Children’s authors from across Canada will be honoured by their most important audience, kids, at the 15th annual Hackmatack Children’s Choice Awards in Charlottetown this Friday, says Minister of Tourism and Culture Robert Henderson.

“Hackmatack is a great program that helps inspire children to read by giving them an opportunity to pick their favorite Hackmatack nominated book, and have a hand in determining which is chosen best,” said Minister Henderson. “One of the goals of the public library service is to inspire a life-long love of reading, and the Hackmatack program is a great way to help do just that.”

Each spring the Hackmatack Selection Committee nominates forty renowned Canadian books for young readers to the Hackmatack shortlist. The books are divided into four categories – English Fiction, English non-fiction, French fiction and French non-fiction. Children in registered reading groups read the nominated books and vote for the winners of the award. The winners of the Hackmatack Award in each category are announced at the final award ceremony. Ten nominated authors will be on hand for the awards later this week.

The Hackmatack program is offered to students in grades four to six at public libraries and at several schools on Prince Edward Island. Students must read at least five selections from each category to vote for their favorite. About 110 Island students participate in the program.

Students also get to participate in the awards ceremony itself by introducing the authors and presenting the awards. The ceremony will be held on Friday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

For more information on the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Awards visit www.hackmatack.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Below is a list of the Hackmatack nominated authors visiting the Island for the awards ceremony, as well as the category in which their book appears.

English Fiction:

Alice Walsh: A Long Way From Home

Allison Maher: Time Flies When You're Chasing Spies

Ashley Spires: Binky Takes Charge

Jessica Scott Kerrin: Lower the Trap

Nancy Wilcox Richards: How To Fix a Lie

Dan Bar-el: That One Spooky Night

Philippa Dowding: The Gargoyle at the Gates

English Non-fiction:

Rob Laidlaw: No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs

Wendy Kitts: Sable Island: The Wandering Sandbar

French Fiction:

Francois Barcelo: Napoléon Ratté : l’empereur du ballon rond