Jean Little First-Novel Award

Established in 2021, the Jean Little First-Novel Award is intended to recognize the achievements of a first-time Canadian children’s middle-grade novelist. For the purposes of this award, “middles grades” are defined as typically grades 3-7/ages 8-12. The annual award is a cash prize of $5,000.

After the beloved Jean Little died in April 2020, Sarah Ellis, Kit Pearson and Maggie de Vries came up with the idea of establishing an award in Jean’s name.

“We decided that the most appropriate honour would be a prize for a Canadian middle-grade novel by a first-time writer. Much of Jean’s writing was for the middle grades, and Jean was always an enthusiastic supporter of beginning writers. This award would honour her long and successful career and encourage the next generation of writers following in her footsteps.”

To contribute to the Jean Little First-Novel Award fund, click here.

Eligibility, Guidelines & Fees

Updated: November 2024

Criteria

The Jean Little First-Novel Award honours excellence in middle-grade fiction by first-time authors. The celebration of diversity is an equally significant element to achieving excellence. A work of excellence in Canadian children’s literature should also be successful in making people feel a sense of belonging in their communities.

In identifying the achievements of a first-time Canadian children’s novelist, each judge shall consider the following criteria for excellence:

• Quality of the text or storyline.
• Interpretation of the theme or concept. Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity and organization.
• Appropriateness of style and presentation. Books should have distinguished qualities in all of the elements pertinent to them, such as interpretation of theme and concept.
• Books need to be self-contained and not dependent on other media for their enjoyment.
• Elements of the story that draw upon or are inspired by real cultures, folklore and history should be done respectfully and authentically.
• Books should have been written for a child audience and should achieve excellence of presentation.
• Each book is to be considered as a contribution to literature.
• The award is for the book. The award will go to the author unless 40% or more of the text area is composed of original illustrations, in which case the award will be divided equally between 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, the prize will be split equally between the author and illustrator; the author will retain 70% of their portion with 30% being awarded to the translator.

Eligibility Requirements

• Books must be written by first-time authors of novels for a middle-grade reading audience. Only authors who have not previously published a book are eligible for consideration. In the event of co-creatorship (i.e., either co-authors or a graphic novel whereby the illustrator has published before), at least one of the authors must be a first-time author.  
• Books must be published between January 1 and December 31, 2024.
• Books may be published in Canada or abroad.
• Books must be first foreign or first Canadian editions. New editions or re-issues of previously published titles are not eligible for submission.
• For the purposes of this award, “middles grades” are defined as typically Grades 3-7/Ages 8-12.
• Author and illustrator (in the case of graphic novels) must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada (minimum two-year residency), or First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of the land that is now called Canada.
• No posthumous submissions.
• Books must be in English.
• Translations are eligible, provided the translator is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada (minimum two-year residency), or First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of the land that is now called Canada.
• Graphic novels are eligible. If a graphic novel wins, the author and illustrator will share the award
• Picture books are not eligible.
• Stories must be original: while stories inspired by classic works such as fairy tales are permissible, retellings of original stories are not.
• 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 $35 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 $35 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 $105 ($35 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 completion of the form(s), please email PDFs of your title(s) to meghan@bookcentre.ca. The Little Award requires five (5) physical copies of each title. Please send these to:

CCBC Book Awards 2025
c/o Tinlids Inc.
130 Martin Ross Avenue 
Toronto, ON M3J 2L4

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 and either enclose it 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).