USBBY, the US national section for the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), has selected its annual list of Outstanding International Books for children and young adults. The books on the list were chosen by a committee of USBBY members. A number of Canadian titles, either written and/or illustrated by Canadians, or published by a Canadian publishing house, made the 2016 list. They are listed below.

Grades PreK-2

The Bus Ride

Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Translated by Yvette Ghione

Kids Can Press

Sidewalk Flowers

Storyline by JonArno Lawson

Illustrated by Sydney Smith

Groundwood Books

Grades 3-5

The Red Bicycle: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle

Written by Jude Isabella

Illustrated by Simone Shin

Kids Can Press

Two White Rabbits

Written by Jairo Buitrago

Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng

Translated by Elisa Amado

Groundwood Books

Grades 6-8

Mister Doctor: Janusz Korczak & the Orphans of the Warsaw Ghetto

Written by Irène Cohen-Janca

Illustrated by Maurizio A.C. Quarello

Translated by Paula Ayer

Annick Press

We Are All Made of Molecules

Written by Susin Nielsen

Tundra Books

A Year Without Mom

Written by Dasha Tolstikova

Groundwood Books

Grades 9-12

My Name is Arnaktauyok: The Life and Art of Germaine Arnaktauyok

Written by Germaine Arnaktauyok and Gyu Oh

Illustrated by Germaine Arnaktauyok

Inhabit Media

The Outside Circle: A Graphic Novel

Written by Patti LaBoucane-Benson

Illustrated by Kelly Mellings

House of Anansi Press

Prison Boy

Written by Sharon E. McKay

Annick Press

Dance of the Banished

Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Pajama Press

For the complete list, visit USBBY’s website.

Harbourfront Centre has announced the return of their fun, creative and safe camps for kids aged 4-15 this March Break. With 16 unique and affordable camps to choose from, children can find their inner dancer, musician, circus performer or DIY specialist – the possibilities are endless. Registration is now open for Harbourfront Centre’s 2016 March Break and Summer Camps.

Each camp is run by experienced and qualified instructors who ensure an educational and nurturing environment for kids to learn new skills, meet new friends and explore the endless possibilities of their imagination. This year, Harbourfront Centre introduces five new camps to their March Break lineup including: Comic Book Camp, Camp DIY, Young Builders, Digital Media – Stop Motion, Senior Arts – Mixed Media and Musical Explorations Camp.

Eugene Chong, Harbourfront Centre’s Camps coordinator, comments, “through our camps we want to ensure we are providing children with an opportunity to unleash their imagination and make their dreams into a reality. With our outstanding team of counsellors we can offer an inclusive, safe and enjoyable camp experience for everyone.”

For a complete list of March Break Camps as well as to register please visit harbourfrontcentre.com/camps/marchbreak/ or call 416-973-4093. Now that the Queens Quay revitalization is complete, please visit harbourfrontcentre.com/gettinghere for updates on how to access the site.

About Summer Camps at Harbourfront Centre

Since 1979, Harbourfront Centre has provided accessible, innovative programmes to families. Harbourfront Centre is an accredited member of the Ontario Camps Association. Their voluntary adherence to standards of quality in camping helps to ensure the health and safety of staff and campers. Registration for 2015 March Break and Summer Camps is now underway. For more information about extended hours, meal plans, busing, camps locations, transportation options and general camps inquiries the public may call the Harbourfront Centre Camps office, 416-973-4093 or visit harbourfrontcentre.com/camps. Early registration is advised as camps fill up quickly.

About Harbourfront Centre

Harbourfront Centre is a Canadian charity operating the 10 prime acres of Toronto’s central waterfront as a free and open public site. We celebrate the multiplicities of cultures that comprise Canada and enliven the city through the creative imaginations of artists from across the country and around the globe.

Media Contact

Jennie Benjamins

Office: 416-973-4381

jbenjamins@harbourfrontcentre.com

Many Worlds to Walk In: Exploring Diversity in Children’s Literature, Librarianship, and Education

A peer-reviewed graduate student conference on children’s literature, media, and culture

