Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers

What Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers does

CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers) is a registered Canadian charitable organization and national arts service body, founded in 1977, that supports children's book creators in the craft and business of making books for young people. It serves two membership tiers: 400+ traditionally published professional Members ($90 CAD/year) and 600+ associate Friends ($50 CAD/year), including unpublished, self-published, and aspiring creators as well as educators, librarians, publishers, and journalists. Programs include the annual Packaging Your Imagination conference in Toronto, the biennial Prairie Horizons conference in Saskatchewan, monthly Zoom membership meetings with expert speakers, the Writing for Children Competition (Canada's largest competition for unpublished children's writers, with 650+ entries recorded for 2025), Blue Pencil manuscript and portfolio evaluations, online critique groups, retreats, and socials, plus a quarterly newsletter and a member directory used by schools and libraries to book author/illustrator visits.

The organization's technology stack is conventional rather than differentiated: it operates on the Wild Apricot membership management platform for website, member directory, event registration, and member communications, with social presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky. No proprietary software, mobile app, API, or AI/ML capability is disclosed; digital offerings such as BookFlap (interviews, mini master classes, podcasts) are human-curated content.

Revenue is generated from five streams: annual membership dues (subscription), Writing for Children Competition entry fees (pay-as-you-go), conference registration fees (pay-as-you-go), tax-deductible donations (over $10), and a $25 Blue Pencil administration fee. Operating expenditures are underwritten in part by institutional funders including Canada Council for the Arts (major), Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Access Copyright Foundation, and the Peter and Eleanor Daniels Charitable Foundation. No revenue figures are publicly disclosed. CANSCAIP has no parent company, subsidiaries, or private equity/venture capital backing; governance rests with a volunteer board of directors and one paid Administrative Director, with the organization marking its 50th anniversary in 2027.

Name

Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers

Legal name

Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers

Website

https://canscaip.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CANSCAIP is a Canadian registered charity founded in 1977 that supports children's book creators nationwide through 400+ professional Members and 600+ Friends, offering conferences, the Writing for Children Competition, monthly meetings, manuscript evaluations, and a school-visit directory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Service Organization

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Educational Support Services (611710), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Literature & Book Clubs / Guided Reading Groups (EDAMAJAG)

Keywords

• Children's literature services
• Author professional development
• Writing competition programs
• Arts service organization
• Creator community networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from Members ($90 CDN/year) and Friends ($50 CDN/year) provide core operational revenue. Members are traditionally published authors, illustrators, and performers; Friends include unpublished, self-published, aspiring writers, teachers, librarians, publishers, and journalists.
2. Writing for Children Competition Entry Fees: Entry fees for Canada's largest competition for unpublished children's writers. Friends pay $40/1, $70/2, or $90/3 entries; Non-members pay $50/1, $85/2, or $105/3 entries. The competition generates revenue while fulfilling the organization's mission to discover emerging writers.
3. Conference Registration Fees: Revenue from the annual Packaging Your Imagination conference (Members $225, Non-members $250 for in-person) and bi-annual Prairie Horizons conference. Conferences include optional One-to-One manuscript/portfolio evaluations for additional fees.
4. Donations: As a registered charitable organization, CANSCAIP accepts tax-deductible donations over $10. Donations from members, volunteers, patrons, and sponsors support the organization's activities.
5. Blue Pencil Evaluation Administration Fee: $25 administration fee for access to the Blue Pencil Evaluation Program directory, which connects Members and Friends with traditionally published Member evaluators for manuscript and portfolio reviews.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CANSCAIP is a national arts service organization that supports children's book creators across Canada through annual membership subscriptions. It delivers professional development via the annual Packaging Your Imagination conference and biennial Prairie Horizons conference, administers the Writing for Children Competition for unpublished writers, and offers member benefits including monthly expert-speaker meetings, Blue Pencil manuscript evaluations, critique groups, and a member directory connecting creators with schools and libraries.

