Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award

げれっと・ばーじぇすじどうしょしょう

Annual award recognizing family‑friendly children's books that inspire imagination and creativity.

Children's literaturePicture booksFamily-friendlyLifestyleArts and LettersSociety and CultureEducation

Established: 2011
Organizer: The Gelett Burgess Center for Creative Expression
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Status: Active

Description

The Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award, presented annually by the Gelett Burgess Center for Creative Expression and named for artist/writer Gelett Burgess, honors outstanding family‑friendly titles that inspire imagination and creativity. Established in 2011, the program awards a Book of the Year, Burgess Honors and winners across approximately 40 categories grouped into Lifestyle, Arts and Letters, Society and Culture, and Education. The award promotes childhood literacy and provides promotional and classroom resources for selected titles.

Prize

Main Prize: Recognition (Book of the Year and Burgess Honors), award seal and promotional support; winners are promoted with resources and lesson plans.

Gelett Burgess award seal
Promotion on the Gelett Burgess Center website and materials
Lesson‑plan and classroom resources for selected titles

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Entry reception and eligibility verification	Gelett Burgess Center staff (entry reception and rule confirmation)	—	None (eligibility confirmation for submissions is conducted internally)
First round (preliminary screening)	Volunteer reviewers and screening panel (preliminary selection by category)	—	Shortlists or category candidates may be announced on the official website or center blog
Final selection	Gelett Burgess Center's selection committee	—	Winning works are announced on the official website and Burgess Center announcements (blog/press releases, etc.)

Entry reception and eligibility verification

Judges Gelett Burgess Center staff (entry reception and rule confirmation)

Announcement None (eligibility confirmation for submissions is conducted internally)

First round (preliminary screening)

Judges Volunteer reviewers and screening panel (preliminary selection by category)

Announcement Shortlists or category candidates may be announced on the official website or center blog

Final selection

Judges Gelett Burgess Center's selection committee

Announcement Winning works are announced on the official website and Burgess Center announcements (blog/press releases, etc.)

Criteria

Family-friendly and suitable for general readers
Content that inspires imagination and creativity
Quality of text and illustrations
Publicly available for sale (retail, catalogs, Amazon, manufacturer sites, etc.)
Published within the past 3 years (at time of entry)
Entry into the appropriate category (English titles; non-English to Foreign Language Title category, etc.)

Application Tips

Dos

Confirm that the submitted work is family-friendly
Confirm that the publication date is within the past 3 years at the time of entry
Arrange for the book to be available for general purchase (retail, catalogs, online, etc.)
Select the correct category (non-English titles to Foreign Language Title category)
Self-published or small press works are eligible, so prepare and submit the required documents

Don''ts

Do not submit unpublished or non-publicly distributed works
Do not submit adult-oriented or family-inappropriate content
Do not submit works that do not meet the past 3-year publication requirement
Do not ignore entry guidelines or category instructions and enter the wrong category

From Judges

Emphasis is placed on elements that stimulate imagination and creativity
Expression must be clear and appropriate for the target age (harmony of text and illustrations)
Clearly demonstrate the work's accessibility (ease of purchase, viewing, and use)
Organizing work details (publication date, ISBN, sales URL, etc.) before submission will make the judging process smoother