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Longlist & Shortlist | Finalists & Winners

Winners and finalists 2022 Writing for Children Competition 

October 31, 2022:  CANSCAIP is pleased to announce the finalists and winners of the annual Writing for Children Competition.  CANSCAIP sends the winner and finalist entries to Annick Press, Kids Can Press and Scholastic Canada.  Each of the winners receives $500.  

PICTURE BOOK

WINNER: Christine Henderson  War Knows Not of Spring

WINNER: Jackie Friedman Mighdoll  Japan: Better with Cats!       
FINALIST: Christine Henderson  Words to Mend My Mama
FINALIST: Robin Larin  Indognito

MIDDLE GRADE

WINNER: Barbara Tomlin  The Shattering

FINALIST: Claire Hatcher – The Lookers

FINALIST: Carol Teed  Ghost Dust

YOUNG ADULT

WINNER: Scott Lear  Your Number’s Up

FINALIST: Melissa de Haan – A Good Day

FINALIST: Caroline Lavoie  Devil by the Tail

The 2022 Competition received more than 600 entries.  All the entries were evaluated by the first-round readers who selected which entries advanced to the second round. The second-round readers selected which entries advanced to the longlist, and the longlist readers selected entries for the shortlist. Two juries selected the finalists and winners.

In November 2022, everyone who entered will receive the written evaluations for their entries. The next Writing for Children Competition will open in March 2023. 

More than 40 CANSCAIP Members volunteered as readers and juries. First-round readers evaluated all the entries and selected which ones advanced to the second round. Second-round readers evaluated that smaller group of entries and selected the longlist. Longlist readers selected entries for the shortlist, and two juries selected the finalists and winners.  

A huge thank you to readers and juries for the 2022 Writing for Children Competition: Karen Rankin Armadell, Lana Button, Anne Laurel Carter, Sylvia Chiang, Lena Coakley, Tziporah Cohen, Kathryn Ellis, Nan Forler, Heather Gale, Loretta Garbutt, Linda Granfield, Barbara Haworth-Attard, Theo Heras, Susan Hughes, Marthe Jocelyn, Jessica Scott Kerrin, Uma Krishnaswami, Joanne Levy, Carol MacKay, Liz MacLeod, Patricia McCowan, Ishta Mercurio, Mireille Messier, Jean Mills, Melanie Mosher, Monica Nawrocki, Deb Patz, Laura Peetoom, Jean Pendziwol, Monique Polak, Anne Renaud, Gillian Richardson, Raquel Rivera, Margriet Ruurs, Judy Ann Sadler, Karen Spafford-Fitz, Kathy Stinson, Chieri Uegaki, Lynn Westerhout, and Susan White. Joanne Levy and Jean Pendziwol also manage the logistics of entries and readers.


Shortlist 2022 Writing for Children Competition

September 26, 2022: CANSCAIP congratulates the writers of entries on the 2022 Writing for Children Competition shortlist. More than 600 entries were received. Feedback for each entry is a unique benefit of the Competition—all the entries get evaluation comments from at least one round of reading. In November the evaluations will be sent to all the writers.

PICTURE BOOK SHORTLIST
Maria Bursey - Santa Brought a Dinosaur

Donna Chastko - Can We Be Friends?

Sapphire Chow - Message in the Mooncake

Melina Ciaccia - Rosso!

Susanne Connolly - Fox on the Farm

Karyn Curtis - Charlie the Seasonal Ghost

Fiona Forster - The Cat-astrophic Concert

Jaimie Franchi - Melt

Jackie Friedman Mighdoll - Baby Lemur Life

Jackie Friedman Mighdoll - Japan: Better with Cats!

Cathrin Hagey - Mouse and Hen

Kate Hammer - The Most

Christine Henderson - War Knows Not of Spring

Christine Henderson - Words to Mend My Mama

Robin Larin - Indognito

Kalinda Link - The Mango Princess

Jen MacGregor - Mags Macdonald Had a Jetpack

Heather McLennan - Race in the Lake: Marilyn Bell's Impossible Swim

Heather McLennan - Operation Tooth: How Children Changed the World, One Tooth at a Time

Kamilla  Milligan - One-Night Bike

Logaine Navascues - Inspiration Beans

James Steeves - Lester Paints the Sky     

MIDDLE GRADE SHORTLIST
Calyssa Erb - Maya Plays The Part

Claire Hatcher - The Lookers

Regan Nuqui - Uncommon Cora

Connie Prémont - The Tadpole Connection

James Steeves - Curse of the Noose

Carol Teed - Ghost Dust

Carol Teed - RX One Dog

Penny Thompson - The School Project

Barbara Tomlin - The Shattering

YOUNG ADULT SHORTLIST
Melissa de Haan - A Good Day

Melissa de Haan - Girly-Me

Caroline Lavoie - Devil by the Tail

Scott Lear - Your Number's Up!

