David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award

The David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award was established in 2022 to recognize excellence in Canadian children’s and youth poetry. The award honours David Booth, former Professor Emeritus in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), who passed away in December 2018. The biennial award is a cash prize of $3,500 and is sponsored by David’s colleague and dear friend Shelley Stagg Peterson.

David had over 60 years of experience in the education field—as classroom teacher, consultant, professor, researcher, speaker and author. In addition to authoring teacher reference books and textbooks, he also wrote children’s poetry and was a champion for using poetry in the classroom.

“Poets are wordsmiths, spending their lives choosing, bending, shaping, teasing, playing with words. The sounds of language fascinate them so. Poets write words that make your ears sing.”—David Booth, Til All the Stars Have Fallen: Canadian Poems for Children (Kids Can Press, 1989)

To contribute to the David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry fund, click here.

Eligibility, Guidelines & Fees

Updated: January 2026

Criteria

The David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award honours excellence in children’s and youth poetry.

• This biennial award honours excellence in youth poetry in the following forms: board books and picture books told in rhyme or free verse that use poetic language, forms and devices; poetry collections; novels in verse.
• Poetry using strong, engaging language that is new and inventive; language that is evocative and evolving, reads well aloud and garners a sense of surprise and delight from the reader.
• Poetry which invites readers to look at things in extraordinary ways; freshness of ideas alter the readers’ vision of the world.
• Poetry which is striking, intriguing and original.
• Poetry with a youth-centred focus; it engages the targeted audience.
• Presence of these three Rs: rhythm, read-again quality and risk (i.e., the poet’s words need to stretch the boundaries of language).
• Elements of the story/poem(s) that draw upon or are inspired by real cultures, folklore and history should be done respectfully and authentically.
• If the winning title is a picture book, graphic novel, or if 40% or more of the text area is composed of original illustrations, the prize will be split equally between the author and illustrator.
• If the winning title is a translated work, the prize will be split 70% to the author and 30% to the translator. In the case of illustrated works where 40% or more of the text area is made up of original illustrations, the prize would be equally split between the author and illustrator; the author will retain 70% of their portion with 30% being awarded to the translator.

 Board Books and Picture Books

• Books told in rhyme or free verse.
• The rhyme and/or free verse needs to enhance the story; language used goes beyond the obvious predictable word choices.
• Richness of rhythm and rhyme that lends itself to being read aloud.
• Books that have a continuous narrative or cohesive concept.
• Seamless integration of text, illustration and design.

Poetry Collections

• Collections which have a logical arrangement; non-themed collections should also have a sense of cohesion (i.e., a level of flow and interconnectedness between poems).
• “Selected” or “collected” works must contain at least 50% new material, measured in pages of text. This percentage must be identified with the submission.
• Poetry anthologies written by more than one author are not eligible.

Novels in Verse

• Narratives told in poetic form.
• Narratives best told in verse, not prose.
• Poetic form that enriches the story.
• Writing that evokes imagery and emotions.

Eligibility Requirements

• Books must be published between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025. Because this is a biennial award, the publication date timeframe is two years.
• Eligible formats include board books and picture books told in rhyme or free verse, poetry collections and novels in verse.
• Poetry anthologies written by more than one author are not eligible for submission.
• Both the author and illustrator (if applicable) must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada (minimum two-year residency.
• No posthumous submissions.
• Books may be published in Canada or abroad.
• Books must be first foreign or first Canadian editions. If the title is a “selected” or “collected” work, it must contain at least 50% new material, measured in pages of text. This percentage must be identified with the submission. 
• Books must be in English.
• The submitted work should be aimed at young readers up to 18 years old.
• Translations are eligible, provided the translator is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada (minimum two-year residency).
• Poetry based on recorded songs or the lyrics of recorded songs are not eligible.
• Works containing AI-authored content, in part or in whole, or AI-generated illustrations, are not eligible for submission. Use of AI for research, minor editorial, or formatting support may be permitted. If a work is found to include ineligible AI-generated content after submission, it will be disqualified at the submitter’s expense. Submission fees will not be refunded and submitted materials will not be returned.
• Books written as part of a series or published in serial form will be judged as separate entries and must be able to ‘stand-alone’.
• The award is only for books in the printed format, as distinct from digital (i.e., ebooks) and audio-visual formats.
• Books in manuscript form are not eligible.
• All books must have an ISBN and be distributed in Canada.
• Self-published books are eligible for submission provided they have a valid ISBN.

 Publisher and Creator Expectations

• Publishers agree to pay the $40 non-refundable submission fee per title per award.
• If a book is shortlisted, the publisher, author and illustrator may be asked to participate in a series of events highlighting and promoting the shortlisted author and illustrator, in addition to the award celebration.
• The CCBC is unable to assume the costs for travel and accommodation. It is our hope that publishers will assist the award winner(s) with providing the resources for attending the in-person awards ceremony (should we be able to hold an in-person event) or for creating an acceptance speech video of appropriate quality should the creator(s) be unable to attend an in-person event.
• Publishers agree to prepare and encourage their authors and illustrators to participate in all reasonable publicity associated with the award: interviews, readings, appearances, etc.
• Publishers agree to spend an appropriate sum on media advertising the winning book (i.e., whatever your advertising budget allows).

Submission Fees

There is a $40 non-refundable fee for each title submitted to each of the CCBC book awards. Therefore, if, for example, you have a title that is eligible for three of the awards and you would like it considered for all three awards, the submission fee for that particular title is $120 ($40 x 3). The fees will be used to offset administration costs, as well as costs associated with the presentation of the awards.

How to Submit

You are required to complete an online title submission form for each title being submitted. Upon receipt of your online submission form(s), you will be sent a link where you can upload the PDF of your submission(s). The Booth Award requires five (5) physical copies of each title. Please send these to:

CCBC Book Awards 2026
c/o Tinlids Inc.
130 Martin Ross Avenue 
Toronto, ON M3J 2L4

Tinlids' hours of operation for warehouse deliveries are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Should you need to include a phone number for the shipment, the phone number at Tinlids is 416-665-5663.

Note to US publishers, foreign publishers and self-published authors using printers in the US
When you are sending your submissions, please make sure that all mailing/courier charges, including duty, are billed to the sender. The CCBC nor Tinlids cannot incur these costs. Packages flagged as COD will be refused.

Submission fees can be paid online at bookcentre.ca/submissionfees. If you are paying the submission fee(s) by cheque, please complete a submission fee form. If you require an invoice, please email a copy of this completed form to meghan@bookcentre.ca. Otherwise, please enclose a copy of this completed form, along with your cheque, with your shipment of books or mail it to the address at the bottom of the form.

Accessible Formats

The title submission form includes a question about accessible formats. While these formats are not a requirement for submitting to the awards program, we would very much appreciate it if you could let us know if the title(s) is available in an accessible format and if so, which format(s).