The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) has launched a fall fundraising initiative to support the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. “Celebrate Canadian Teen Fiction with Amy Mathers” is a nine-week campaign during which Amy will highlight the nominated books/authors from the award’s nine-year history. Every weekday, Amy will feature a finalist or winning book and share it across the CCBC’s social media platforms. Special guests (creators, booksellers and librarians) from the YA community will also pop in on the weekends with their own favourite teen reads or what they’re currently reading. Follow along @kidsbookcentre.

Amy Mathers has been passionate about reading from a very young age. Born with a type of glycogen storage disease, she received a liver transplant at the age of five, a heart transplant when she was 27 and a kidney transplant at age 40. Despite her physical challenges, she has volunteered in various libraries, worked as a bibliotherapist, taken part in a high school reading selection committee and co-written and co-taught a college course called “Assisting Families Dealing with Chronic Illness & Disability.”   

The “Celebrate Canadian Teen Fiction with Amy Mathers” campaign will highlight some of the best books across the Canadian landscape of teen fiction, opening readers up to new perspectives. 

The Amy Mathers Teen Book Award honours excellence in teen/young adult fiction and offers an annual cash prize of $5,000. The CCBC is dedicated and determined to ensure continuity of the award with support from our community.

The Amy Mathers Teen Book Award is one of nine Canadian children’s literature awards organized and administered by the Canadian Children's Book Centre. The award offers national recognition to the great Canadian authors writing for teen audiences. To date, $40,000 has been awarded to Canadian YA creators to support their writing and to elevate teen fiction in Canada. On October 23, this number will rise to $45,000 with the announcement of the 2023 winner.

“I continue to invest my time in supporting Canadian teen writers because I know firsthand how impactful stories can be especially in a teen's life,” says Mathers. “Living in an age where so many teen books are being deemed ‘inappropriate’ for teen readers, support for this audience and genre is vital. I am so proud the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award is celebrating its decade anniversary next year, continuing the important work of protecting and publicizing Canadian teen literature.”

Help keep this important award alive by donating today!