CBC’s great Canadian book debate, CANADA READS, returns for its 22nd edition, Monday, March 27 through Thursday, March 30. Ali Hassan will host a panel of celebrity advocates championing Canadian books that speak to this year’s theme, “One Book to Shift Your Perspective.” Each day of the competition, one book will be eliminated by the panellists until a winner is declared the must-read book for Canadians in 2023. The CANADA READS 2023 debates will broadcast each day on CBC Radio, with a live stream on CBC Gem, CBC Listen and CBCbooks.ca. The debates will be available later in the day on CBC TV and CBC Gem. Exact broadcast times for the live debates will be available soon on CBCbooks.ca.
The five books to be debated and their champions for CANADA READS 2023 are:
- Ducks (Drawn & Quarterly) by Kate Beaton, to be championed by Canada’s most successful Jeopardy! champion, Mattea Roach.
- Greenwood (McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada) by Michael Christie, to be championed by actor and filmmaker, Keegan Connor Tracy.
- Hotline (Esplanade Books, an imprint of Véhicule Press) by Dimitri Nasrallah, to be championed by Yukon-based, bhangra artist and educator, Gurdeep Pandher.
- Mexican Gothic (Del Ray, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, to be championed by #BookTok (TikTok) content creator and nursing student, Tasnim Geedi.
- Station Eleven (HarperPerennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Canada) by Emily St. John Mandel, to be championed by actor, director, dancer, choreographer, and artistic director, Michael Greyeyes.
Ali Hassan, who stars in the CBC original comedy, Run the Burbs, and hosts CBC Radio’s stand-up comedy show, Laugh Out Loud, returns for his seventh year as host of CANADA READS, moderating the debate between the five panellists, who will champion their chosen Canadian books.
"This year's theme offers a great opportunity for our panellists, and our audience, to widen their thought process and expand their understanding through a willingness to change their minds, and then change them again," said Hassan.
CANADA READS finds new ways each year to raise awareness for a range of Canadian books and authors, and has influenced the way Canadians talk about and consume books. For the past seven years, every CANADA READS finalist has appeared on the Canadian bestseller lists following the announcement of the shortlist, and many titles have spent months on these lists.
For more information, please visit CBCbooks.ca or follow @CBCbooks on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #CanadaReads.
Photos are available here.
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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 also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
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 CBCbooks.ca.
For further information, contact:
Frances Bedford, CBC PR
416-205-7673
