Press Release- New Award to Recognize Excellence in First Nations, Metis and Inuit Young Adult Literature

Press Release:

New Award to Recognize Excellence in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Young Adult Literature

Please take note of the following press release issued by CODE:

Ottawa- A unique Canadian literary award and readership initiative recognizing excellence in English-language literary works for Young Adults by First Nations, Métis and Inuit authors was launched September 5, 2012.

Established by CODE - a Canadian charitable organization that has been supporting literacy and learning for over 50 years - in collaboration with William (Bill) Burt and the Literary Prizes Foundation, the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature aims to provide engaging and culturally-relevant books for young people across Canada. The Award is now accepting submissions from Canadian publishers until May 1, 2013.

"First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders have longed stressed the importance of literacy and learning for youth in their communities and recommended the development of reading materials that are grounded in their culture and heritage," said CODE Executive Director Scott Walter. "With the new Award, we hope to help address this issue by celebrating the literary achievements of Canada's First Nations, Métis and Inuit authors and improving young readers' access to books that are engaging and meaningful to them."

The Award is the result of an ongoing close collaboration with the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the National Association of Friendship Centres, the Association of Canadian Publishers, and the Canada Council for the Arts, which will be responsible for administering the jury process.

The Award will be given annually to three English-language literary works for Young Adults by First Nations, Métis or Inuit authors. A First Prize of $12,000, a Second Prize of $8,000 and a Third Prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the authors and translators (if applicable) of the winning titles. In addition, publishers of the winning titles will be awarded a guaranteed purchase of a minimum of 2,500 copies, which will ensure that First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth across Canada will have access to the books through their community's schools, libraries, or Friendship Centre’s.

For this new initiative, CODE will build on the experience it has gained with the Burt Award for African Literature, an annual literary prize that recognizes excellence in Young Adult fiction in English in Africa. Since its inception in 2008, 18 titles (and over 120,000 copies) have been published and distributed to youth in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. The partnerships that CODE has established with educators, writers and publishers in Canada over the last 25 years through its Canadian engagement programs will also be key to establishing this new initiative.

"We are very excited to expand the Burt Award program to Canada," says William (Bill) Burt, who financially supports the Award. "My hope is that Canadian First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth will love the titles that emerge from this project and that the books give them new opportunities to improve the reading and writing skills that will serve them the rest of their lives."

For further details on the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature, go to www.codecan.org/get-involved/burt-award-canada<http://www.codecan.org/get-involved/burt-award-canada>

For more information, please contact:
Dominique Naud
Communications Manager
CODE
613-232-3569 ext. 252
dnaud@codecan.org<mailto:dnaud@codecan.org

About CODE:

If you can read and write, you can learn to do, and be, anything. That's the idea behind CODE. A Canadian NGO with over 50 years of experience, CODE supports literacy and learning in Canada and around the world. CODE's international programs encourage development through education through support to libraries, professional development for teachers, as well as national and local book publishing in 20 languages.
www.codecan.org<http://www.codecan.org>

BACKGROUNDER

The Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature:

A unique literary award and readership initiative established by CODE with the generous support of philanthropist William Burt and the Literary Prizes Foundation, and in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations, Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, National Association of Friendship Centres, Indspire (formerly NAAF), the Association of Canadian Publishers, and Canada Council for the Arts.

CODE is a Canadian charitable organization with over 50 years of experience in supporting development through education around the world. CODE works in partnership with local organizations to expand literacy in Africa and the Caribbean by providing children and youth with access to quality reading materials, supporting the professional development of teachers and librarians, and helping to strengthen the local book trade and national publishing capacities. In Canada, CODE has worked for over 25 years to engage Canadian teachers and students on literacy and global issues, and has established partnerships with Canadian educators, writers, and the publishing industry.

In 2008, CODE established the Burt Award for African Literature with the generous support of Canadian philanthropist William Burt and the Literary Prizes Foundation. The Burt Award is an annual literary prize that recognizes excellence in young adult fiction and provides young readers with engaging books that they want to read. Currently offered in four African countries, the Burt Award is expanding to Canada and the Caribbean.

Building on our experience, and in recognition of our responsibility as a Canadian organization, CODE along with William Burt and the Literary Prizes Foundation and our partners, the Assembly of First Nations, Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, National Association of Friendship Centres, Indspire (formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation), Association of Canadian Publishers, and Canada Council for the Arts are pleased to inform you of the establishment of the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature.

The Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature is a new Canadian literary award and readership initiative that will recognize excellence in Indigenous-authored literature for youth and provide engaging and culturally-relevant books for young people across Canada.

The Award will be given annually to three English-language literary works for young adults (aged 12 through 18) written by First Nations, Métis or Inuit authors. The Canada Council for the Arts will be responsible for establishing the selection criteria and administering the jury process. Winning authors will divide the annual cash prizes totaling $25,000. Winning publishers will participate in a guaranteed book purchase and distribution program in which CODE commits to purchasing up to 2500 copies of each title at a bulk discount for distribution to schools, libraries, and Friendship Centres that serve First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth across Canada.

Recent reports regarding the future of education in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Canada emphasize the importance of literacy and reading, and recommend the development of reading materials that are grounded in the culture and heritage of Canada's First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities as a means of closing the educational achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians and helping First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth realize their full potential. We hope you will join us in celebrating the literary achievements of Canada's First Nations, Métis and Inuit authors and help us improve young readers' access to engaging and culturally meaningful books by supporting this initiative.

How to Get Involved:

The inaugural Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature will formally launch in September 2012. Publishers operating in Canada will be asked to submit English works of prose fiction or non-fiction written by First Nations, Métis or Inuit authors. Published books and unpublished manuscripts will be eligible. In the case of published entries, they must have been published between May 1, 2010 and April 30, 2013. (In subsequent years, books published in the previous 12 months only will be eligible for the Burt Award.)

The deadline for submissions for the inaugural Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature will be May 1, 2013. Winning titles will be announced in September 2013 to coincide with festivities related to International Literacy Day. A peer assessment committee organized by the Canada Council for the Arts will examine eligible titles. Winning titles will be selected according to their literary and artistic excellence and their capacity to engage and entertain young First Nations, Métis and Inuit readers.

For Further Information:
Please contact Catherine Belshaw, Literary Awards Officer, at 613-232-3569 ext. 233 or CBelshaw@codecan.org.

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