For the first time, the Charles Taylor prize for literary nonfiction has produced a longlist. It seems the competition was too fierce to simply declare the shortlist. The 11 contenders for the $25,000 prize are as follows:

Blue Spruce award nominated titles for 2012.

Ontario Library Association's Blue Spruce award list of past winners.

An award for exceptional talent for contemporary fiction written in English.

On Saturday, August 27th nearly 100 teens gathered to eat pizza, play Wii, make buttons...and talk about their summer reading!

If you are in high school and like to read, you should know about Forest of Reading®.  The Red Maple™ and White Pine™ Awards are awarded annually by the Ontario Library Association to the best tween and teen books of the year and guess what...YOU decide the winners!

To check out the nominated titles, click the buttons below:

Each of these programs has a featured blog page where you can find out more about each title and share your thoughts and ideas about the books that you've read.

Click one of the links below to access our Forest of Reading® Blogs:

Red Maple™ Fiction Award Blog – Grades 7-8 Reading Level

Red Maple™ Nonfiction Award Blog – Grades 7-8 Reading Level

White Pine™ Award Blog - Grades 9-12 Reading Level

Read at least 5 of the nominated titles and you can vote online for your favourite. Participants will be able to cast their votes on our website between April 18 and 28. Voting results from the Library will be sent to the Ontario Library Association for the official voting.

The Library supports all of the Forest of Reading® programs by purchasing the nominated titles.

For a list of nominated titles available at your library, click one of the buttons below:

ALSO for students whose classes do NOT participate in the Forest of Reading® or for those who are home-schooled, you can participate online through the Library’s website for the Silver Birch®, Silver Birch Express®, and Red Maple™ Programs.

The shortlist has been announced for the 2011 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction:

1.  On the Farm : Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women / Stevie Cameron

The TD Canadian Children's Literature Award was established in 2004 for the most distinguished book of the year (one in English, one in French) written by a Canadian author for children aged 1 to 12. The winning book must have been published in Canada during the previous year and its author must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada. This award is generously sponsored by National Book Service.