NEWS

IBBY Canada announces the Call for Papers
for the 40th IBBY World Congress

IBBY Canada is delighted to announce that the Call for Papers for the 40th IBBY World Congress in Ottawa will open on June 1, 2025 and close on November 1, 2025.

The Congress theme of “Listening to Each Other’s Voices” will be explored through a curated programme of keynote speakers, workshops, and exhibitions—as well as presentations, roundtables, and poster sessions programmed through an international Call for Papers.

Congress participants are encouraged to submit an oral presentation (maximum 15 minutes), a panel presentation (3-4 papers, 11-15 minutes each, 45 minutes total), a roundtable (a discussion with a moderator and two or more participants), or a poster presentation (a visual display to engage attendees in informal discussion).

The subject matter should relate to the conference theme and at least one of the following topics in children’s and/or YA literature: Disability; BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour); Migrants/Immigrants/Refugees/Citizenship; Mental Health; Gender/Sex/Sexuality; and Sustainability.

The full Call for Papers can be found at
www.ibbycongress2026.org/pages/programme-call-for-papers.

Selected presenters will to join an illustrious and wide-ranging lineup of keynote speakers, including author/illustrator Sydney Smith, the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustrator winner; author David A. Robertson, IBBY Canada’s 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writer nominee; Khodi Dill, author, anti-racism educator, and spoken-word artist; Evelyn Arizpe, Professor of Children’s Literature at University of Glasgow; Fikile Nxumalo, Associate Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto; and Hasmig Chahinian, National Centre for Children’s Literature at the French National Library.

The 40th IBBY World Congress will be held in Ottawa, Ontario from August 6-9, 2026. IBBY Canada looks forward to welcoming the world of children’s books to Canada with over 350 national and international IBBY friends and colleagues visiting Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, for four days of connection, culture, and celebration.

IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People, was founded in 1953. It is a network of organizations in 80 countries committed to bringing books and children together.

IBBY Canada, established in 1980, is a not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to creating a more inclusive and equitable world by connecting children to books that spark the imagination, challenge thinking, and promote friendship and understanding between cultures around the world.

For more information about the 40th IBBY World Congress and to register, please visit
www.ibbycongress2026.org/.

For more information about IBBY Canada, please visit www.ibby-canada.org