OLA offers 7 reading programs that encourages people of all ages in their love of reading.  All Ontarians/Canadians are invited to participate via their local public or school library. More than 250,000 readers across Canada, mainly Ontario, participate each year. The culmination of the program is an amazing two-day awards event attended by more than 8,000 guests and all of the nominated authors/illustrators called the ‘Festival of Trees™’.
How the Forest of Reading® began

What are the Forest® Award Programs?

Programs are designed for various age ranges as follows (select each link to get more detail about the program):

For younger readers:
Blue Spruce™Awards Reading Program (primary–grade 2 picture books)
Silver Birch® Awards Reading Program (grades 3–6 fiction, non-fiction)
Silver Birch Express™ Awards Reading Program (grades 3–4 fiction, non-fiction)
Red Maple™ Awards Reading Program (grades 7–8 fiction, non-fiction)
White Pine™ Awards Reading Program (high school fiction)
Le Prix Tamarack™ (french fiction, non-fiction grades 3–6)

For Adults:
Golden Oak™ Awards Reading Program (adults learning to read; ESL, fiction)
Evergreen™ Award Reading Program (adults of any age, fiction)

For each program, readers are encouraged to read all or a selection of the books, and then vote on their favourite.

What books are part of the Forest®?

This program celebrates Canadian books and author/illustrators.  Titles selects must be written by a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant. They must be commercially available in Canada. In the case of anthologies, the editor should be a Canadian citizen or resident and the inclusions should be primarily by Canadian writers. Each year upwards of thirty practicing librarians and teacher librarians are expected to read all books sent in by the publishers and select the top 10 titles for each category.

Books are available from participating school and public libraries

When does the program start each year?

The programs for younger readers commence November each year and close with voting day in late April.

Golden Oak commences in October and closes voting day in May.

Evergreen commences February and closes voting day in October during Ontario Public Library Week.

How do I participate?

School and Public libraries register their site for a nominal fee. The fee includes provision of all tools and tips provided via a web site needed to run a successful and fun program with their patrons. The site also includes the voting kit. If you are an individual wishing to participate – check with your local school or public library to find out if they have the program.If not please contact us at olaprograms@accessola.com to register yourself and/or your young child or adult reader.

If you work in a library and would like to offer the program, select each program link above to get more detailed information about participating.

How do I volunteer for the Program?

Each year, OLA seeks members for our selection, steering, and festival committee, in addition to volunteers needed to help out on site at the Festival of Trees™. Information about what is involved is available on our main Forest of Reading page. OLA issues a call for volunteers through its various member e-mail lists. Committee Application Form

How do publisher and authors participate?

Complete information for publishers/authors is available  here.

OLA’s Forest of Reading® official wholesaler is S & B Books

For authors/illustrators and publishers, the exposure to your wonderful books is immense. Each year we work closely with nominated authors/illustrators and their publisher to ensure participation at the Festival of Trees™. The Festival is the single largest literary event in Canada that authors/illustrators will experience for their work.  Winning authors/illustrators are also invited to be part of the annual OLA Super Conference, Canada’s largest conference for those working in the library field.

About the Festival of Trees™

The Festival of Trees™ is Canada’s largest literary event for younger readers.
The 5 programs geared towards readers in elementary and secondary school culminate in a two day blockbuster award event held in May at Toronto’s Harbourfront in conjunction with Authors at Harbourfront Centre. This event is attended by more than 8,000 young readers over two days. In addition to the award presentations featuring the nominated authors, the days are packed with fun and engaging activities. Tickets go on sale in January each year and can be purchased from the Harbourfront box office:
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/

2010 Festival of Trees™ information