Meet the Canada Reads 2023 contenders

Canada Readsis back! This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to shift your perspective.

The stories we tell, and the way we tell them,can shape how we see ourselves,our communities and the world. This collection of books isan opportunity to broaden ourhorizons, expand our worldview and think differently about the world around us and our place in it.

The 2023 contenders are:

• Jeopardy!super-champMattea Roach champions Ducksby Kate Beaton
• Actor Keegan Connor Tracy champions Greenwoodby Michael Christie
• Bhangra dancer Gurdeep Pandher champions Hotlineby Dimitri Nasrallah
• TikTok creatorTasnim Geedi champions Mexican Gothicby Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Actor Michael Greyeyes champions Station Elevenby Emily St. John Mandel

The debates will take place March 27-30, 2023.

They will be hosted byAli Hassanandwill be broadcast onCBC Radio One,CBC TV,CBC Gem, CBC Listenand onCBC Books.

The debates will take place live at 10:05 a.m. ET (that's an hour earlier than recent years!). You can tune in live or catch a replay on the platform of your choice. You can see all the broadcast details here.

• How to tune in to Canada Reads 2023: Watch, listen or stream the debates

Hassanhasbeen the host ofCanada Readssince 2017.

Hassanis an actor, comedian andhost ofCBCRadio'sLaugh Out Loudand a frequent guest host ofAs it HappensandQ. He can also be seen in his TV roles onDesignated Survivor,Odd Squadandthe CBCshowsSort ofandRun the Burbs.

He recently became an author as well, publishing his comedic memoirIs There Bacon in Heaven?in fall 2022.

• Ali Hassan shares 5 reads that have shaped his life

"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 Hassanin a statement.

If you'd like theCanada Readsbooks in an accessible format,you can find them here.

The five panellists were on CBC Radio'sQto reveal the books they will be championing in the debates.

LISTEN | The Canada Reads 2023 contenders speak with CBC Radio's Q:

Q12:38Canada Reads 2023: Meet your champions!

Canada Reads is back for another round! Join us as this year's line-up of all-star books are revealed alongside their all-star champions.

No stranger to high-level competition, Roach shared their early strategy for the upcoming debates. "I want to read every book twice. I'm kind of halfway through everybody's books at this point. It's important as a reader to get your initial emotional response to a book before you get into the more analytical [question of], 'How am I going to make arguments about this?'," they told Qguest host Talia Schlanger.

Geedi agreed, and added her approach will be to enjoy reading all the books before thinking about her strategy. "I'm trying not to be too critical right now because I want to enjoy the book.I want to see where everybody's coming from and then from there, bring my own thoughts."

Tracy noted that choosing the book she wanted to champion was no easy task. "For me, it really just had to resonate as a book. So when I found Greenwood, it just felt like it hit the sweet spot of being a very Canadian story and a Canadian book and one that was accessible really to everyone."

According to Pandher, it was a process of looking at "many, many titles" and callingon the help of the social media community to decide on his chosen book. "I asked this question on Twitter and Facebook: 'What is your favourite Canadian book?' I got a combined 2200 responses," he said. "I wanted to choose a book which resembles my immigrant life. I know the challenges and hardships and [with] HotlineI felt that it brought similar parallels."

Greyeyesnoted that, as an avid reader, being on Canada Reads is an opportunity to connect with many communities about a love of literature.

"I love science fiction. I love dystopian novels. I'm really coming from a genre perspective and the chance to talk about something I love which is reading and this kind of fiction is a chance I can't turn down."

LISTEN |Canada Readscelebrates 20 years:

Canada Reads1:37:20Canada Reads 20th anniversary special

We're celebrating the great Canadian book debate's 20th anniversary! Host Ali Hassan looks back at some of the most dramatic and unexpected moments in the shows history and speaks with past authors and panellists to find out what their Canada Reads experience means to them.

The year 2023marks the 22nd edition ofCanada Reads.

