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Kathy Kacer, Gillian Newland, Kenneth Oppel win 2015 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Awards

Ruth-Sylvia-Schwartz-Book-AwardsThe winners of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Awards were announced on May 15 at Alexander Muir/Gladstone Avenue Junior and Senior Public School in Toronto.

MagicianCoverStudents of the school in Grades 3–4 and Grades 7–8 voted on a shortlist of titles chosen by selection committee members Mandy Brouse (co-owner of Waterloo’s Words Worth Books), Brianne Peters (children’s librarian at Kingston Frontenac Public Library), and Rachel Seigel (sales & selection strategist at Edu Reference in Toronto), to determine the top picks in two categories: picture books and young adult/middle grade.

BoundlessAuthor Kathy Kacer and illustrator Gillian Newland received the picture book award for The Magician of Auschwitz (Second Story Press), while Kenneth Oppel took top honours for his middle-grade novel The Boundless (HarperCollins Canada).

The annual awards’ nomination and jury processes are administered by the Ontario Arts Foundation with the support of the Ontario Arts Council, while the $6,000 prize for each award is funded by the Ruth Schwartz Foundation.