OPLA Best Bets Committee
The Best Bets Committee is a long-standing group with a strong voice in promoting Canadian literature for children and youth. Made up of OLA-member Librarians and Library Technicians working in public libraries, members are actively involved in delivering services to young readers and are passionate about evaluating and promoting Canadian books. The committee’s goals include highlighting excellence in Canadian publishing for the current year, supporting the Canadian publishing industry, raising the profile of Canadian authors and illustrators, and providing educators and library professionals with a valuable resource for collection development and readers’ advisory.
Meetings are held virtually every month, with the exception of July and August. Members discuss and evaluate recent publications by Canadian authors and illustrators suitable for the youngest readers up to young adult. Based on these discussions, the committee produces an annual Best Bets list —annotated recommendations of top Canadian titles—which are released at the OLA Super Conference.
You can reach the Best Bets Committee at olabestbets@gmail.com.
Kara Miley
Co-Chair
Toronto Public Library
Theresa Power
Co-Chair
Centre for Equitable Library Access
Katie Vlanich
Windsor Public Library
Meagan Wilkinson
Orillia Public Library
Margarita Cifuentes
Markham Public Library
Linda Ludke
London Public Library
Melissa DeGiorgio
Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library
Emily Anderson
Essex County Library
Chanel Craigie
Orillia Public Library
Beth McKinlay
Hamilton Public Library
Melissa Macks
OLA Staff Liaison
mmacks@accessola.com
2024 Best Bets List, 2024 Accessible Annotations
2024 Best Bets – Holiday Book Buying
2024 Best Bets – Back To School
2023-Best Bets Book List, 2023 Accessible Annotations
2022-Best Bets Books List, 2022 Annotations, Accessible Annotations
2021-Best Bets Book List, 2021 Annotations
2020- Best Bets Book List, 2020- Annotations
2019-Best Bets Book List, 2019-Annotations
2018-Best Bets Book List, 2018-Annotations
2017-Best Bets Book List, 2017-Annotations
2016-Best Bets-YA, 2016-Best Bets Juvenile
2015-Best Bets-YA, 2015-Best Bets-Children
2014-Best Bets-YA, 2014-Best Bets-Children
2013-Best Bets-YA, 2013-Best Bets-Children
2012-Best Bets-YA, 2012-Best Bets-Children
2011-Best Bets-YA, 2011-OLA Best Bets-Children
2010-Best Bets-YA, 2010-Best Bets-Children
2009-Best Bets-YA, 2009-Best Bets-Children
Submission Guidelines for Best Bets
Eligibility Criteria
Titles that are considered eligible must be:
- Written or illustrated by a Canadian
- A book originally written in English and published for the first time in the calendar year
OR
- The first English translation published in in the calendar year
We recognize an author or illustrator as Canadian if:
- They are a Canadian citizen living in Canada
- They are a Canadian citizen living abroad
- They are not a Canadian citizen; however, they currently live in Canada.
Information on submission process and deadlines
- We ask publishers to send only one physical copy of a book along with e-copies, such as PDFs or EPUBS, to olabestbets@gmail.com for review.
- Include a letter in the shipment and e-mail that lists the titles sent.
- We accept submissions year-round, but recommend sending books as soon as they’re available to give us the most time to read and evaluate them.
- Please note that books sent in late November or December may not receive full consideration due to limited time.
