Award-winning writers and journalists mix it up with debut authors, comics artists, and politicians in the 2012 CBC Canada Reads longlist.
Host Jian Ghomeshi announced the list on CBC Radio’s Q Tuesday morning. Ian Brown and John Valiant, both winners of the B.C. National Award for Non-fiction, made the cut, as well as titles from Ken Dryden, Carmen Aguirre, Chester Brown, and Dave Bidini (who graces the cover of Q&Q‘s November issue).
The longlist includes:
- The Boy in the Moon, Ian Brown (Random House Canada)
- Cockeyed, Ryan Knighton (Penguin Canada)
- The Game, Ken Dryden (John Wiley & Sons Canada)
- Louis Riel, Chester Brown (Drawn & Quarterly)
- On a Cold Road, Dave Bidini (McClelland & Stewart)
- Paris 1919, Margaret MacMillan (Random House)
- Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat (Penguin Canada)
- Shake Hands with the Devil, Roméo Dallaire (Random House Canada)
- Something Fierce, Carmen Aguirre (Douglas & McIntyre)
- The Tiger, John Valiant (Knopf Canada)
The 10 titles were whittled down from a list of 40 by public vote. On air, Ghomeshi estimated 50,000 votes were submitted.
This year Canada Reads focuses entirely on non-fiction, specifically works of memoir, biography, and literary non-fiction. The five finalists will be selected from the longlist by yet-to-be-named celebrity panelists who will choose a title to champion over the airwaves. The shortlist will be announced Nov. 23.