Writers' Trust of Canada
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Celebrating the best writers of books for young people

Vicky Metcalf Award

Highlights

GuidelinesPrize History

Prize

Winner $25,000

Eligibility Criteria

  • Canadian citizen or permanent resident
  • Minimum four published works of literature for young people
  • At least one first-edition title published in the last three years

Questions?

Please contact:
Devon Jackson, Associate Program Director
djackson@writerstrust.com

About the Award

The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People is given annually to the author of an exceptional body of work in children's literature. The winner is selected by a three-member, independent judging panel and is supported by the Metcalf Foundation.

2025 Winner

Julie Flett

Jury Citation

“Rooted in her Cree-Métis identity and languages, Julie Flett has created a body of work that hums with warmth, beauty, and meaning. Her books are spare and graceful, subtle, yet rich with feeling—offering children bilingual storytelling in which Métis and Cree children are seen and heard and, at the same time, opening new worlds in which non-Indigenous children can explore and delight. Flett invites her young readers to slow down, to listen, to notice. Her stories centre family, community, and the natural world, affirming that these ways of knowing and seeing belong at the very heart of Canada’s story.” —2025 Vicky Metcalf jury (Peter Ho, Susan Perren, and Rebecca Thomas)

Jury

2025

There’s nothing like being the author of the first book a kid ever reads or remembers—and all of us remember our favourite children’s book.

– Marthe Jocelyn

2009 Vicky Metcalf Award winner

Sponsor

The goal of the Metcalf Foundation is to enhance the effectiveness of people and organizations working together to help Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy and creative society. Vicky Metcalf created this award in 1963 to stimulate the writing of literature for Canadian children. She held a passion for storytelling and published several children’s books. The prize has been administered by Writers’ Trust since 2002.

Prize Guidelines