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia for Halifax

GRADE 11:
Zamina Mithani of Richmond, British Columbia for Euphrates
Michelle Chaing of Coquitlam, British Columbia for Untitled

GRADE 12:
Elizabeth McElroy of Toronto, Ontario for Identity
Saambavi Mano of Scarborough, Ontario for The Child of the Night

Nine noted Canadian children’s authors generously donated their time and expertise to judge submissions from young writers all across the country. The judges for the Book Week 2014 Writing Contest are:

Sheryl McFarlane, author of Island Santa, from Victoria, BC
Sharon Jennings, author of Home Free, from Toronto, Ontario
Jessica Scott Kerrin, author of A Narrow Escape (The Lobster Chronicles series), from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Sylvia Gunnery, author of Emily for Real, from LaHave, Nova Scotia
Richard Scrimger, author of Ink Me (Seven series), from Toronto, Ontario
David Poulsen, author of Old Man, from Claresholm, Alberta
Sylvia McNicoll, author of Dying to Go Viral, from Burlington, Ontario
Lori Weber, author of Yellow Mini, from Pointe-Claire, Quebec
Arthur Slade, author of Island of Doom (The Hunchback Assignments 4), from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Author and writing contest judge, Arthur Slade, says, “This is one of those contests I wish I could have entered when I was younger. As a judge, I must say there’s nothing like reading submissions from all across Canada. I’m left with the feeling that our country will be handed over to creative and brilliant young minds who will make things happen.”

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre would like to congratulate this year’s winners and honourable mentions, and thank the judges for their dedication to reading and evaluating this year’s submissions. The Book Week 2014 Writing Contest was generously sponsored by Amazon and Simon & Schuster.

About the Canadian Children’s Book Centre:
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre 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.

For more information, please contact:

Sandra O’Brien
Interim Program Coordinator
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
Tel: 416.975.0010 x 227
sandra@bookcentre.ca