Product overview

CANSCAIP is a national arts service organization offering a portfolio of programs and services supporting children's book creators in Canada. The organization provides professional development through its annual Packaging Your Imagination Conference and biennial Prairie Horizons Conference; operates the Writing for Children Competition as Canada's largest competition for unpublished children's writers; and delivers membership benefits including Monthly Membership Meetings with expert speakers, Blue Pencil Evaluations, Online Critique Groups, and Socials. The organization publishes a quarterly Newsletter and maintains a Member Directory of traditionally published authors, illustrators, and performers available for School & Library Visits. Additional resources include Publishing Related guidance, BookFlap educational content, and Online Retreats. Together these offerings form a comprehensive ecosystem supporting the craft and business of creating books for young people.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Packaging Your Imagination Conference Annual professional development conference for children's book creators, held in Toronto for over 40 years, offering sessions on craft, business, and networking with in-person, livestream, and recorded options.
• Writing for Children Competition Canada's largest competition for unpublished children's writers, offering cash prizes, written evaluations, and manuscript submissions to Annick Press, Kids Can Press, and Scholastic Canada.
• Prairie Horizons Conference Biennial professional development conference held in Saskatchewan for children's book creators, featuring sessions and networking opportunities.
• Monthly Membership Meetings Virtual meetings via Zoom held on the second Wednesday of each month featuring expert speakers on the craft or business of book creation for Members and Friends.
• Blue Pencil Evaluations Manuscript and illustration portfolio evaluation program where traditionally published Members provide professional feedback for a $25 administration fee.
• School & Library Visits Program Program connecting schools and libraries with CANSCAIP members for author, illustrator, and performer presentations, with a suggested minimum of $300 plus GST/HST for presentations up to one hour.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 650 entries received for the 2025 Writing for Children Competition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Toronto Public LibrarysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerToronto Public Library is listed as a partner/sponsor supporting CANSCAIP's work. The partnership contributes to literacy and children's literature programming in Canada's largest city.
• Writers' Union of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Writers' Union of Canada initiated the Writing for Children Competition in 1996, and CANSCAIP has administered the Competition annually since 2014. TWUC also operates Writers-in-the-Schools programs that are referenced as subsidies for school visits.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Penguin Random House Canada: Penguin Random House Canada is one of Canada's largest trade publishers and a major employer of children's book creators. It is an ecosystem participant that purchases content from Canadian creators (including CANSCAIP members) and runs its own creator-engagement programs, positioning it as a customer/funder rather than a direct peer.
• Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP): ACP is the national trade association for Canadian book publishers. It is adjacent to CANSCAIP because several of CANSCAIP's competition partners (Annick Press, Kids Can Press, Scholastic Canada) are ACP members, but ACP serves publishers rather than creators, making it an ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor.
• Toronto Public Library (Literacy Services): Toronto Public Library is a documented CANSCAIP partner/sponsor and is the primary channel through which CANSCAIP members conduct school and library visits. It serves as an institutional customer/distribution channel rather than a direct competitor, but its literacy programming overlaps with CANSCAIP's mission.

Direct peers

• IBBY Canada: IBBY Canada is the Canadian national section of the International Board on Books for Young People, dedicated to children's literature. It overlaps with CANSCAIP in its Canadian children's book focus but emphasizes international exchange and translation rather than direct creator professional development.
• Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC): CCBC is a Canadian national organization supporting children's books in Canada through book awards, author/illustrator resources, and educational programming. It overlaps with CANSCAIP in audience and mission but focuses more on book promotion and awards rather than creator professional development.
• The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC): TWUC is a national arts service organization for Canadian book creators and is a documented strategic partner of CANSCAIP (it founded the Writing for Children Competition in 1996 and transferred administration to CANSCAIP in 2014). It addresses professional writers across genres, including children, and competes for some of the same member audience.
• Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI): SCBWI is the largest international organization for children's book creators worldwide, with a mission, member-benefit structure (conferences, critique groups, bulletin, awards), and audience directly comparable to CANSCAIP. It is the most direct functional peer, differing primarily in geographic scope (global vs. Canadian).

Regional players

• Storytellers of Canada / Conteurs du Canada: Storytellers of Canada is a national Canadian organization supporting the storytelling and oral performance tradition, historically overlapping with CANSCAIP's now-diminished performer membership segment. It is similar in membership-organization model but focused on live storytelling rather than book creation.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Authors Association (CAA): CAA is a national arts service organization for Canadian writers across all genres, offering conferences, awards, and community programming. While not focused on children's books, it competes for the broader Canadian creator membership pool and offers overlapping professional development programming.
• Writers' Trust of Canada: Writers' Trust of Canada is a national charitable organization supporting Canadian writers through awards, fellowships, and professional development. It operates broadly across genres (not just children's books) and serves a larger, more well-funded audience than CANSCAIP, making it a broader incumbent in the Canadian writer-support space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/canscaip.official
• Instagraminstagram.com/canscaip/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canscaip

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers