Deadline: 16 February 2011
The John Spray Mystery Award, established in 2011, honours excellence in the mystery book format. The prize is awarded annually with a cash prize of $5,000. To be eligible, the book must be an original work in English, aimed at readers eight to 16 and written by a Canadian. A mystery book can be a thriller, a crime novel or a whodunit.
John Spray, President of the Mantis Investigation Agency, is delighted to give the prize, saying that reading mysteries made him a passionate reader at an early age and helped him find his chosen career. “For many years, through the publishing career of my wife, Gail Winskill, I became acquainted with both contemporary children’s literature as well as the unwavering support of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre for children’s writers and illustrators. While attending the 2010 TD Book Awards, I was struck by the absence of an award for mystery writing. My childhood was spent rapidly turning the pages of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, which morphed into the Spillanes and le Carres on my adult bookshelf. Offering a prize for children’s mystery books seemed to me to be a modest payback for a lifetime of joy spent reading great mysteries.”
Criteria and Submission Information
Eligibility:
* Books must be published between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year.
* Author and illustrator must be Canadian or a Permanent Resident.
* Books must be in English.
* Translations are eligible, provided the editions have been published simultaneously, and the translator is a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant.
* Picture books are not eligible
* Graphic novels are eligible.
* Novels involving fantasy/science-fiction plots are not eligible.
* Stories must be original (i.e., not a retelling of an already published mystery for adults.)
* Books must not have been previously published.
* Books written as part of a series or published in serial form will be judged as separate entries and must be able to ‘stand-alone’.
* Self-published books are eligible for submission provided they have a valid ISBN.
Criteria
* The award honours excellence in the mystery book format. A mystery book can be a thriller, a crime novel or a ‘whodunit’.
* The book must be of high literary quality with the story having a logical and predetermined endpoint.
* Storyline must be plausible, well-researched and filled with tension and suspense.
* The story must have well-developed characters whose actions are consistent with their personalities.
* The book should be aimed at young readers aged eight to 16 years old.
Juror Information:
* There will be a total of three jurors.
* No authors of children’s books in contention may serve as jurors.
* Jurors will be chosen among booksellers, reviewers, educators, teacher-librarians, librarians, consultants, authors and other experts in field of children’s literature.
Submission Information:
Please send five (5) copies of each title along with a completed Title Submission Form to:
John Spray Mystery Award
c/o The Canadian Children's Book Centre
40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite 101
Toronto, ON M4R 1B9
Deadline for submissions is February 16, 2011. This is a firm deadline. All submissions must be received by this date (not postmarked by this date). Titles must be selected from books published between January 1 and December 31, 2010.
If you have any questions about submitting to the John Spray Mystery Award please contact Meghan Howe at 416.975.0010 ext. 222.
More information here.
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