University of British Columbia – Saturday, April 30, 2016

Many Worlds to Walk In: Exploring Diversity in Children’s Literature, Librarianship, and Education is a one-day conference on April 30, 2016 showcasing graduate student research in children’s literature. You are invited to submit an academic paper proposal that contributes to research in the area of children’s and young adult literature, librarianship, education, media, or cultural studies. Submissions of creative writing for children and young adults are also welcome. We are particularly interested in research and creative pieces that draw on the broadly interpreted theme of diversity–including research on narratives that depict diversity and the diverse formats we use to create and share narratives.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Diverse theoretical perspectives on children’s and young adult literature (e.g. postcolonial, feminist, queer, eco-critical approaches)
• Multiculturalism and stories of underrepresented, marginalized, or disabled populations
• Underrepresented formats of stories for children and young adults (graphic novel, picture book app, etc.)
• Inclusive programming and services in children’s librarianship and education
• Indigenous and aboriginal narratives
• Oral storytelling and sign language storytelling
• Newcomer, refugee, and immigrant narratives
• Otherness and trans-national identities
• Problematic interpretations and definitions of diversity
• Diversity within genres: boundary-pushing books, films, etc.
• Cross-media adaptations of children’s and young adult texts
• Translated and multilingual texts for children and young adults
• Resources and services for multilingual readers and families
• Empathy-building through story
• Imagined identities: diversity in fantasy, created worlds
• Multiple perspectives on historical events (Holocaust narratives, etc.)

The topics above are a guideline for the proposals we would like to see, but we are eager to receive paper proposals on any facet of diversity in children’s and young adult texts.

Academic Paper Proposals

Please send a 250 word abstract that includes the title of your paper, a list of references in MLA format, a 50 word biography, your name, your university affiliation, email address, and phone number to the review committee at submit.ubc.conference@gmail.com. Please include “Conference Proposal Submission” in the subject line of your email.

Creative Writing Proposals

Submissions of creative writing for children and young adults in any genre are welcome, including novel chapters, poetry, picture books, graphic novels, scripts, etc. Please send a piece of work no longer than 12 pages double spaced. (Anything shorter is welcome– poetry, for example, might only be a page). The submission should include the title of your piece, a 150 word overview of your piece (describe age group, genre, and links to the conference theme), a list of references in MLA format (if you have any), a 50 word biography, your name, your university affiliation, email address, and phone number. Please send to the review committee at submit.ubc.conference@gmail.com. Please put “Creative Conference Proposal Submission” in the subject line of your email.

For more info, please contact ubc.conference.2016@gmail.com or visit https://blogs.ubc.ca/childrenslitconference.

Toronto Public Library invites applications from children’s authors for the 2016 TD Summer Reading Club Writer position.

TD Summer Reading Club (TD SRC) is a national, bilingual program of Canadian public libraries that strives to engage all children in the joy of reading during the summer months while championing Canadian writers and illustrators. The program helps connect children and families with books and build confidence in reading through the delivery of free incentives and fun, accessible library and online activities.

Location: Off-site

February 2016 to August 2016

Remuneration: $5,000

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for creating a serial story of approximately 4000-5000 words (in English), to be released in 8 weekly segments on the TD Summer Reading Club website from June – August 2016
• Story will be created around the annual TD SRC theme and will help drive the TD SRC brand strategy and key objective of promoting and celebrating the joy of reading
• Story will be developed in consultation with and according to creative and technical direction provided by the Toronto Public Library, involving collaboration with the various TD SRC committees
• Story must appeal to multiple audiences (i.e., a broad age range)
• Participate in promotional events and conduct six library programs
• Represent the program in a manner that reflects its brand and values

Timeline:

• Work for this project must be completed in the period from February 2016 to May 2016
• Promotional events and library program responsibilities (locations TBD) can occur from May – August 2016

Eligibility Criteria:

• Must reside in Canada
• Professionally published children’s author
• Able to work in collaborative situations and meet deadlines
• Ability to work to scope of project, audience and theme
• Able to apply principles of diversity, equity and inclusiveness and work with diverse communities

Applications must include:

• Cover letter outlining ability to meet eligibility criteria (1 page)
• Curriculum Vitae or Resume, including a list of publications and completed projects, education and training, recognition and awards
• Sample of recent work (5-10 pages)
• Description of workshops or programs directed to children that could be delivered by the applicant
• Two letters of reference
• Please combine these elements into a single PDF document where possible

Application Deadline: January 19, 2016, 9:00 a.m.

Please note late submissions will not be accepted.

Send applications electronically to:

TD SRC Writer Selection

c/o Robert Filart

rfilart@torontopubliclibrary.ca

Submissions to the 2016 Newfoundland & Labrador Book Awards (NLBAs) opened on December 15, 2015. The Newfoundland and Labrador Fiction Award and the Bruneau Family Foundation Children’s/Young Adult Literature Award will be awarded in 2016. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2016.

The NLBAs celebrate and honour excellence in writing by authors in Canada’s easternmost province. These Awards are sponsored by the Literary Arts Foundation of NL (LAFNL) and administered by the Writers’ Alliance of NL (WANL).

