Toronto, Ontario, September 6th 2011 – Rainbow Caterpillar is proud to launch the Rainbow Caterpillar Award for Writing for Children to support writers who write in their mother languages. The Award will be awarded to the best story written by a Canadian citizen (or resident) in a language other than French or English.
“By encouraging writers to write in their mother language, we want to help create a vibrant literary production for children in foreign languages, but with a uniquely Canadian perspective,” says Happie Testa, co-owner of Rainbow Caterpillar Bookstore.
Submissions are due on October 6th. Guildelines will be available online at Rainbow Caterpillar .
“We hope ultimately this award also helps parents pass their mother language on to their children born or raised in Canada,” says Hanoosh Abbasi, co-owner of Rainbow Caterpillar. “We feel that it is important for parents to have access to good books from their countries of origin, but also to put their ancestral culture in the context of our shared Canadian culture where many people speak more than one language on a daily basis.”
The Award will be presented in conjunction with the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) at the Association’s own 33rd Annual Awards Gala. CEMA is an organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the value to Canada of the ethnic media in creating an understanding of Canada and Canadian citizenship, and the retention of cultural links with countries of origin.
For more information, contact Happie Testa at 647-975-8800 or happie@rainbowcaterpillar.ca.
