Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable

You are invited to the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable’s Annual Illustrator’s Breakfast.

This year it is a virtual breakfast with a live virtual presentation by Sydney Smith, winner of the first Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picturebook of the Year Award, for Small in the City.

Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 9 am – 10:30 am.

All registered guests will be sent a zoom invitation to the live virtual event.

You have the choice of registering for the event only or of attending the event and receiving a signed copy of Small in the City, a handmade centrepiece, and some other treats so be sure to provide your snail mail address.

The event will also feature the presentation of the Ron Jobe Scholarship and the announcement of the 2020 Information Book Award winner.

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Celebration of BC’s Award-Winning Children’s Writers and Illustrators

A celebration of BC award winning children’s authors and illustrators of 2020. The guest speaker will be the winner of the 2020 Information Book Award (the winner will be announced November 14 at the annual VCLR Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picturebook of the Year Award breakfast). 

Saturday, January 16, 2021, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Note: This event is free to members–please make sure your membership is up-to-date. The first 50 people that register will receive a book by mail. Be sure to provide your snail mail address when you sign up.

Announcing the HILARIOUS WINNERS of the second biannual Joan Betty Stuchner —Oy Vey! — Funniest Children’s Book Award!

Oy Vey!  The Joan Betty Stuchner — Oy Vey! — Funniest Children’s Book Award committee has finally stopped laughing long enough to release this wonderful news. We have winners! Two books kept our jury “buckled over with guffaws, incapacitated with giggles, and/or rib-ticklingly, side-splittingly, thigh-slappingly entertained.”

The winner in the picture or board book category is:

Sterling, Best Dog Ever, written and illustrated by Aidan Cassie (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux)

The winner in the chapter book category is:

Mort Ziff Is Not Dead by Cary Fagan (Puffin)

Congratulations Aidan and Cassie! Their cheques for $752.81 were presented at a special, chuckle-filled celebration in Vancouver on 19 June. (Photos below!)

Congratulations also to our giggle-inducing honour book authors and illustrators: Helaine Becker and Mark Hoffmann (You Can Read, Orca); Anne Renaud Felicita Sala (Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament, Kids Can); Rachelle Delaney (Clara Voyant, Puffin); and Dan Bar-el and Vicky Nerino (Dog Night at the Story Zoo, Tundra).

1 April, 2019.  (No, it’s not a joke.  Really!)

Oy Vey!  The Joan Betty Stuchner — Oy Vey! — Funniest Children’s Book Award committee has finally stopped laughing long enough to release this hilarious news.  We have a shortlist!  We received 60 very funny books, but these kept our jury the most “buckled over with guffaws, incapacitated with giggles, and/or rib-ticklingly, side-splittingly, thigh-slappingly entertained.”

The shortlisted books in the picture or board book category are:

You Can Read, written by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Mark Hoffmann (Orca)

Sterling, Best Dog Ever, written and illustrated by Aidan Cassie (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux)

Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament, written by Anne Renaud, illustrated by Felicita Sala (Kids Can)

The shortlisted books in the chapter book category are:

Clara Voyant by Rachelle Delaney (Puffin)

Mort Ziff Is Not Dead by Cary Fagan (Puffin)

Dog Night at the Story Zoo by Dan Bar-El, illustrated by Vicky Nerino (Tundra)

Congratulations! The $752.81 x 2 award will be announced 19 June, 2019, at a special, giggle-filled celebration at Slickety Jim’s Chat ‘n’ Chew in Vancouver, 7-9 pm, 3475 Main Street.

BONUS TEACHER LIBRARIAN BOOK DRAWS: Attend for a chance to win a collection of 1) all the Oy Vey submissions, and 2) a $500 collection of books by BC authors and illustrators, which is part of the BC Book Prizes “Adopt a Library” program. 

About Joan Betty Stuchner:

Joan Betty Stuchner, beloved children’s author and teacher, passed away unexpectedly in 2014.  Joan was many things — brave, gracious, warm, generous, kind and absolutely hilarious to boot.  (“Oy vey!” she’s probably saying now…) With this award we honour Joan’s life-affirming humour and encourage other children’s writers to laugh it up on the page the way she did.

1 April 2018: THIS IS NOT A JOKE! Really…

 Announcing the second bi-annual Joan Betty Stuchner — Oy Vey! — Funniest Children’s Book Award! TWO prizes now!

 Joan Betty Stuchner, beloved children’s author and teacher, passed away unexpectedly in 2014. Joan was many things — brave, gracious, warm, generous, kind and absolutely hilarious to boot.  (“Oy vey!” she’s probably saying now…) With this pair of awards we honour Joan’s life-affirming humour and encourage other children’s writers to laugh it up on the page the way she did.

The $752.81 x 2 Joan Betty Stuchner — Oy Vey! — Funniest Children’s Book Award will be presented biannually to a Canadian author or illustrator of the work of juvenile writing that had the jury most buckled over with guffaws, incapacitated with giggles, and/or rib-ticklingly, side-splittingly, thigh-slappingly entertained in these two categories:

1. A board or picture book
2. A book with lots more words than pictures

Eligible works:

• board books
• picture books
• chapter books
• graphic novels
• juvenile fiction and non-fiction (suitable for readers up to grade 7)
• created by Canadian authors and/or illustrators permanently residing in Canada
• published between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018
• written in English

Ineligible works:

• young adult fiction
• self-published titles

Submission requirements:

Please send 3 copies of the work along with a completed application form to:

The Joan Betty Stuchner OyVey Funniest Children’s Book Award

6637 Emerson Street, Burnaby BC V5E 1W5

 Please include a $25 submission fee per title by PayPal or a cheque payable to “JBS Oy Vey Award”

 Submission deadline: International Bologna Day, 24 October, 2018

The second Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey Funniest Children’s Book Awards will be presented at a special ceremony in Spring 2019.

