IBBY Canada invites children’s book illustrators from across Canada to apply for the Joanne Fitzgerald Illustrator in Residence program, held during the month of October 2025.
The program is primarily online, with in-person elementary school art workshops at the Toronto Public Library North York Central Branch (near Yonge & Sheppard).
A notable change for 2025 is that all the children's art workshops held at the library will be scheduled for the same week. This change will mean illustrators who live far from Toronto can arrange their schedules for just one week away from home. Illustrators who live in the Toronto area will also benefit from having all the in-person programming held in the same week. (see NOTE below).
Illustrators who have applied in previous years are welcome to apply again, and can resubmit their previous letters of reference.
The application deadline is Friday, June 20.
ILLUSTRATOR ELIGIBILITY
- Has illustrated five or more traditionally published children’s books, including one in the past three years
- Has experience with online and in-person presentations for children, high school students, and adults
- Is available during the month of October for 12-15 hours of programming per week: weekday mornings, afternoons, and evenings (no weekends)
- Is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and speaks English fluently
- Has current vulnerable sector screening police clearance
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The illustrator develops content for the following program elements (click here for programming guidelines):
- Art workshops for Grade 2 to 6 students (online)
- Art workshops for Grade 2 to 6 students (in-person—see NOTE)
- Presentations for high school and college art students (online)
- Illustration career sessions for adults (online)
- Individual portfolio reviews with artists and art students (online)
- Exhibit of original artwork in library’s art gallery
NOTE:
Teachers bring classes to Toronto Public Library’s North York Central Branch for the in-person art workshops with the Illustrator in Residence. All in-person workshops will be scheduled during one week (Oct 6 to 10 OR Oct 20 to 24), and the illustrator chooses which week. For illustrators travelling to Toronto, the program will cover their accommodation and travel for that week.
OTHER INFORMATION
- The illustrator creates a marketing image used on websites, email, social media, etc.
- The illustrator is paid $5,000 (50% at the program start and 50% at the end).
- The program may cover expenses such as teleconferencing costs, webcam, lighting, shipping, etc.
- IBBY Canada’s contracted coordinator manages outreach and scheduling for all the program elements
APPLICATIONS
- Applications are submitted as a single Word or PDF document with the following elements:
- CV or resume with list of published books (include publisher and year)
- Experience in online presentations and art activities
- Program ideas for Grade 2 to 6 students, high school/college students, adults
- Two (or more) reference letters about recent online presentations
- Send applications by Friday June 20, 2025 to illustrator@ibby-canada.org
- A jury evaluates the applications and selects the top candidate
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Joanne Fitzgerald Illustrator in Residence Program offers a Canadian children’s book illustrator a month-long residency hosted by a public library. The residency activities include art workshops for children, presentations for high school and college art students, career sessions for adults, and portfolio reviews. The program launched in 2013 to honour illustrator/author Joanne Fitzgerald (1956–2011), and is a joint project of IBBY Canada and Toronto Public Library, with the support of Joanne Fitzgerald’s family Robert Young and Laura Young. The past Illustrators in Residence are Chelsea O’Byrne, Carey Sookocheff, Sandra Dumais, Soyeon Kim, Diego Herrera (Yayo), Nahid Kazemi, Ashley Barron, Dianna Bonder, John Martz, Patricia Storms, and Martha Newbigging.