Tradewind Books is a small Canadian publisher of

children’s literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company was founded in 1996 by Michael Katz and Carol Frank, and their titles have since been internationally recognized for their

illustrations An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

, writing, and

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

. They release six to eight publications each year, including picture books, poetry books,

chapter books A chapter book is a Narrative, story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10. Unlike picture books for beginning readers, a chapter book tells the story primarily through prose rather than pictures. Unlike books for advance ...

, and

young adult novels Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

.Fall 2012 & Spring 2013 Catalogue
Tradewind Books. Retrieved 12 December 2012.

History and Mandate

Founded by Michael Katz and Carol Frank in 1996, Tradewind Books has over 100 titles in print. Their current office is located on

Granville Island Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver, under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge. Formerly an industrial ...

. Tradewind Books is committed to promoting multiculturalism in Canada, and frequently publishes books showcasing worldwide points of view. Their books span ethnicities and locations throughout North America, such as

Canadian aboriginals Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, representing roughly 5.0% of the total Canadian population. There are over ...

and Chinese Americans, and around the world, including Egypt, Mexico and the Caribbean. Their titles have been translated into French, German, Portuguese, and Korean.

Distribution

Tradewind Books is distributed by

Fitzhenry & Whiteside Fitzhenry & Whiteside is a Canadian book publishing and distribution company, located in Leaside, Ontario. It publishes trade titles in children's and young adult fiction, textbooks, reference, history, biography, photography, sports and poetry ...

in Canada, Orca Books in the US, Turnaround Publisher Services in the UK, and John Reed Books in Australia. Tradewind has also sold co-edition and translation rights to publishers in various countries, including the US, Mexico, Korea and Portugal.

Awards and recognition

Books and authors published by Tradewind Books have been recognized and awarded around the world. ''Anna Carries Water'', a best selling picture book written by

Olive Senior Olive Marjorie Senior (born 23 December 1941) is a Jamaican poet, novelist, short story and non-fiction writer based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was awarded the Musgrave Gold Medal in 2005 by the Institute of Jamaica for her contribution ...

and illustrated by Laura James, is the recipient of many accolades including a New York Public Library Best Book of 2014. ''A Day With Yayah'', written by Nicola Campbell and illustrated by

Julie Flett Julie Flett is a Cree-Métis author and illustrator, known for her work in children's literature centered around the life and cultures of Indigenous Canadians. Flett is best known for her illustrations in books such as ''Little You,'' and ''When ...

was a finalist for the BC Book Prize in 2018, and was listed as a resource in the BC First Peoples 12 Teacher Resource Guide, created by the First Nations Education Steering Committee. ''Black Dog Dream Dog'', written by Michele Superle and illustrated by Millie Ballance, and ''Honey Cake'', written by Joan Betty Stuchner and illustrated by Cynthia Nugent, both won the Chocolate Lily Award. Another book illustrated by Millie Ballance, ''The Eco Diary of Kiran Singer'', written by Sue Ann Alderson, won the Henry Bergh Children's Book Award (2007). ''The King Has Goat Ears'', written by Katarina Jovanovic and illustrated by

Philippe Béha Philippe Béha (born 1950) is a French Canadian children's book writer and illustrator living in Quebec. He was born in Casablanca to french parents, studied at the and came to Quebec in 1976. He worked as a freelance visual designer for Radio- ...

, won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize (2009

BC Book Prizes The BC Book & Yukon Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia and Yukon writers and publishers. The prizes, as well as the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence, are presented annually at the Lieutena ...

). ''Abby's Birds'', written by Ellen Schwartz and illustrated by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin, won the Elizabeth-Mrazik Cleaver Award for Illustration (2007).Awards & Recognition
Tradewind Books. Retrieved 12 December 2012. In 2012,

Paul Yee Paul Yee (born 1 October 1956) is a Chinese-Canadian historian and writer. He is the author of many books for children, including ''Teach Me to Fly, Skyfighter'', ''The Curses of Third Uncle'', ''Dead Man's Gold'', and ''Ghost Train''—winner of ...

, author of eight titles for Tradewind, was awarded the

Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, colloquially called the Vicky, is given annually at the Writers' Trust Awards to a writer or illustrator whose body of work has been "inspirational to Canadian youth". It is a top honour for ...

by the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada () is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young (Canadian playwright), David Young; the W ...

for his lifetime achievement.Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature

. Retrieved 12 December 2012.

References

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External links

Official Site
Book publishing companies of Canada Companies based in Vancouver