Canada Readspremiered in 2002. The first winning book wasIn the Skin of a LionbyMichael Ondaatje, whichwas defended by musician Steven Page. In 2021,CBC Booksput together a retrospective to look back at the show's biggest moments and its impact on Canadian literature.

Last year's winnerwas fashion journalist Christian Allaire, who championed the novelFive Little Indiansby Michelle Good.Five Little Indianswould go on to be theNo. 1 bestselling Canadian book at independent bookstoresin2022.

OtherpastCanada ReadswinnersincludeLawrence Hill'sThe Illegal, defended by Olympian Clara Hughes,KimThy'sRu, defended by TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey andLisa Moore'sFebruary, defended by comedian Trent McClellan.

You can see a complete list of past winners and contenders here.

CBC Bookshas launched a Facebook group for those who want to readtheCanada Reads2023books together.You can join the conversation here.

Teachers, bookstores, community groupsand librarians can order aCanada Reads poster here.Teachers will be able tocheck out the resources at Curio.ca to bring Canada Reads into your classroom.

Learn more about theCanada Reads2023 contenders below.

Mattea Roach champions Ducksby Kate Beaton

Ducksis an autobiographical graphic novel that recounts authorKateBeaton'stime spent working in the Alberta oil sands. With the goal of paying off her student loans,Beatonleaves her tight-knit seaside Nova Scotia community and heads west, where she encounters harsh realities, including the everyday trauma that no one discusses.

Duckswas named one ofCBC Books' top Canadian comics of 2022and was alsoone of two Canadian books on Barack Obama's list of favourite books of 2022.

"It is a memoir about a young woman from the East Coast, who went to work in the oil sands. So there's an angle for people from the Maritimes, but I think there are the stories of a lot of other trade workers from Alberta, from other parts of the country represented," Roach said in their30-secondpitch on CBC Radio's Q.

This book is a window into so many critical conversations about the environment, about Indigenous land rights, about the student debt crisis and about gender relations.- Mattea Roach on why Ducks should win Canada Reads 2023

"This book is a window into so many critical conversations about the environment, about Indigenous land rights, about the student debt crisis and about gender relations. So there is an angle for every person to have their perspective shifted in some way."

• Read an excerpt from Ducks now

Kate Beatonis a cartoonist from Nova Scotia who launched her career by publishing the comic stripHark! A Vagrantonline. The sassy historical webcomic gained a following of 500,000 monthly visitors and was eventually turned into a bestselling book.Beaton's success continued with the bookStep Aside, Pops!andtwo children's books,King BabyandThe Princess and the Pony.

• Kate Beaton's affectingDucksdives into the lonely life of labour in Alberta's oil sands

"Going out there, I knew that I wasn't going to have a good time. I knew I wasn't gonna like it, but I knew that I should be grateful for the job I was going to get. The fact that somebody was going to hire me and give me money was the good thing. Back home, they were calling it things like 'money jail,'"Beaton told ShelaghRogers duringan interview onThe Next Chapter.

Going out there, I knew that I wasn't going to have a good time. I knew I wasn't gonna like it, but I knew that I should be grateful for the job I was going to get.- Kate Beaton on working in the Alberta oil sands

"It doesn't evoke asense of enjoyment, right? But I didn't know the details in any way. What I expected was to work for money that I should be grateful to have. And I never expected a corporation to treat me nicely, but I also didn't know exactly what I was stepping into."

LISTEN | Kate Beaton talks to Shelagh Rogers aboutDucks:

The Next Chapter20:51Kate Beaton on Ducks

Kate Beaton talks to Shelagh Rogers about her graphic memoir, Ducks.

Mattea Roach is the most successfulCanadian competitor in Jeopardy! history. In the spring of 2022, they won a record-setting 23 games. They appeared in the 2022 edition of Jeopardy!'s tournament of champions and will star in the Jeopardy! Mastersspin-off.They are also a writer and podcast host. They are originally from Halifax, but currently live in Toronto.

WATCH | Mattea Roach on life after Jeopardy!:

Jeopardy! thrust Mattea Roach into the spotlight, now what?

