2020 was a year like no other. As we start 2021 and look forward to the 20th edition of Canada Reads, we are reminded that books can be a safe place to go when times are tough. Whether you’re reading to escape your daily cares, to explore new perspectives or simply to lift your spirits, these stories of perseverance, discovery and resilience will transport you across Canada, around the world and to worlds beyond.
The 2021 longlist is:
- Yiddish for Pirates by Gary Barwin
- All Together Now by Alan Doyle
- Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi
- Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renée Lavoie, translated by Arielle Aaronson
- Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee
- Dirty Birds by Morgan Murray
- The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill
- The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk
- Tatouine by Jean-Christophe Réhel, translated by Katherine Hastings and Peter McCambridge
- Thunder Through My Veins by Gregory Scofield
- Wendy, Master of Art by Walter Scott
- You Are Eating An Orange. You Are Naked. by Sheung-King
- Tilly and the Crazy Eights by Monique Gray Smith
- Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
- Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
The panellists and the books they choose to champion will be revealed on Jan. 14, 2021.
The debates will take place March 8-11, 2021.
They will be hosted by Ali Hassan and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC TV, CBC Gem and on CBC Books.