The nominees for the 2026 Willow Awards were announced yesterday. Also known as the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Award (SYRCA), the awards promote reading and celebrate Canadian literature. Each year, Saskatchewan children and youth vote for Willow Award recipients from finalists nominated in three award categories.
The three categories were established to encourage participation by all children, regardless of their reading level. The Shining Willow Award is for books written for young readers; the Diamond Willow Award is for books written for upper elementary readers in Grades 4 to 6; and the Snow Willow Award is for books written for readers in Grades 7 and up. The 2026 nominees are listed below.
Shining Willow Nominees
At the Rescue Cat Café, written by Anna Humphrey, illustrated by Kari Rust (Owlkids Books)
Call Me Gray, written by Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen, illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine (Kids Can Press)
Frostfire, written and illustrated by Elly MacKay (Tundra Books)
The Love Song of Mr. Byrd, written by Philippa Dowding, illustrated by Caroline Clarke (DCB Young Readers)
Oma's Bag, written by Michelle Wang, illustrated by Sam Nunez (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Paisley & Peck: Jurassic Farm, written by J. Torres, illustrated by Mike Deas (Owlkids Books)
Raven's Ribbons, written by Tasha Spillet, illustrated by Daniel Ramirez (Owlkids Books)
Rez Kid, written by Andrea Landry, illustrated by Isabella Fassler (Kids Can Press)
Sand Cakes, written by Kallie George, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth (Tundra Books)
Who Needs the Dark? The Many Ways Living Things Depend on Darkness, written by Laura Alary, illustrated by Risa Hugo (Owlkids Books)
Diamond Willow Nominees
After the Wallpaper Music, written by Jean Mills (Pajama Press)
The City of Lost Cats, written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (Tundra Books)
Closer to Far Away, written by Kristin Butcher (Red Deer Press)
Death by Whoopie Cushion, written by Vicki Grant (Tundra Books)
How to Save a Library, written by Colleen Nelson (Pajama Press)
The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey, written by Chad Soon and George Chiang, illustrated by Amy Qi (Orca Book Publishers)
Robot Island, written by Cary Fagan (Tundra Books)
SWAN: The Girl Who Grew, written by Sidura Ludwig (Nimbus Publishing)
Time Surfers, written by Kevin Sylvester (HarperCollins Publishers)
Touching Grass, written by Kristy Jackson, illustrated by Rhael McGregor (HarperCollins Publishers)
Snow Willow Nominees
Among Ghosts, written by Rachel Hartman (Tundra Books)
The End of Always, written by Rebecca Phillips (Second Story Press)
A Fondness for the Reckless: A Ten Past Midnight Story, written by Jennifer Jacoby-Smith (Your Nickel's Worth Publishing)
The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall, written by Charis Cotter (Tundra Books)
Never Stop Skating, written by Jesse A. Murray (Off the Field Publishing)
No Purchase Necessary, written by Maria Marianayagam (HarperCollins Publishers)
Red Flags and Butterflies, written by Sheryl Azzam (DCB Young Readers)
Tig, written by Heather Smith (Tundra Books)
We Bury Nothing, written by Kate Blair (DCB Young Readers)
You Started It, written by Jackie Khalilieh (Tundra Books)
Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2025 Willow Award winners. The SaskEnergy Willow Awards Gala will take place on May 28 at Outlook High School in Outlook, Saskathewan. To revisit the 2025 nominees, click here.
For more information, visit willowawards.ca.