Hosted by Outlook High School in Outlook, Saskatchewan, the winners of the 2025 Willow Awards were announced at the 2026 SaskEnergy Willow Awards Gala earlier today. 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 2025 winners are listed below.
Shining Willow Award
Do Hippos Brush Their Teeth? How Animals Care for Their Bodies, written by Etta Kaner, illustrated by Jenna Piechota (Owlkids Books)
Diamond Willow Award
Plague Thieves, written by Caroline Fernandez (DCB Young Readers)
Snow Willow Award
Simon Sort of Says, written by Erin Bow (Scholastic Canada)
To view the complete list of the upcoming 2026 nominees, click here.
For more information, visit willowawards.ca.