2 years ago

Duration 10:22

Keegan Connor Tracy champions Greenwoodby Michael Christie

In the novelGreenwood, it's the year 2038 and most of the world has suffered from an environmental collapse. But there is a remote island with 1,000-year-old trees and that's where Jake Greenwood works as a tour guide. The novel takes you back in time as you learn more about Jake, herfamily and how secrets and lies can have an impact for generations.

Greenwoodwason the2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlistandwon the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award (now theCanadian Crime Writing Awards) for best novel.

"It's just a stunning, beautiful book but also it tells the story of a complicated family, something we can all relate to. It spans the country from the Maritimes to the West. It has an exciting chase and a mystery, but also it deals with really timely issues about the environment,"Tracy said in her30-secondpitch on CBC Radio's Q.

It's just a stunning, beautiful book but also it tells the story of a complicated family, something we can all relate to.- Keegan Connor Tracy on why she is championingGreenwood

"It is a cautionary tale about how we have used our natural resources and how we will use them in the future, which is something that I think we really need to face as Canadians."

• Read an excerpt from Greenwood now

Michael Christieis a novelist currently living in Victoria.His 2011 shortstory collectionTheBeggar's Gardenwon the Vancouver Book Award and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. His 2015 novelIf I Fall, If I Diewon the Northern Lit Award and was longlisted for theScotiabank Giller Prize.

• How environmental destruction and family trees inspired Michael Christie's novelGreenwood

"I was thinking of the idea of a bloodline and wanted to complicate the idea of a family tree. The whole book is an extended metaphor of a family tree,"Christie told CBC Books in 2019.

The whole book is an extended metaphor of a family tree.- Michael Christie on Greenwood

"Genealogy isn't a simple story. In my own personal life and experience, families are built much more than they are born. Looking back into your ancestry, all those people have a name and story of their own. There are so many stories to be told in family history so the narrative in the book is structured in that way."

LISTEN | Michael Christie reacts to being on the Canada Reads longlist:

Keegan Connor Tracy is an actor, director and writer from British Columbia. She has starred in the TV show Once Upon a Time as the Blue Fairyand as Belle inDisney's popular Descendents film franchise. She has also appeared in the TV seriesThe Magicians, Bates Motel, Supernatural and the horror film Z. She isthe author of the children's bookThis is a Job for Mommy!Her first short film, the bilingualThe Girl/La Fillewon the Jury President Awardat the Galactic Imaginarium Festival and the Best Indie Short at the Las Vegas Movie Awards.

WATCH |What's it like working with Keegan Connor Tracy?

Alisha Newton on working with Keegan Connor Tracy

10 years ago

Duration 1:45

What's it like to cry on camera? Alisha Newton talks about filming emotional scenes for Heartland, and working with special guest star Keegan Connor Tracy from "Once Upon a Time."

Gurdeep Pandher champions Hotlineby Dimitri Nasrallah

The novel Hotlineis about Muna Heddad, a widow and mother whohas left behind a civil war in Lebanon and is living in Montreal in the 1980s.The only work she can find is as a hotline operator at a weight-loss centre where she fields calls from people responding to ads in magazines or on TV. These strangers have so much to say about their challenges, from marriages gone bad to personal inadequacies. Although her life in Canada is filled with invisible barriers, Muna is privy to her clients' deepest secrets.

Hotlinewaslonglisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prizeand was named one of thebest works of Canadian fiction in 2022 by CBC Books.

"Hotlineshows the struggles of an immigrant family. [Protagonist] Muna and her child arrived in Montreal after fleeing the civil war in Lebanon," Pandher said on Q.

The book explores racism, belonging, loneliness and single parenting, but there's also hope.- Gurdeep Pandher on choosing Hotline for Canada Reads

"She faces barriers in providing basic necessities such as food, money and shelter while working as a hotline operator. Through her voice, she brings hope to the people of Quebec and Canada. The book explores racism, belonging, loneliness and single parenting, but there's also hope. The story is set in the1980s but is as true today as it was then."

