CM Magazine: Ruth Schwartz Award Finalists

CM April 5, 1996. Vol II, Number 25

RUTH SCHWARTZ AWARD CELEBRATES 20TH YEAR

Finalists Announced for Prize in Children's Literature

Toronto, April 2, 1996 -- The finalists for the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award were announced today in Toronto. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award recognizes authors and illustrators who demonstrate artistic excellence in Canadian children's literature. The award is presented in two categories: young adult/middle reader books and picture books for children up to age ten.

This year there are five finalists in each category

The winning books will be selected by juries composed entirely of children from two local Toronto public schools. In the young adult/middle reader book category, the winning author will be awarded a $2,000 prize. In the picture book category, the author and illustrator of the book will share a $3,000 prize.

The winners will be announced by the Ontario Arts Council on May 25 at a special twentieth-anniversary event co-hosted by the Ontario Arts Council Foundation, The Ontario Arts Council and the Canadian Children's Book Centre at the Lillian H. Smith Branch, Toronto Public Library. The event will feature readings by past Ruth Schwartz winners -- who include some of Canada's best known writers for children. The prizes will be presented to the winners at this event.

The Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award was established in 1976 in honour of the late Ruth Schwartz, a respected Toronto bookseller. The administration of the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award is shared by the Ontario Arts Council Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council which selects the jury, and the Canadian Booksellers Association whose members select the short list of books.

The 1996 Finalists

For Young Adult/Middle Reader Books

The Dark Garden by Margaret Buffie (Kids Can Press)
Out of the Dark by Welwyn Wilton Katz (Groundwwod Books)
Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case by Mordecai Richler (McClelland and Stewart)
The Onlyhouse by Teresa Totten (Red Deer College Press)
The Maestro by Tim Wynne Jones (Groundwood Books)

For Picture Books

The Moccasin Goalie by author and illustrator William Roy Brownridge (Orca Book Publishers)
The Killick by author and illustrator Geoff Butler (Tundra Books)
How Smudge Came by Nan Gregory, illustrated by Ron Lightburn (Red Deer College Press)
The White Stone in the Castle Wall by Sheldon Oberman, illustrated by Les Tait (Tundra Books)
Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt by Barbara Smucker, illustrated by Janet Wilson (Lester Publishing)

For additonal information about the award, please contact:

Jane Craig
OAC Communications Manager
(416) 969-7404 or toll free in Ontario at 1-800-387-0058

For additonal information about the May 25 event, please contact:

Jeffrey Canton
Program Coordinator
Canadian Children's Book Centre
(416) 975-0010

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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