Hosted by Ali Hassan, the 2018 Canada Reads debates will be broadcast on CBC across all platforms and live-streamed daily at CBCbooks.ca, March 26 - March 29, 2018
CBC Books has announced a Canada Reads 2018 longlist of 15 books that speak to the theme: One Book to Open Your Eyes. From intimate memoirs to dystopian fiction, the longlisted titles challenge readers to look differently at themselves, their neighbours and the world around them.
CBC Laugh Out Loud’s Ali Hassan returns for his second year as host of Canada Reads, moderating a debate between five high-profile Canadian panellists, whose names will be announced January 30, 2018.
"I'm honoured that CBC invited me to return to the Canada Reads host chair,” said Hassan. “In this day and age, as parts of the world seem hell-bent on reducing and even removing support for literacy and learning, Canada Reads continues to be a terrific stage from which to showcase some of Canada's strongest literary talents and has become one of the most important projects in my career."
The Canada Reads 2018 longlisted books are:
- Saints & Misfits by S.K. Ali (Simon & Schuster)
- The Boat People by Sharon Bala (McClelland & Stewart)
- Suzanne by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, translated by Rhonda Mullins (Coach House Books)
- Brother by David Chariandy (McClelland & Stewart)
- Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote (Arsenal Pulp Press)
- Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson (Knopf Canada)
- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (Dancing Cat Books)
- American War by Omar El Akkad (McClelland & Stewart)
- Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez (Arsenal Pulp Press)
- The Measure of a Man by JJ Lee (McClelland & Stewart)
- Out Standing in the Field by Sandra Perron (Cormorant Books)
- The Clothesline Swing by Ahmad Danny Ramadan (Nightwood Editions)
- Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto (HarperCollins)
- Dance, Gladys, Dance by Cassie Stocks (NeWest Press)
- Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga (House of Anansi Press)
The Canada Reads 2018 panel and the final five books will be announced on January 30, 2018. Each year, the shortlisted Canada Reads books see a significant rise in sales, and the winning book stays on bestseller lists for months. For the past three years, all five shortlisted titles appeared on Canadian bestseller lists in the weeks leading up to the debates.
Notable past winners include Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis, which was defended by spoken word artist and emcee Humble The Poet in 2017; The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis, which began as a self-published book and won Canada Reads in 2011; The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, the 2009 winner, which was broadcast as a mini-series on CBC-TV in early 2015; and 2007’s winner Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill, which became an international bestseller.
CBC Books is proud to announce Rakuten Kobo as the exclusive reading sponsor of Canada Reads 2018. Created in Canada in 2009 to give book lovers the option of reading digitally, Kobo enables readers to enjoy their favourite books whenever they wish and wherever they go.
The Canada Reads debates will take place in front of live audiences over four days from March 26-29, 2018, and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC and online at CBCbooks.ca. Each day of the competition, one book will be eliminated by the panellists, until a winner is voted the must-read book for Canadians in 2018.
For more information, please visit CBCbooks.ca, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @CBCbooks using the hashtag #CanadaReads.
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About Ali Hassan
Ali Hassan is an actor, stand-up comedian, host of CBC Radio's Laugh Out Loud and frequent guest-host of q. CBC viewers may remember him from his season as the lead comedy panellist on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight. He can currently be seen in his recurring roles on Designated Survivor (ABC), Odd Squad (PBS Kids) and Cardinal (CTV). He is currently touring his solo show Muslim Interrupted, having made 16 stops (and counting!) across Canada. www.StandupAli.com
About CBC Books
Home to Canada Reads, Writers & Company with Eleanor Wachtel, The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers, Canada Writes and the CBC Literary Prizes, CBC Books connects Canadians with books, encouraging a shared love of reading and writing. For book news, writing challenges, reading lists, book recommendations and more, visit www.CBCbooks.ca.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Rakuten Kobo Inc.
Owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten and headquartered in Toronto, Rakuten Kobo Inc. is one of the world’s most innovative eReading services offering more than 5 million eBooks and audiobooks to millions of customers in 190 countries. Kobo offers a family of E Ink eReaders, including Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura H2O, and Kobo Aura ONE, as well as free top-ranking eReading apps for the most popular iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. For more information, visit www.kobo.com
For further information, contact:
Nicola Makoway
Publicist, CBC Radio
416-205-7673