• Read an excerpt from Hotline now

Dimitri Nasrallah is a writer from Lebanon. He is the author of novels The Bleeds, Niko and Blackbodying. Nasrallah lives in Montreal and is the fiction editor at Vhicule Press.

• How Dimitri Nasrallah's mother inspired his novelHotline

"Hotlineis loosely inspired by my mother's own story. My parents applied for immigration to Canada. One of the things that ended up moving them further up the list was my parents' French skills, specifically my mother being a French teacher by profession,"Nasrallah told CBC Radio'sLet's Go.

But now I see just how profoundly complicated it is for someone who just arrivedin Canada and in Quebec specifically to navigate their way through thissociety in the first year or two.- Dimitri Nasrallah on how his mother inspired Hotline

"I'm in my mid-40s now, and I find myself in roughly the same space that she was in when she first arrived here. Obviously, I have a much bigger head start because of how long I've lived here, but I understand better now what she had to go through. At the time, I don't think I saw that as clearly. I saw it more from the perspective of this child who was maybe being ignored, who was left to the side. But now I see just how profoundly complicated it is for someone who just arrivedin Canada and in Quebec specifically to navigate their way through thissociety in the first year or two."

LISTEN | Dimitri Nasrallah reacts to being on the Canada Reads longlist:

Gurdeep Pandher is a bhangra dancer, artist and educator who currently lives in an off-grid cabin in Yukon. He is known for creating joyful videos of him dancing in unusual locations, such as in nature and in the winter cold and on the CN Tower. He also uses dance to bring people together and spread the message of joy, positivity and hope. His videos have been seen by millions of people around the world and he has toured Canada, bringing his dancing and inspiring message to communities coast to coast.

WATCH | Gurdeep Pandher dances on a frozen lake:

Gurdeep Pandher is showing us it's never too cold for joy...by Bhangra dancing on a frozen lake

4 years ago

Duration 1:07

In -25 degree Yukon weather, he's giving us all some spirit to help us through winter's final stretch

Tasnim Geedi champions Mexican Gothicby Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothicis a gothic horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. It tells the story ofa young woman named Noemwho is calledby her cousin to saveher from doom in her countryside home, the mysterious and alluring High Place. Noemdoesn't know much about the house, the regionor her cousin's mysterious new husband, but she's determined to do whatever it takes tosolve this mystery and save her cousin.

Mexican Gothicis in development to become a TV series for Hulu.

"Set in 1950s Mexico, this gothic story follows Noem, who leaves her glamorous debutante life to save her cousin from her new European husband in this isolated mansion in the countryside. I believe all Canadians need to read this, because what better way to escape the craziness that is our life than to join Noemin hers?" said Geedi on Q.

This is not just a story about dark family secretsbut the lingering effects of colonialism.- Tasnim Geedion why Mexican Gothic should win Canada Reads

"This is not just a story about dark family secretsbut the lingering effects of colonialism. And Silvia does not waste a single sentence to immerse you in this chilling story, which will have you questioning everybody, including yourself."

• Read an excerpt from MexicanGothic now

Silvia Moreno-Garciais a Canadian author, who was born and raisedin Mexico. She is also the author of the novelsSignal to Noise,Gods of Jade and Shadow,The Beautiful Ones,Velvet Was the Night,Untamed ShoreandThe Daughter of Doctor Moreau.

• Silvia Moreno-Garcia subverts genre expectations with the spooky suspense of her novelMexican Gothic

"The year 1950 seemed just about right, in a Goldilocks kind of way, because women were going to get to vote in 1953 Mexico. So this is just before women get the vote, but it's after the Mexican Revolution. It's this interim period where some things have changed in terms of how women are perceivedand the rights and freedoms that they have,"Moreno-Garcia told Shelagh Rogers onThe Next Chapterin 2020.

The year 1950 seemed just about right, in a Goldilocks kind of way, because women were going to get to vote in 1953 Mexico.- Silvia Moreno-Garcia on setting Mexican Gothic in 1950s Mexico

"But there are still many constraints the view at the time was that the woman, while she may 'waste' her time engaging academic pursuits, ultimately, the final goalis to get married and to have children."

