First Nation Communities READ 2025-2026 shorlisted titles

The First Nation Communities READ program has announced this year’s shortlists for the Children’s and Young Adult/Adult categories for the best works of Indigenous literature from Canada.

The five titles shortlisted in each category are chosen by a jury of First Nation librarians from across Ontario.

The winner of the Indigenous Literature Award in each category will receive a $5,000 cash prize. The awards, sponsored by the Periodical Marketers of Canada, will be presented during First Nation Public Library Week (October 6-10, 2025).

The shortlisted titles are:

Children’s

• The Animal People Choose a Leader by Richard Wagamese and Bridget George, illus. (Douglas and McIntyre)
• Bannock in a Hammock by Masiana Kelly and Amiel Sandland, ill. (Inhabit Media)
• Dad, I Miss You by Nadia Sammurtok and Simji Park (ill.) (Inhabit Media)
• Boozhoo!/Hello! by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley and Mary Ann Corbiere, trans. (Groundwood Books)
• Hummingbird/Aamo-binashee by Jennifer Leason and Norman Chartrand, trans. (Orca Books)

Young Adult/Adult

• Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and Nation by the Honourable Murray Sinclair (McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada)
• The Baby Train by Stella Shepard (Acorn Press)
• Little Moons by Jen Storm and Ryan Howe, ill. (Highwater Press)
• Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival by Trina Rathgeber (Orca Books)
• Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey toward Personal and Ecological Healing by Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Knopf Canada/Penguin Random House Canada)

First Nation Communities READ, launched in 2003 by the First Nations Public Library Community in Ontario, is supported by Ontario Library Service. The program aims to promote a community-based approach to reading, increase awareness of the importance of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit writing, illustration, and publishing, and encourage family literacy, intergenerational storytelling and intergenerational knowledge transmission.