The theme of the 15th edition of CBC’s annual title fight will be “Starting Over”
CBC Books announces the Canada Reads 2016 longlist of 15 books, diverse stories that take place across the country and around the globe, in imaginary lands and in the future. Taking on the theme “Starting Over,” the panellists will debate books about transformation and second chances, stories of migrants, immigrants and others who are choosing - or forced - to make major changes in their lives. CBC’s annual battle of the books, now in its 15th year, will take place March 21-24, 2016.
Canada Reads 2014 winner and bestselling author Wab Kinew returns for his second year as host of the debates. Says Kinew, “I’m really happy to be back as host for Canada Reads 2016. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate great Canadian writing in a way that engages a lot of people. This year’s books are really going to present a compelling picture of what today’s Canada looks like in all its multi-faceted glory.”
Canada Reads 2014 winner and bestselling author Wab Kinew returns for his second year as host of the debates. Says Kinew, “I’m really happy to be back as host for Canada Reads 2016. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate great Canadian writing in a way that engages a lot of people. This year’s books are really going to present a compelling picture of what today’s Canada looks like in all its multi-faceted glory.”
The longlisted books are:
● All the Broken Things by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer (Vintage Canada)
● The Amazing Absorbing Boy by Rabindranath Maharaj (Vintage Canada)
● Birdie by Tracey Lindberg (HarperCollins)
● Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz (House of Anansi Press)
● Buying on Time by Antanas Sileika (The Porcupine’s Quill)
● The Hero’s Walk by Anita Rau Badami (Vintage Canada)
● The Illegal by Lawrence Hill (HarperCollins)
● Landing Gear by Kate Pullinger (Anchor Canada)
● Minister Without Portfolio by Michael Winter (Penguin Canada)
● The Outside Circle by by Patti LaBoucane-Benson, illustrated by Kelly Mellings (House of Anansi Press)
● Niko by Dimitri Nasrallah (Esplanade Books/Véhicule Press)
● Sitting Practice by Caroline Adderson (Dundurn Press/Thomas Allen Publishers)
● Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (HarperCollins)
● Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson (McClelland & Stewart/New Canadian Library)
● Sweetland by Michael Crummey (Anchor Canada)
The Canada Reads panel and the final five books will be announced on January 20, 2016. Each year, the shortlisted Canada Reads books see a significant rise in sales, and the winning book stays on bestseller lists for months. In 2015, for the first time, all five shortlisted titles appeared on Canadian bestseller lists in the weeks leading up to the debates.
Notable past winners include Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda, which went on to become the top-selling Canadian book of the year in 2014; 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, a debut novel that became an international bestseller.
The Canada Reads debates will take place in front of live audiences over four days from March 21-24, 2016, and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC TV and online at CBCbooks.ca. Each day of the competition, one book will be eliminated by the panelists, until the winner is chosen as the must-read book for Canadians in 2016. Last year’s winning panelist was Cameron Bailey, defending Ru by Kim Thúy.
For more information, please visit CBCbooks.ca, and follow the campaign on Twitter and Facebook @CBCbooks #CanadaReads.
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About Wab Kinew
Wab Kinew is the author of the national #1 bestseller The Reason You Walk, an inspiring vision for family and cross-cultural reconciliation that opens a wider conversation about the future of Aboriginal peoples. The Reason You Walk is on the longlist for the 2016 RBC Taylor prize for excellence in literary non-fiction.
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 brings together literary enthusiasts to find books they want to read and to connect with other Canadians who love to read and write. 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 and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight aboriginal languages.
A space for us all is CBC/Radio-Canada’s new strategy to modernize the public broadcaster and ensure that it continues to fulfill its mandate for Canadians and for future generations. Through to 2020, it will increase its investment in prime time television programming, and continue to create radio programs of the highest quality, while promoting the development of digital and mobile platforms and content.
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre atcbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC’s publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity.
For further information, contact:
Nicola Makoway
Publicist, CBC Radio
nicola.makoway@cbc.ca
416-205-7673
