The Toronto Book Awards committee is responsible for:
- reading and evaluating books submitted by publishers and authors (usually from 60 to 90 books per year);
- attending committee meetings as scheduled by the chair of the committee;
- selecting the annual shortlist of authors through consensus with other committee members;
- selecting the annual winner through consensus with other committee members;
- advising and making recommendations on improving the Toronto Book Awards;
- attending a reception in September (shortlist announcement) and October (winning announcement)
- acting as hosts for one day at the City of Toronto tent at
The Word On The Street book and magazine festival, held annually in late-September; and
- participating in related events.
Committee members must be qualified voters in the City of Toronto. There are no defined criteria for selection of members. In general, members should have a demonstrated interest and/or experience in literature, books and book publishing. Committee members receive no remuneration.
The Toronto Book Awards committee has five members, who are appointed for two-year terms.
People interested in serving as a Toronto Book Awards committee member can call Toronto Protocol at 416-392-7805.
Toronto Book Awards committee members
The Toronto Book Awards committee is made up of volunteer members Michael Booth, Tina Edan and Kristine Thornley (chair). Two other judges will be added soon to make up the five-member committee.
Michael Booth is a former policy advisor to the Mayor of Toronto on Arts, Culture and Screen-Based industries. A co-founder of Tempest Theatre and former operator of Toronto's Annex Theatre, Michael is a former member of the boards of the Mariposa Folk Foundation, Theatre Museum of Canada and the Bathurst Street Centre for Peace Justice and the Arts. He currently serves on the board of SKETCH and as President of the board of the TRANZAC. A graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in English and History, as a student he toiled in rep cinemas, bookstores and publishing company warehouses. Michael believes you cannot truly love books unless you have unpacked a truck full of them.
Tina Edan is Manager of Leadership Programs at Maytree and a board member with the Toronto Public Library and the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries. She holds an MA in communications from Concordia University and has worked with a variety of non-profit organizations on issues such as diversity, immigrant and refugee narratives, women's rights, anti-racism and poverty. She has served as a juror for the UNHCR-COSTI Refugee Poetry Contest, Ontario Arts Council and Diaspora Dialogues and is an alumnus of the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation at the University of San Francisco. Tina has previously curated the literary stage at Toronto's Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Festival and performed her poetry in Toronto, Vancouver and San Francisco. Her work has been published in TOK: Writing the New Toronto and has appeared in a number of literary installations across Toronto, including the ARCFest Human Rights Festival and Doors Open Toronto. In 2009 she was a finalist in the Toronto Arts Council Foundation's Get Lit! Competition.
Kristine Thornley (chair) is a freelance editor and a member of the Editors' Association of Canada. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in neuroscience and biology. Kristine worked for a number of years at the Wellesley Hospital and then St. Michael’s Hospital before she decided to dedicate herself to her lifelong love of books. She went on to study publishing at Ryerson University and library studies at Memorial University. Through Kristine’s passion for children’s literature, she has volunteered at a children’s library for several years and has organized book fairs and author visits. She is also a member of The Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
