Nominee Visits - Virtual Events
FRANÇAIS
The Forest of Reading offers author visits programming as part of the registration in the program. Regularly offered are the following:
- Virtual Author Visits (20-25 visits/per year)
- French language Virtual Authors Visits (~5 visits/per year)
- Illustrator events with nominated illustrators (4-5 events/per year)
- Read-Alouds by the picture book authors (8-10 per year)
- Special events to celebrate Freedom to Read Week, I Read Canadian Day, OLA’s 125th Anniversary….much more…
*Each year over 40 virtual events are offered as part of your low-fee registration.
Here are the details:
WHAT: Nominee visits with a selection of the the current year nominees.
WHEN: Sessions released on a schedule that will be communicated below as the information becomes available. Sessions are rarely live due to school/library programming hours, but even if live they are always available until June 30th.
TO ACCESS LINKS YOU MUST BE REGISTERED FOR THE FOREST OF READING PROGRAM.
ONCE REGISTERED YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS TO PASSWORD PORTION OF THE SITE.
2026 PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE (released Nov. 15, 2025)
FOREST FRIDAYS – Author visits with Award Nominees – January 23, 2026 release date – Silver Birch Express, Silver Birch Fiction and Red Maple Nominees will participate in Author and Panel workshops that will be released in the New Year.
Illustrator Events with our Forest Illustrators – February 5, 2026 release date – Come draw with our very own Forest of Reading Illustrators! We are excited to bring you two sessions on how to draw your favourite characters. Be sure to have your readers tune in with pencil and paper and have some fun with our amazing nominees! These presentations dates and times will be released in the Fall.
Mercre-LIT: Digital Author Visits – February 11, 2026 release date – French nominees for Le prix Mélèze and Tamarac will be hosting author visits. Come and connect with this years nominees.
White Pine Wednesdays: Author visits & Panel Discussions – February 18, 2026 release date – Our White Pine readers will get up close and personal with the authors of the White Pine Award learning about their craft, their nominated books and how they ended up where they are now.
BLUE SPRUCE READ-ALOUDS – March 11, 2026 release date – Our amazing Blue Spruce nominees are given the option to read their books on video so that you can share with your young readers as you prepare for your voting. This is a great recap of the books and ensures that your young people get a chance to see the authors reading what they love.
Special Event Series – We will be hosting some special events for I Read Canadian, OLA’s 125th Anniversary and Freedom to Read Week 2026 (Feb. 22-28, 2026). IN addition to these events we are partnering with other organizations to bring you amazing content from nominees.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do I need any special software to participate in the virtual nominee visits?
No. All you need to access is the Internet and log on to the password protected portion of the website to get the link. Ensure that you have a computer that has access to the Internet and working computer speakers. However, it is a good idea to test your internet well ahead of the presentation to make sure that your browser is up to date and that you are able to install any plugins that might be required. All live sessions will be over Zoom and all recorded links will be from YouTube.
I’m having tech trouble prior or during a virtual visit – can you help me?
If you are having trouble accessing it or having difficulty with sound, please restart your computer. As some are live there is the ability to use the chat function when you are logged on.
I would like a number of classes in my school to attend an upcoming nominee visit, how can I do that?
You may distribute the link to your classrooms as long as your school is registered, however for the live events you must register multiple times based on how many computer connections (eg. if you have 5 classes logging on, please register 5 times).
When can I expect the link for the virtual nominee visit to be sent to me?
The links are made available on the password portion of the site and the recording will be posted there after the event. They are not sent via email.
Can my readers ask questions to the nominee?
Yes, the readers may ask questions through the chat section during live presentations and the moderator will ask as many is possible in the time that is scheduled for the live events. If your readers would like to send questions for authors that are pre-recorded please email them to the Director of the Forest of Reading, Meredith Tutching at mtutching@accessola.com.
