Also revealed are the five titles they will defend in this year’s battle of the books
@cbcbooks#CanadaReads
This morning on Q, CBC Radio One’s energetic daily arts, culture and entertainment program, guest host Candy Palmater announced the CANADA READS: One book to break barriers panelists and their chosen books. The celebrity panellists defending this year’s contenders are: Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival; Craig Kielburger, activist and co-founder of the Free the Children and Me to We foundations; Kristin Kreuk, People’s Choice Award winning actress in CW’s Beauty & The Beast; Elaine “Lainey” Lui, etalk reporter and co-host of CTV’s The Social; and Martha Wainwright, folk-rock singer-songwriter.
This year’s CANADA READS lineup:
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Cameron Bailey defends Ru by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman
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Craig Kielburger defends The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
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Kristin Kreuk defends Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee
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Elaine “Lainey” Lui defends When Everything Feels like the Movies by Raziel Reid
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Martha Wainwright defends And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier , translated by Rhonda Mullins
This year’s battle of the books is about finding one book that challenges stereotypes and changes perspectives. Two fiction, two non-fiction and the show’s first ever young adult title will compete to become the fourteenth winner of CANADA READS.
“I can’t wait to host the debates this year. What the panellists and their chosen books show is a remarkable diversity which is going to allow us to explore topics as far flung as sexuality, religion and aging in different ways,” says CANADA READS 2015 host, and CANADA READS 2014 winner, Wab Kinew.
The panellists will determine Canada’s must-read title for 2015 during four hour-long live debates which will play out in front of audiences in Toronto from March 16-19, 2015. The debates will air on CBC Radio One, CBC Books, documentary channel and CBC-TV.
CBC Books is thrilled to announce that Indigo Books & Music is a presenting sponsor of CANADA READS this year. In addition, this year’s publishers are continuing the CANADA READS tradition of supporting reading by donating the selected books to libraries. The winning publisher will also make a financial donation to Frontier College’s Aboriginal Summer Literacy Camps for First Nation, Métis and Inuit children across Canada, which help address the educational needs of children in remote communities during the summer months.
For videos, interviews and all the latest on CBC’s annual title fight, visit CBC Books. Follow along with all the excitement online at @cbcbooks and hashtag #CanadaReads.
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MORE INFORMATION ON THE BOOKS:
And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier , translated by Rhonda Mullins
In the novel And the Birds Rained Down, three old men are determined to live out their lives on their own terms in backwoods northern Ontario, but their plan is disrupted by death—and the arrival of two unusual women. Jocelyne Saucier’s haunting meditation on aging and identity won eight literary awards in Quebec and is the first Canadian novel to win the prestigious Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie.
The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America is both an idiosyncratic history and a personal meditation on what it means to be “Indian.” Winner of the B.C. National Non-fiction Award and the RBC Taylor Prize, Thomas King’s book is a unique, searing and witty look at everything from first contact to pop culture stereotypes to today’s aboriginal activism.
Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee
Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes begins in Yemen and ends in Toronto, with stops in Beirut, Cairo and Liverpool. Kamal Al-Solaylee’s remarkable first book is both a coming-out story and a memoir of an Arab family whose fortunes are waning. As he trades intolerance for freedom, the author witnesses his once-liberal family taking on the hard-line interpretations of Islam that have reshaped the Middle East and the modern world.
Ru by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman
In spare, luminous prose and vignettes that shift from past to present, Ru traces the journey of a girl who is ousted from her affluent home in Saigon, travels by boat to an overcrowded Malaysian refugee camp and finally settles in Quebec. This debut novel mirrors Kim Thúy’s own experiences. It won the Governor General’s Award for French-language fiction and the Prix du grand public Salon du livre de Montréal.
When Everything Feels like the Movies by Raziel Reid
Raziel Reid’s debut Young Adult book, When Everything Feels like the Movies, is an edgy and unforgettable coming-of-age story. Jude insists on being true to himself - flamboyant, fashion-loving and celebrity-obsessed - even as he faces increasing hostility at home and at school. Inspired by the life of Larry King, a gay high school student from California, the novel won a 2014 Governor General’s Literary Award.
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