Sincerely,

The Joan Betty Stuchner — Oy Vey! — Funniest Children’s Book Award Committee

Caroline Adderson, Cindy Heinrichs, Kathryn Shoemaker, Ellen Schwartz

 

20 June, 2017

Announcing the winner of the inaugural Joan Betty Stuchner – Oy Vey! – Funniest Children’s Book Award!

Regina author Rolli received the inaugural $1000 Oy Vey! award in honour of beloved children’s author Joan Betty Stuchner. The Oy Vey! jury of children’s authors Caroline Adderson, Silvana Goldemberg and Cindy Heinrichs considered fifty very funny books before coming up with a shortlist of five titles. Rolli’s Kabungo, illustrated by Milan Pavlovic and published by Groundwood Books in 2016, was deemed to have had the jury most buckled over with guffaws, incapacitated with giggles, and/or rib-ticklingly, side-splittingly, thigh-slappingly entertained.

The other shortlisted titles were:

The Princess and the Pony, written and illustrated by Kate Beaton, Arthur A. Books, 2015

The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold, written by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Cale Atkinson, Tundra Books, 2016

Move It, Miss Mackintosh!, written by Peggy Robbins Janousky and illustrated by Meghan Lands, Annick Press 2016

The Liszts, written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Júlia Sardà, Tundra Books 2016

The second biannual Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey! Funniest Children’s Book Award will be presented in 2019. Stay turned for submission details.

Congratulations to Rolli and Groundwood Books. Thank you to all the participating writers, illustrators and publishers who keep Canadian kids laughing.

To announce the winner of the first Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey Award for the Funniest Canadian Children’s book!

Tuesday, June 20, 2017 from 7-9pm at the Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.

The evening is FREE!

Wine, beer and light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to cindyheinrichs@yahoo.com to help us plan the refreshments.

There will be readings and performances by local authors and illustrators, the announcement of the winner and a fabulous draw for a HUGE collection of FUNNY books for any Teacher/Librarian present who has a school library.

 

– Press Release –

1 April, 2017. (No, it’s not a joke. Really!)

Announcing the shortlist for the inaugural Joan Betty Stuchner – Oy Vey! – Funniest Children’s Book Award!

Oy Vey! The Joan Betty Stuchner – Oy Vey! – Funniest Children’s Book Award committee has finally stopped laughing long enough to release this hilarious news. We have a shortlist! We received fifty very funny books, but these five kept our jury the most “buckled over with guffaws, incapacitated with giggles, and/or rib-ticklingly, side-splittingly, thigh-slappingly entertained.”

They are:

The Princess and the Pony, written and illustrated by Kate Beaton, Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2015

The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold, written by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Cale Atkinson, Tundra Books, 2016

Move It, Miss Mackintosh!, written by Peggy Robbins Janousky and illustrated by Meghan Lands, Annick Press 2016

The Liszts, written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Júlia Sardà, Tundra Books 2016

Kabungo, written by Rolli and illustrated by Milan Pavlovic, Groundwood Books 2016

Congratulations!  The $1000 prize winner will be announced 20 June, 2017 at a special, giggle-filled celebration at the Cottage Bistro in Vancouver, 7-9 pm, 4470 Main Street.

For tickets to this FREE event, please write: cindyheinrichs@yahoo.com or visit the Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey Funniest Children’s Book Award Facebook page and include yourself via the event invitation posted there.

About Joan Betty Stuchner:

Joan Betty Stuchner, beloved children’s author and teacher, passed away unexpectedly in 2014.  Joan was many things — brave, gracious, warm, generous, kind and absolutely hilarious to boot.  (“Oy vey!” she’s probably saying now…) With this award we honour Joan’s life-affirming humour and encourage other children’s writers to laugh it up on the page the way she did.

1 April, 2017. (No, it’s not a joke. Really!)

Announcing the shortlist for the inaugural Children’s Book Award!

Oy Vey! The Joan Betty Stuchner – Oy Vey! – Funniest Children’s Book Award committee has finally stopped laughing long enough to release this hilarious news. We have a shortlist! We received fifty very funny books, but these five kept our jury the most “buckled over with guffaws, incapacitated with giggles, and/or rib-ticklingly, side-splittingly, thigh-slappingly entertained.”

They are:

The Princess and the Pony, written and illustrated by Kate Beaton, Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2015

The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold, written by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Cale Atkinson, Tundra Books, 2016

Move It, Miss Mackintosh!, written by Peggy Robbins Janousky and illustrated by Meghan Lands, Annick Press 2016

The Liszts, written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Júlia Sardà, Tundra Books 2016

Kabungo, written by Rolli and illustrated by Milan Pavlovic, Groundwood Books 2016

Congratulations!  The $1000 prize winner will be announced 20 June, 2017 at a special, giggle-filled celebration at the Cottage Bistro in Vancouver, 7-9 pm, 4470 Main Street.

For tickets to this FREE event, please write: cindyheinrichs@yahoo.com or visit the Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey Funniest Children’s Book Award Facebook page and include yourself via the event invitation posted there.

About Joan Betty Stuchner:

Joan Betty Stuchner, beloved children’s author and teacher, passed away unexpectedly in 2014.  Joan was many things — brave, gracious, warm, generous, kind and absolutely hilarious to boot.  (“Oy vey!” she’s probably saying now…) With this award we honour Joan’s life-affirming humour and encourage other children’s writers to laugh it up on the page the way she did.

There were 50 submissions for the inaugural Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey Funniest Children’s Book Award!  Thank you to all the publishers who sent in books.  We are having a blast reading them!

Thanks so much to Olga Livshin at The Jewish Independent for her coverage of the Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey Funniest Children’s Book Award.  Read the article here.