Eligible submissions are adjudicated by independent juries recruited and facilitated by WANL. These awards cover a two-calendar-year publishing period, with pairings of Children’s/Young Adult Literature and Fiction presented in even years, and Poetry and Non-fiction presented in alternate years.

Submission requirements:

Residency

1. The awards are open only to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.
2. The author must have lived in Newfoundland and Labrador for at least 36 months of the last 5 years. The residency period for the 2016 awards is the five calendar years 2011-2015.

Eligible works

1. Published between January 1st, 2014, and December 31st, 2015.
2. Books must be single-authored.
3. Anthologies and audio books are not eligible.
4. Books that have been translated are eligible. However, in the case of a translated book, the award is to go exclusively to the author.
5. Books that have been taken from dictation are also eligible, but, again, only the prime creator of the work will be given the award.
6. Books that contain other media in addition to writing (photos, CDs, graphics, etc. by the writer or other artists) are eligible provided there is only one writer. The award will be given only to the writer of the book’s text and only for the writing.
7. Self-published books are eligible provided they are professionally produced, i.e., printed by a commercial printer.
8. Members of WANL’s Literary Awards Committee are not eligible.
9. Revised editions will be considered when the following conditions are met:
   1. The book has not been previously submitted to The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards; and
   2. In the opinion of the Literary Awards Committee, the book contains new material to the extent that it is not merely a re-issue of a previous publication.

Submission procedures:

1. Include four (4) non-returnable copies of each book
2. Include a signed letter stating the category entered and confirming that all submission requirements have been met
3. Include the entry fee payment of $20 per submission/title, to:

Newfoundland & Labrador Book Awards

c/o Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador

Haymarket Square, Suite 208, 223 Duckworth Street

St. John’s, NL, A1C 6N1

Ineligible and/or incomplete submissions will not be returned and the $20 entry fee will not be refunded.

Submissions deadline: Postmarked by January 15, 2016

For more information:

Carmella Gray-Cosgrove, WANL

Phone: (709) 739-5215

wanlassist@nf.aibn.com

ABC Life Literacy Canada (ABC) has announced that Canadian author and illustrator Barbara Reid will be the Honourary Chair of Family Literacy Day 2016, which will take place on January 27th. This annual celebration of families learning together happens in schools, libraries, learning centres and homes from coast to coast to coast. Created by ABC in 1999, Family Literacy Day also presents the opportunity for organizations to raise awareness around the importance of reading and engaging in literacy activities as a family.

As Honourary Chair, Barbara Reid will participate in several Family Literacy Day events, including a January 2016 Tweet Chat for fans of all ages. She has also created special Barbara Reid Family Literacy Day tips that incorporate literacy activities using her signature art form-modelling clay. Visit FamilyLiteracyDay.ca to hear Barbara’s Family Literacy Day message and download free activities.

“I am thrilled to be the 2016 Family Literacy Day Honourary Chair,” says Barbara Reid. “Through my work as an author and illustrator I encourage reading and literacy engagement. Families reading and playing together is an important theme that I often include in my books. I have been participating in Family Literacy Day events for many years now and I look forward to increasing my participation in this exciting new role.”

Barbara Reid has over twenty children’s books to her credit and is perhaps best-known for her whimsical illustrations that are created using plasticine. She has received numerous accolades and awards including the Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, The Governor General’s Award for Illustration and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award.

“ABC is very excited to have Barbara Reid as the Family Literacy Day Honourary Chair for 2016,” said Gillian Mason, President, ABC Life Literacy Canada. “Barbara’s books reach parents, children, teachers, librarians, and literacy practitioners across the country — she connects with the very people we strive to rally for Family Literacy Day. With her support, we know even more Canadians will celebrate learning together this coming January 27th.”

Learning can happen at any time and ABC encourages Canadian families to have “15 Minutes of Fun” learning together this Family Literacy Day. Practicing literacy every day has tremendous benefits for both children and parents. Visit FamilyLiteracyDay.ca for fun ideas to get your family started.

About ABC Life Literacy Canada

ABC Life Literacy Canada is a non-profit organization that inspires Canadians to increase their literacy skills. ABC envisions a Canada where everyone has the skills they need to live a fully engaged life. For the latest news and information on adult and family literacy please visit www.abclifeliteracy.ca, or stay connected with us through Twitter and Facebook.

For more information, please contact:

Stephanie Wells

Manager, Communications

ABC Life Literacy Canada

Telephone: 416-218-0010, ext. 122