Guess what percentage of kidlit/YA authors are male? The answer is 14%. Why does that matter? Well, given how essential they are as role models in getting boys to read, it’s important that educators and parents know who they are, schools and libraries hire them as presenters, and everyone explores their books.
I’ve just made that easy! Below is a comprehensive list (I hope!) of male Canadian authors for kids and young adults. (Coming soon: similar lists for other countries.) Yes, many female authors write books with a male protagonist. Some (like me) even specialize in “boy books.” And of course male authors like to produce the occasional female-protagonist book. But still, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that males are more likely to write what boys like (the topics, heavy-on-dialogue style, humour, high action, and tendency to spare the reader too many touchy-feely emotions). Then there’s the role-model factor.
Anyway, why not create a list of male authors just so it’s officially out there in the readersphere?
A shout-out to the following websites, from which I built large portions of my list: Cwill-BC, Canscaip, Canadian Children’s Book News, The Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading lists, https://49thshelf.com/ and Authors Booking Service.
“Comfort with reading begins at home, and boys—especially in their preteens, the age where their reading may slump—are all too aware of male versus female role models.” - Jump-Starting Boys: Help Your Reluctant Reader Find Success in School and Life