Kristen/Anna Taylor/Coutts - It's the End of Our World as We Know-It

D.M. Wagner - Masthead            

More than 40 professionally published CANSCAIP Members volunteered as the readers and juries. The first-round readers evaluated all the entries and selected the entries to proceed to the second round. The second-round readers evaluated that smaller group of entries and selected the longlist. A group of readers evaluated the longlist and selected the entries for the shortlist. Two juries evaluate the shortlist to select the finalists and winners, who will be announced in October.

A huge thank you to the volunteer readers and juries for the 2022 Writing for Children Competition: Karen Rankin Armadell, Lana Button, Anne Laurel Carter, Sylvia Chiang, Lena Coakley, Tziporah Cohen, Kathryn Ellis, Nan Forler, Heather Gale, Loretta Garbutt, Linda Granfield, Barbara Haworth-Attard, Theo Heras, Susan Hughes, Marthe Jocelyn, Jessica Scott Kerrin, Uma Krishnaswami, Joanne Levy, Carol MacKay, Liz MacLeod, Patricia McCowan, Ishta Mercurio, Mireille Messier, Jean Mills, Melanie Mosher, Monica Nawrocki, Deb Patz, Laura Peetoom, Jean Pendziwol, Monique Polak, Anne Renaud, Gillian Richardson, Raquel Rivera, Margriet Ruurs, Judy Ann Sadler, Karen Spafford-Fitz, Kathy Stinson, Chieri Uegaki, Lynn Westerhout, and Susan White. Joanne Levy and Jean Pendziwol also manage the logistics of entries and readers.

CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers) was founded in 1977. We’re national, membership-based and volunteer-run, and we offer professional development opportunities for our community. The Writers' Union of Canada initiated the Writing for Children Competition in 1996, and in 2014 CANSCAIP took it on. The goal of the Competition is to discover, encourage, and promote emerging writers of children's literature.

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Longlist 2022 Writing for Children Competition 

August 29, 2022: CANSCAIP congratulates the writers of the longlisted entries in the 2022 Writing for Children Competition. The shortlisted entries will be announced in September, and the finalists and winners will be announced in October. More than 600 entries were received. A unique and valuable benefit of the Competition is that every entry gets evaluation comments from at least one round of reading--in November, the evaluations will be sent to all the writers. 

PICTURE BOOK LONGLIST
Karen Blair - Bugs Belong in the Garden

Maria Bursey - Santa Brought a Dinosaur

Donna Chastko - Can We Be Friends?

Sapphire Chow - Message in the Mooncake

Melina Ciaccia - Rosso!

Susanne Connolly - Fox on The Farm

Rae Crossman - The Names of Trees

Karyn Curtis - Charlie the Seasonal Ghost

Thereza Dos Santos - Papa Was a Sea Captain

Heather Douglas - Runaway Belly Button

Tanya Elchuk - Lila's Genius

Beth Elliott - Neighbourhood News

Fiona Forster - Lewy Comes to Visit

Fiona Forster - The Cat-astrophic Concert

Jaimie Franchi - Melt

Jackie Friedman Mighdoll - Baby Lemur Life

Jackie Friedman Mighdoll - Japan: Better with Cats!

Mary-Anne Gibbs - Saying Good-bye to Grandad

Ann Gray - Sammy Meets a Monster

Cathrin Hagey - Mouse and Hen

Kate Hammer - The Most

Christine Henderson - Words to Mend My Mama

Christine Henderson - War Knows Not of Spring

Ryan Howlett - I Don't Want to be 6!

