The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is excited to announce the touring creators for Canadian Children’s Book Week: Readers Take Flight. Forty-Five talented Canadian authors, illustrators and storytellers were selected to take part in this virtual tour and share a love of reading with young people in schools, libraries and homes all across Canada.
Established in 1977, this year’s national tour will take place from May 2-8, 2021. This year’s theme is “Readers Take Flight/Tournée Lire à tout vent,” which celebrates the transformative power of reading. Applications for schools, libraries, bookstores and community centres interested in hosting readings will open in 2021. Check bookweek.ca for the latest updates and subscribe to the CCBC’s newsletter for monthly updates concerning all of the CCBC’s programs.
Congratulations to all of the selected creators and thank you to everyone who applied. This year’s roster was chosen by a committee of experts, with selected creators from the 2020 tour given precedence due to the reduction of the tour in response to COVID-19 restrictions.
See the French-language announcement here. Download the PDF version of this press release here and visit the online version here.
For more information, please contact:
Emma Hunter
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
emma@bookcentre.ca
Isabelle Chartrand-Delorme
Program and Events Coordinator
Communication-Jeunesse
i.chartrand-delorme@communication-jeunesse.qc.ca
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The English-language touring creators for 2021 are:
Hatem Aly, illustrator
Saumiya Balasubramaniam, author
Michelle Barker, author
Katherine Battersby, author/illustrator
Charlene and Wilson Bearhead, authors
Aidan Cassie, author/illustrator
Cecil Castellucci, author/graphic novelist
Paul Covello, author/illustrator
Rita Cox, storyteller
Natasha Deen, author
Lori Doody, author/illustrator
Selina Eisenberg, storyteller
Carolyn Fisher, author/illustrator
Clayton Hamner, illustrator
Mireille Messier, author
Debbie Ridpath Ohi, author/illustrator
Kenneth Oppel, author
Shane Peacock, author
Jean E. Pendziwol, author
Monique Polak, author
Robin Stevenson, author
Kevin Sylvester, author/illustrator
J. Torres, author/comic book writer
Nicola Winstanley, author
The French-language touring creators for 2021 are:
Annie Bacon, author
Dïana Bélice, author
Alain M. Bergeron, author
Steve Beshwaty, illustrator
Stéphan Bilodeau, author
Jocelyn Boisvert, author
Lora Boisvert, author
Carolyn Chouinard, author
Lucile de Pesloüan, author
Alex S. Girard, author/illustrator
Andrew Katz, author
Magali Laurent, author
Emmanuel Lauzon, author
Juliana Léveillé-Trudel, author
Diya Lim, author
Anne Renaud, author
Élise Rivard, author
Pierre Rodrigue, author/illustrator
Lina Rousseau, author
Julie Royer, author
Mireille Villeneuve, author
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About the Canadian Children’s Book Centre
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national, not‐for‐profit organization founded in 1976. We are dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for young readers. Our programs, publications and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents select the very best for young readers. For more information, please visit bookcentre.ca.
About Communication-Jeunesse
Communication-Jeunesse is a national non-profit cultural organization that was founded in 1971 to promote and appreciate Quebec and Franco-Canadian literature aimed at young people age 0 to 17. The vitality of the organization is largely based on the quality of its associative life and the commitment of its members has been at the heart of its operations since its creation. The members of Communication-Jeunesse enrich its actions and promote its development with as much rigor as energy. For more information, please visit communication-jeunesse.qc.ca.
About Storytellers of Canada
Storytellers of Canada is devoted to connecting people, reflecting culture, and inspiring discovery through the art of Storytelling. Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada (SC-CC) was founded in 1993 as a result of a national meeting in Montreal instigated by Rosalyn Cohen. Since then, SC-CC holds an national conference in a different location each year. In 2000, SC-CC was incorporated as a Non-Profit Organization and received its National Arts Service Organization designation. SC-CC functions as the national representative for those involved in maintaining and practising oral traditions in Canada and encourages the participation of all peoples, by recognizing storytelling as a common root of all cultures and by making strong, positive efforts towards regional and cultural inclusion. For more information, please visit storytellers-conteurs.ca.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. The Council champions and invests in artistic excellence through a broad range of grants, services, prizes and payments to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations. Its work ensures that excellent, vibrant and diverse art and literature engages Canadians, enriches their communities and reaches markets around the world. The Council also raises public awareness and appreciation of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities. It is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which promotes the values and programs of UNESCO in Canada to contribute to a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. The Canada Council Art Bank operates art rental programs and helps further public engagement with contemporary arts.
About the Ontario Arts Council
Established in 1963 to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is an agency that operates at arm's length from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. The OAC's grants and services to professional, Ontario-based artists and arts organizations support arts education, Indigenous arts, community arts, crafts, dance, Francophone arts, literature, media arts, multidisciplinary arts, music, theatre, touring, and visual arts. In 2019-20, the OAC invested $51.9 million in 197 communities across Ontario through 1,965 grants to individual artists and 1,152 grants to organizations. For more information, please visit arts.on.ca.
