Loghan Paylor’s The Cure for Drowning, championed by musician Tegan Quin, won the 2026 CBC Canada Reads. (CBC)
Loghan Paylor’s debut novel The Cure for Drowning has been crowned the winner of CBC Canada Reads.
The novel, published in 2024 by Random House Canada, was named the winning title on April 16, the fourth and final day of the 2026 iteration of the annual battle of the books. The theme for this year’s debate was “one book to build bridges.”
The Cure for Drowning was championed by JUNO-Award winning singer and songwriter Tegan Quin. Set during the Second World War, the book’s love story centres a nonbinary character, and Quin said on Thursday’s debate that she hopes reading the book gives people more compassion for those who are different than them.
“My hope is that people could read this and transcend any bias or ignorance they might have around non-binary people or trans identities or even historical fiction and come out on the other end with a better understanding,” she said. “I don’t expect you to necessarily understand me or walk a mile in my skin, but I hope that at the end of the day, you can still find compassion and love for me.”
Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard, published by Invisible Publishing, which was championed by hockey analyst and podcaster Steve “Dangle” Glynn, was the other finalist featured in the last day of debates.
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