Nicolas  Hull - The Youngsters Sing Some Songs

Pawan Kaur Singh - Fairies in the Forest

Dale Kerr - Brenda Baxter's BAAAd Day

Alice Klopstra - The Tale of Slappy Jacques

Dianne  Koebel-Pede - Starshine

Robin Larin - Indognito

Jena Ledson - Norman and the Pie

Kalinda Link - How Chuck the Chihuahua Became a Police Dog

Kalinda Link - The Mango Princess

Danica Longair - When River Met Ocean

Jen MacGregor - Mags Macdonald Had a Jetpack

Maureen Marovitch - The Friend Seeker

Sofia Martimianakis - The Case of the Missing Eggs

Heather McLennan - Operation Tooth: How Children Changed the World, One Tooth at a Time

Heather McLennan - Race in the Lake: Marilyn Bell's Impossible Swim

Kamilla  Milligan - One-Night Bike

Francesca Morrison - Rory's Family: The Circus

Logaine Navascues - Inspiration Beans

Alison Newall - Bird

Jane Parker - Belle and the Ball

Krister Partel - Unicorn Shoe, Where Are You?

Caterina Salvatori - A Tree So Bright

Jen Schimmens - Swap Meet!

Shirley Heringer Sellars - Tickle Me Silly!

James Steeves - Lester Paints the Sky

Rabecca Talbot - GamGu Goes for a Drive

Natasha Wells - Charlie's Nose Knows

Rosalyn Yake - The Baboonicorn

MIDDLE GRADE LONGLIST
Cornelia Brack - Guardian of the Forest

Jenna Campbell - Swimming for Silver

Calyssa Erb - Maya Plays the Part

Brandi Estey-Burtt - Sophie Cinnamon and the Missing Manuscript

Claire Hatcher - The Lookers

Regan Nuqui - Uncommon Cora

Sarah Parker - Earth to Astrid

Connie Prémont - The Tadpole Connection

Donna Shanley - Temerity Moth and the Whispering Green

James Steeves - Curse of the Noose

James Steeves - Sabre of Spirits

Carol Teed - Ghost Dust

Carol Teed - RX One Dog

Penny Thompson - The School Project

Barbara Tomlin - The Shattering

Carmen Wittmeier - Orphan at the Gate: The Story of Little Tiger

Sally Wylie - The Mission: Sequel to Ari and the Intergalactic Dragon

YOUNG ADULT LONGLIST
Nikita Bleyer - Violet Fish

Anna Coutts & Kristen Taylor - It's the End of Our World as We Know It

Melissa de Haan - Girly-Me

Melissa de Haan - A Good Day

Tanya Elchuk - Eden 2.0

Caroline Lavoie - Devil by the Tail

Scott Lear - Your Number's Up!

D.M. Wagner - Masthead


Each year, more than 40 published CANSCAIP Members volunteer as the Competition's readers and juries. First-round readers evaluate all the entries and select the entries that will proceed to the second round. The second-round readers evaluate those entries and select the longlist, and a group of longlist readers selects the shortlist. From the shortlist, two juries will select the finalists and winners. The entries of the finalists and winners will be sent to Annick Press, Kids Can Press and Scholastic Canada for their evaluations.

Thank you to the 2022 Competition readers: Karen Rankin Armadell, Lana Button, Anne Laurel Carter, Sylvia Chiang, Lena Coakley, Tziporah Cohen, Kathryn Ellis, Nan Forler, Heather Gale, Loretta Garbutt, Linda Granfield, Barbara Haworth-Attard, Theo Heras, Joanne Levy, Carol MacKay, Liz MacLeod, Patricia McCowan, Ishta Mercurio, Mireille Messier, Jean Mills, Melanie Mosher, Monica Nawrocki, Deb Patz, Laura Peetoom, Jean Pendziwol, Anne Renaud, Gillian Richardson, Raquel Rivera, Margriet Ruurs, Judy Ann Sadler, Karen Spafford-Fitz, Chieri Uegaki, Lynn Westerhout, Susan White. Joanne Levy and Jean Pendziwol also manage the logistics of entries and readers.

CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers) was founded in 1977. We’re a national membership-based and volunteer-run organization, offering professional development opportunities for our community. The Writers' Union of Canada initiated the Writing for Children Competition in 1996, and CANSCAIP took it on in 2014. The goal of the Competition is to discover, encourage, and promote emerging writers of children's literature.

CANSCAIP
720 Bathurst St., Suite 412, Toronto, ON M5S 2R4

Email: office@canscaip.org
Phone: 1-416-515-1559

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