This year's CBC Canada Reads theme is "One book to break barriers", so it makes sense that the show's new host is activist and broadcaster Wab Kinew (who also happened to champion last year's winning book, The Orenda by Joseph Boyden).
This morning, Candy Palmater, guest host of CBC's Q, announced the celebrity panellists and their chosen books for the 2015 edition of the popular literary battle.
CBC Canada Reads 2015 panellists and books:
Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival, defending Ru by Kim Thúy (translated by Sheila Fischman)
Craig Kielburger, activist and co-founder of the Free the Children and Me to We foundations, defending The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
Kristin Kreuk, People’s Choice Award winning actress in CW’s Beauty & The Beast, defending Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee
Elaine “Lainey” Lui, etalk reporter and co-host of CTV’s The Social, defending When Everything Feels like the Movies by Raziel Reid
Martha Wainwright, folk-rock singer-songwriter, defending And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier (translated by Rhonda Mullins)
This year’s competition is focused on finding books that challenge stereotypes and change perspectives.
For the first time, the list is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and also includes a young adult fiction title, which has not been featured in any past iterations of Canada Reads.
The competition will consist of four debates of one hour each from March 16-19. The debates will air on CBC Radio One, CBC Books, documentary channel and CBC-TV.
Also new this year is the fact that Indigo Books & Music has come on board as a presenting sponsor. In addition, the publishers of the finalists' books will donate copies to libraries, and the winning publisher will 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.
Pick your favourite finalist and stay up to date throughout the competition by visiting the CBC Canada Reads website!
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