FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Toronto (May 2, 2022) – The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is excited to announce the 2022 Canadian Children’s Book Week tour: “Sail into Stories/Tournée Lire à tout vent”. From May 1 to May 7, Canadian children’s authors, illustrators and storytellers will embark on our second virtual tour, reaching over 21,000 kids and teens across the country. Hosted on digital platforms, our goal is the same as it has always been: to share stories and captivate the imaginations of children and teens. Throughout the week, 53 authors, illustrators and storytellers will virtually visit hundreds of schools, public libraries and community organizations across Canada to read from their books and share with children the magic of reading, writing, illustrating and storytelling. In total, there will be 402 presentations in English and French during Book Week. Touring participants will connect with youth all across Canada, including remote communities like Kluane Lake in the Yukon, Attagutaaluk in Nunavut and Mary’s Harbour in Labrador.
“We are grateful to our sponsors, funders and partners for making this year’s tour so wide reaching,” says Rose Vespa, Executive Director. “Since 1977, Canadian Children’s Book Week has touched the lives of young people all across Canada and given them an opportunity to meet a children’s book creator. For many, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” This year, the Program Kits for communities without reliable internet access in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are possible thanks to the generous personal donations received through our 2021 #GivingTuesday campaign. The CCBC also offers subsidies on all of the virtual presentations/workshops and certain virtual visits are fully sponsored thanks to the Government of Manitoba, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon Department of Education, First Book Canada and Marquis. The tour is also made possible through the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Through our partnership with the Storytellers of Canada, Book Week includes two storytellers, Rob Malo from Manitoba and Danica Lorer from Saskatchewan. This year’s bilingual tour is possible through a partnership with Communication-Jeunesse, our sister organization in Quebec. For the second year, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre is joining forces with First Book Canada, who are generously sponsoring 14 selected virtual author visits and every child participating in these visits will receive their own copy of the author’s book.
This year’s theme, “Sail into Stories/Tournée lire à tout vent,” captures the magic and whimsy of stories and the unique journey they can take children on. The poster art was created by the Fan Brothers, authors and illustrators of award-winning books like The Barnabus Project and The Night Gardener. The poster is available to download for free online.
For more information about the program, to see the full tour schedule, or to find out how to host readings in your community next year, please visit bookweek.ca. To spread the word about Book Week, use the hashtags #CCBCBookWeek2022 and #LireaToutVent and tag @KidsBookCentre on social media.
For schools, libraries and households not participating in the tour, head to Bibliovideo, the CCBC’s YouTube channel, for exclusive videos to celebrate Book Week.
Download the PDF version of this press release 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
Official Tour Roster
The English-language touring creators for 2022 are:
Ekiuwa Aire, author
Erin Alladin, author
Stephanie Cooke, graphic novelist
Charis Cotter, author
Anita Daher, author
Sara Florence Davidson, author
Emma FitzGerald, illustrator
Lee Edward Födi, author/illustrator
Kallie George, author
Ginalina, author/singer
Isabelle Groc, author/photographer
Michael Hutchinson, author
Jessica Scott Kerrin, author
Soyeon Kim, illustrator
Celia Krampien, illustrator
Danica Lorer, storyteller
Rob Malo, storyteller
John Martz, illustrator/cartoonist
Janice Lynn Mather, author
Angela Misri, author
Mahtab Narsimhan, author
Ruth Ohi, author/illustrator
Dominique Pelletier, author/illustrator/cartoonist
Lois Peterson, author
Rowena Rae, author
Raziel Reid, author
Cory Silverberg, author
Karen Spafford-Fitz, author
Todd Stewart, author/illustrator
Gillian Sze, author
Nhung Tran-Davis, author
Nancy Vo, author/illustrator
Eric Walters, author
The French-language touring creators for 2022 are:
Pierre-Luc Bélanger, author
Claude DesRosiers and Félix LaFlamme, authors/illustrators/cartoonists
Valérie Fontaine, author
Mylène Fortin, author
Bertrand Gauthier, author
Karine Glorieux, author
Rachel Graveline, author
Geneviève Guilbaut, author
Karine Lambert, author
Mireille Levert, author/illustrator
Micheline Marchand, author
Paul Martin, author/illustrator
Maryse Pagé, author
Jeanne Painchaud, author
Dominique Pelletier, author/illustrator/cartoonist
Étienne Poirier, author
Laurence Prud’homme, author
Cindy Roy, author
Roxane Turcotte, author
Élizabeth Turgeon, author
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 2020-21, OAC invested its grant program budget of $53.6 million in 195 communities across Ontario through 1,828 grants to individual artists and 1,172 grants to organizations. For more information, please visit arts.on.ca.
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