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.

 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 during the previous two calendar 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.

Prize Distribution

• 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.