Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

The Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, established in 2006, honours excellence in the illustrated picture book format. The prize is awarded annually and in 2008, the cash prize was increased from $10,000 to $20,000. To be eligible, the book must be an original work in English, aimed at children ages three to eight, written and illustrated by Canadians. Eligible genres include fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

Charles Baillie, retired Chairman and CEO of the TD Bank Financial Group, established the prize as a gift to his wife, Marilyn Baillie. As an award-winning children’s book author and an Early Learning specialist, Marilyn is involved in and passionate about this field.

About Marilyn Baillie

Marilyn Baillie has had many careers including nursery school teacher, lecturer at the Royal Ontario Museum, interior designer in New York City, magazine and book editor, publishing consultant and children’s book author. She currently lives in Toronto and Vermont with her husband.

Marilyn has travelled extensively with her family including adventures in Egypt, Kenya, the Galapagos and Papua New Guinea. She is an avid bird watcher and naturalist, which complement the environmental themes in her books. Marilyn is also a former editor of *Chickadee* magazine.

In addition to authoring OWL’s Amazing Things Animals Do series – Side by Side, Wild Talk, Time to Eat and Little Wonders—Marilyn’s previous credits include editing and compiling Science Surprises, More Science Surprises, and writing Magical Fun, all from Owl.

Eligibility, Guidelines & Fees

Criteria

The Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award honours excellence in Canadian children’s literature in the illustrated picture book format. The celebration of diversity is an important element of Canadian children’s literature, as is generating a sense of belonging in, and connection to, the communities and environments in which we live, and wonder about the world around us, both real and imagined.

• The award will be given to an outstanding picture book in which the author and illustrator achieve artistic and literary unity.
• The book should give equal consideration to the text or storyline (in the case of wordless picture books) and visual material.
• There should be a seamless integration of text/storyline, illustration and design.
• Elements of the story that draw upon or are inspired by real cultures, folklore and history should be done respectfully and authentically.
• The prize will be split equally between the author and illustrator. If the winning title is a translated work, the author will retain 70% of the prize with 30% being awarded to the translator.

Eligibility Requirements

• Books must be published between January 1 and December 31, 2024.
• Both the author and illustrator must be Canadian citizens, 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 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.
• Books must be in English.
• The book should be aimed at young readers aged three to eight years old.
• 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.
• Eligible genres are fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
• Stories must be original (i.e., not a retelling of a story already published such as a fairy tale or folk tale.)
• Picture books based on recorded songs are not eligible.
• Board books are not eligible.
• 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 $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 Baillie 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).