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13 unusual facts about Canada Reads


Anosh Irani

Irani's second novel, The Song of Kahunsha, was chosen as a CBC Book Club One pick, and was selected for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by Donna Morrissey.

Brian Francis

His 2004 novel Fruit was selected for inclusion in the 2009 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by novelist and CBC Radio One personality Jen Sookfong Lee.

De Niro's Game

The novel's French language translation, Parfum de poussière, was translated by Sophie Voillot and won the 2009 edition of Le Combat des livres.

Denis Thériault

It won that year's Prix Anne-Hébert and Prix Quebec-France/Jean-Hamelin, and was the winning title in the 2007 edition of Le Combat des livres.

Essex County Trilogy

The collection won the Alex Award, the Doug Wright Award, and the Joe Shuster Award It was also a 2011 selection for Canada Reads: The Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade.

Gil Adamson

The novel was later selected for the 2009 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by actor Nicholas Campbell.

Heather O'Neill

The novel was subsequently selected for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by singer-songwriter John K. Samson.

Julius Grey

Grey defended La servante écarlate by Margaret Atwood, the French version of The Handmaid's Tale, in the French version of Canada Reads, broadcast on Radio-Canada in 2004.

Marina Endicott

Good to a Fault was selected for the 2010 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads, defended by broadcaster Simi Sara.

Mary Novik

Canada Reads named Conceit one of the Top 40 Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade.

Stephen Finucan

His debut novel, "The Fallen", was chosen as one of CBC Canada Reads Top 40 Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade.

Susan Musgrave

Musgrave defended Al Purdy's collection of poetry Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets: Selected Poems, 1962–1996 in Canada Reads 2006, a nationally broadcast radio "battle of the books" competition.

The Year of the Flood

The novel was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads, where it will be defended by Stephen Lewis.


David Bezmozgis

Natasha and Other Stories was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2007, where it was championed by Steven Page.

Francine Noël

Francine Noël (born 1945 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian writer, whose 2005 work La Femme de ma vie won the 2006 edition of Première Chaîne's Le Combat des livres.

John Vaillant

The book was also selected for the 2012 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads, defended by lawyer and television personality Anne-France Goldwater.

King Leary

It also won the 2008 edition of CBC Radio One's Canada Reads literary competition, in which it was championed by musician and writer Dave Bidini.

Kyrie Kristmanson

She was commissioned to write songs for CBC programs including A Continent Ago, inspired by writer Mavis Gallant, created for Canada Reads.

Lullabies for Little Criminals

The book was chosen for inclusion in the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by musician John K. Samson.

Not Wanted on the Voyage

The novel was selected for inclusion in the 2008 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by actor Zaib Shaikh.

Sheila Fischman

Three of Fischman's translations have been selected for Canada Reads: Next Episode by Hubert Aquin in 2003; Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin in 2005; and The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay in 2008.

The Book of Negroes

Its French translation, titled Aminata, was defended by Thomas Hellman in the 2013 edition of Le Combat des livres, and won that competition as well, becoming the only title to date to have won both the English and French editions of the competition.

The Jade Peony

The book was selected for the 2010 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by academic and activist Samantha Nutt.

The Orenda

The novel was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads, where it will be defended by Wab Kinew.