The Canadian Children’s Book Centre Adds New Prize to Its Established Awards Program: The Richard Allen Chase Memorial Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Toronto (April 23, 2024)—The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is excited to take over the administration of the Richard Allen Chase Memorial Award (RACMA). This award, named in memory of the late Richard Chase, a former teacher-librarian from Lethbridge, Alberta, is awarded annually with a cash prize of $2,500 to a Canadian children’s title written for an elementary school-aged audience in Grades 4-6 (Ages 9-11) exemplifying Richard’s guiding principles of compassion, kindness, humanity, environmentalism, inclusivity, and connection to the land. The prize will be awarded this fall at the CCBC Book Awards in Toronto.

The award was first established in 2022 by the board of the Rocky Mountain Book Award (RMBA) in recognition of Richard’s contributions to Canadian children’s literature and his compassion, patience, and love for all who crossed his path. Richard, along with his wife Alice, spent their teaching careers at Lakeview Elementary School, in Lethbridge, Alberta, whose library now bears Richard’s name. As a founding member of the Lethbridge Children’s Literature Roundtable and the RMBA, and through his work with the CCBC’s Canadian Children’s Book Week, Richard’s name became synonymous with the promotion of exemplary Canadian children’s literature.  

Ruth McMahon, Library and Learning Commons Facilitator at Winston Churchill High School and Richard’s friend and past colleague at the Lethbridge Children’s Literature Roundtable and the RMBA, shared: “Edith Wharton is quoted as saying: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”  Richard was the mirror, tirelessly reflecting the light of the creators and publishers of Canadian children’s literature.  The parallel goals of CCBC, promoting and celebrating literature for Canadian youth, makes CCBC the perfect host for this award in honour of Richard.”   

When the RACMA was first established, the board of the RMBA and Richard’s wife Alice pledged to make this a national award. The CCBC is proud to fulfill this pledge. “The CCBC is thrilled to be the new home for the Richard Allen Chase Memorial Award,” says Stephanie Wells, Executive Director of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. “Richard was a long-time friend and supporter of the CCBC and we are honoured to be entrusted with bestowing this award as part of his legacy and in support of Canadian authors and illustrators.”  

The call for submissions is now open. For more details, visit bookcentre.ca/racma-2024. The deadline to submit is May 10, 2024. 

For more information, please contact: 

Stephanie Wells
Executive Director  
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
416 975-0010 ext. 1
stephanie@bookcentre.ca

About the Canadian Children’s Book Centre 

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national, not‐for‐profit organization founded in 1976. We are dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for young readers. Our programs, publications, and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents select the very best for young readers. For more information, please visit bookcentre.ca. To support our work, please visit: bookcentre.ca/donate.

About the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards Program

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre administers nine awards, all of which celebrate excellence in Canadian children’s books. In total, $171,000 in prize money will be awarded in 2024 for achievement in middle-grade and teen fiction, historical fiction, picture books, youth poetry, as well as science fiction and fantasy. For more information about the awards program and award sponsors, please visit bookcentre.ca/awards.