LISTEN | Silvia Moreno-Garcia talks to Shelagh Rogers about Mexican Gothic:

The Next Chapter18:02Silvia Moreno-Garcia on Mexican Gothic

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's novel Mexican Gothic follows an heiress's investigation into her cousin's hasty marriage and mysterious illness.

Tasnim Geedi is a Somali Canadian nursing student who is best known as @groovytas on TikTok, where she posts about her favourite books. She's one of the biggest "BookTok" creators in Canada, with over 100,000 followers, and her content has been liked more than fivemillion times. Geedi lives in Toronto and plans to pursue a career in women's health once she completes her nursing degree.

WATCH | Tasnim Geedi shares her top 10 books of 2022:

Michael Greyeyes champions Station Elevenby Emily St. John Mandel

Station Elevenis a dystopian novel that takes place on an Earthundone by disease, following the interconnected lives of several characters actors,artists and those closest to them before and after the plague.One travels the wasteland performing Shakespearean plays with a troupe, while anotherattempts to build community at an abandoned airport and another amasses followers for a dangerous cause.

Station Elevenwas adapted into a TV series for HBO Max. It can be seen on Crave TV in Canada.

"Station Eleven is an extraordinary journey into the things that hold us together into our dreams and the things so dear to us we cannot leave them behind. The novel follows five incredible characters set against the collapse of civilization," Greyeyestold Qin his 30-second pitch.

Station Eleven is an extraordinary journey into the things that hold us together into our dreams and the things so dear to us we cannot leave them behind.- Michael Greyeyes on Station Eleven

"Written years before the pandemic,Station Elevenimagines a future ravaged by something even worse, and how people so much like us found their way through."

• Read an excerpt from Station Eleven now

Emily St. John Mandel is a bestselling Canadian author currently livingin New York and Los Angeles. Her other novels includeThe Glass Hotel,which was afinalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize,andSea of Tranquilitywhichwasone of two Canadian books on Barack Obama's list of favourite books of 2022.

• Emily St. John Mandel has no idea where she's going... and she's okay with that

"Ithought that it would be a book set in the present day. I knew I wanted to write about the life of an actor. Iwas interested in the idea of what it means to devote your life to your art. I thought it would bea quiet, literary novel about an actor in present-day Canada ...but there was something else that Ihave really been wanting to write about for a while. And that was the awe that Ifeelat this world in which we find ourselves. You read the headlines and,of course, a lot of things about this world are absolutely unspeakable and appalling,"St. John Mandel said in an interview withThe Next Chapterin 2015.

I wanted to write about this extraordinary place and time in which we find ourselves. One way to write about something is to write about its absence.- Emily St. John Mandel on writing Station Eleven

"We are surrounded by a level of infrastructureand technology that at any other point in human history would have seemed absolutely miraculous. I wanted to write about this extraordinary place and time in which we find ourselves. One way to write about something is to write about its absence. I was thinking aboutStation Elevenas a love letter to the modern world, writtenin the form of a requiem."

LISTEN | Emily St. John Mandel on the TV adaptation of Station Eleven:

Michael Greyeyesis aNhiyawactor, choreographer and director fromMuskeg Lake Cree Nation. He can be seen in the filmsWoman Walks Ahead,Wild Indian andBlood Quantum and the TV showsTrue Detective,I Know This Much Is True andRutherford Falls. He won the Canadian Screen Award for best actor in 2021 for his work in Blood Quantum. In 2010, he founded thetransdisciplinary and intercultural performance company Signal Theatre.

LISTEN | Michael Greyeyes reflects on his prolific career:

Unreserved41:46From ballet dancer to zombie slayer: Cree actor Michael Greyeyes on his prolific career

The Plains Cree actor and performer from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan has appeared in more than 50 films and TV shows, ranging from prominent Indigenous leaders like Sitting Bull to Gooch in Dance Me Outside, one of his most well-known roles.