Jury Citation
“Sheree Fitch’s first book of nonsense verse for children, Toes in My Nose, came out in 1987 and she has been a full-time writer ever since. Her second children’s book, Sleeping Dragons All Around, won the 1989 Atlantic Booksellers Choice Award. Since then, she has written 19 books for children — ‘I take my nonsense seriously,’ she says — as well as four books for young adults and two books of poetry. She is also a lifelong advocate for children’s literacy. In 1998, the United Nations commissioned her book of poetry, called If You Could Wear My Sneakers: A Book About Children’s Rights, which won the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award and Atlantic Canada’s Hackmatac Children’s Choice Award. Fitch is the Honorary Patron of the Literary Coalition of New Brunswick, and the Honorary Spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Read to Me program. She has three honorary doctorates and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her books, both for children and adults, are exuberant, joyful, and wise, which aptly describes the author herself.” —2025 Matt Cohen Award committee (Patsy Aldana, Michelle Good, Wayne Grady, and Hal Wake)
