Three out of five nominees for the 2026 Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year (BOP) for the North America region are Canadian publishers and an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada.
This year’s nominees are Victoria’s Orca Book Publishers (also shortlisted in 2025 and 2023), Varennes, Quebec–based Milky Way Picture Books (an imprint of Groupe Comme des géants, established in 2021), and Tundra Books.
The other nominees in the category are: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and U.S. independent Tra Publishing.
The prize is awarded annually to highlight excellence in publishing programs. Nominees are recommended in six geographical areas (Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, North America, and Oceania) by publishers, publishers’ associations, and institutions devoted to the promotion of reading. Bologna Children’s Book Fair exhibitors vote on the winners.
The winners will be announced during the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which runs April 13-16, 2026.
Canadian publishers have won nine times since the prize was established in 2013, including Greystone Kids (2024), La courte échelle (2023), and Monsieur Ed (2022).
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair runs in tandem with BolognaBookPlus (BBPlus) and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids (BLTF/Kids). Norway is the guest of honour at this year’s fair.
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