The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (CCSD, now the Deaf Cultural Centre) is the only national cultural organization for Deaf Canadians across Canada. A non-profit organization with a membership of over 450,000 Canadians, CCSD preserves and advances the performing arts, literature, history, visual arts and heritage resources of the Canadian Deaf community. All the authors and illustrators are winners of The Ladder Awards, a competition held for members of the Deaf community. They were selected from across Canada.