Our Vision
To cultivate a Canada where every young Black creator has the opportunity to be recognized, connected, and empowered to become a leader whose story inspires generations.
The Story Behind the Award
Asaiah Paul
Asaiah In Space: Where Learning Is Out of This World
Asaiah Inspires Series · Published age 7
Author · Age 7 · Ontario, Canada · Founder, Black Child Author Award
"Many people say the sky's the limit, but I say the mind is."
— Asaiah Paul, published author, age 7
Asaiah is a young Canadian author, motivational speaker, visionary and the founder of the National and International Black Child Author Award. Non-verbal as a young child, in the absence of words, he found his voice through what he could build, create, and write with his hands. Months after his final speech and language therapy session, he began writing his first book — at age four. By seven, he was a self-published author. When he looked around at the world of children's publishing, he saw almost no platform celebrating Black children as authors — not just as readers of books, but as the ones writing them-so he created one. His mission is to ensure that every young Black author in Canada and beyond knows that their voice matters, their stories are valuable, and their creativity deserves recognition.
Age 4
Began writing stories months after completing speech therapy
Age 5
Finished writing his first book Asaiah Affirms
Age 6
School creative writing project, Asaiah In Space sparked the Asaiah Inspires Series
Age 7
Self-published Asaiah In Space — his debut book
Now
Founding the world's first award for Black child authors
