Trillium Book Award

とりりうむぶっくしょう

Annual literary award for Ontario writers. Operated by Ontario Creates (a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario), including financial support for authors and publishers.

FictionNonfictionPoetryChildren's literatureEnglish-languageFrench-language

Established: 1987
Organizer: Ontario Creates (a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario)
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Announcement Period: around April
Status: Active

Description

The Trillium Book Award (Prix littéraire Trillium / Prix Trillium) is an annual literary award in Ontario established in 1987, operated by Ontario Creates (a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario). Its purposes are to recognize literary excellence, support the provincial publishing industry, and strengthen collaboration between public libraries and the writing community. The French-language category was added in 1994, poetry categories for each language were introduced in 2003, and the French children's literature category was added in 2006. It uses a publisher entry system; anthologies, reprints, translations, electronic publications, and self-published works are ineligible.

Prize

Main Prize: Books: CA$20,000 to the author and CA$2,500 to the publisher. Other categories (e.g., poetry): CA$10,000 to the author and CA$2,000 to the publisher.
Cash Prize: 20,000 CAD

Publisher award: CA$2,500 (books)
Poetry prize (author): CA$10,000
Poetry prize (publisher): CA$2,000
Separate prizes across multiple languages and categories (English/French, etc.)

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Submission	Publishers submit titles (to Ontario Creates / Ministry)	—	Submission is the registration stage for internal review and judge selection
Jury shortlisting	Three judges per language (writers or literary professionals) select the shortlist	—	Shortlist is announced via media announcements and press releases
Final selection and award	The same judges conduct the final selection and decide the winning entry	—	Winner is announced in spring (e.g., around April) via press releases and award ceremony

Submission

Judges Publishers submit titles (to Ontario Creates / Ministry)

Announcement Submission is the registration stage for internal review and judge selection

Jury shortlisting

Judges Three judges per language (writers or literary professionals) select the shortlist

Announcement Shortlist is announced via media announcements and press releases

Final selection and award

Judges The same judges conduct the final selection and decide the winning entry

Announcement Winner is announced in spring (e.g., around April) via press releases and award ceremony

Criteria

Literary excellence (Quality of writing, artistic merit)
Contribution to deepening understanding of Ontario society and residents
Originality and expressiveness
Compliance with eligibility (Canadian citizen or permanent resident, resided in Ontario for 3 of the past 5 years)
Requirements for eligible works (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's literature, etc. Anthologies, reprints, translations, e-publications, self-published ineligible)

Application Tips

Dos

Check eligibility requirements in advance (Canadian citizen or permanent resident, Ontario residency requirements)
Request the publisher to submit and enter correctly via the publisher
Confirm it is a first edition and not an anthology, reprint, or translation
Thoroughly proofread and edit the work, and prepare submission materials (author information, summary, promotional materials)
Correctly select the applicable language and category (English/French, poetry/children's literature, etc.)

Don''ts

Do not submit self-published or digital-only works
Do not submit anthologies, reprints, or translations
Do not attempt to submit individually without the publisher (follow entry rules)
Do not miss the application period or deadline