Carmen Aguirre wins CBC Canada Reads

Carmen Aguirre came out victorious at this year’s CBC Canada Reads. The B.C.-based author and playwright’s memoir, Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter (Douglas & McIntyre), about growing up in the underground among South American revolutionaries during the 1970s, beat out Ken Dryden’s The Game (Wiley Canada), the former Habs goalie’s recollections of pro hockey and a very different version of the ’70s.

Something Fierce defender Shad had his work cut out for him, winning three votes to two against The Game’s champion, Alan Thicke, Thursday morning at the CBC studios in Toronto. The hip-hop artist was backed by Arlene Dickinson and Anne-France Goldwater (one of the rare instances when these two panelists agreed), while Thicke was seconded by Stacey McKenzie. The final showdown proved to be one of the tamest panels yet in a contest that included allegations of lying, bullying, terrorism, and lots of tears (we’re looking at you, Stacey).

Aguirre, who is currently touring her one-woman show, Blue Box, called into the studio from Ottawa after she heard the news. “It was a very interesting week for me because I’m alone in Ottawa right now,” she said. “I’d had to go every night to do my 80-minute monologue and then not sleep at night because I was waiting to see what will happen the next morning, but I’ve had a lot of virtual support.”

The Game and Something Fierce (a Q&Q Book of the Year for 2011), were the last titles standing after one by one panelists voted off Dave Bidini’s On a Cold Road (McClelland & Stewart), John Vaillant’s The Tiger (Vintage Canada), and Marina Nemat’s Prisoner of Tehran (Penguin Canada).

D&M is preparing for the expected increase in sales, often referred to as the “Canada Reads effect,” with a reprint of the book. As part of its participation in the contest, the publisher will make a financial donation to Frontier College’s Aboriginal Literacy Program.

Something Fierce will be released in the U.S. in August.

BookNet bestsellers: Canadian non-fiction

Even though Marina Nemat’s Prisoner of Tehran was voted off CBC Canada Reads today, it still charts on this week’s Canadian non-fiction bestsellers’ list. For the two weeks ending Jan. 29:

1. The Looneyspoons Collection, Janet and Greta Podleski
(Granet Publishing, $34.95 pa, 9780968063156)

2. The Wealthy Barber Returns, David Chilton
(Financial Awareness Corporation, $19.95 pa, 9780968394748)

3. Meals that Heal Inflammation, Julie Daniluk
(Random House Canada, $29.95 pa, 9780307359988)

4. Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood, Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming
(Whitecap, $29.95 pa, 9781552859940)

5. Retirement’s Harsh New Realities, Gordon Pape
(Penguin Canada, $24 pa, 9780143179221)

6. It’s Your Money, Gail Vaz-Oxlade
(HarperCollins Canada, $21.99 pa, 9781554688678)

7. Debt-Free Forever, Gail Vaz-Oxlade
(HarperCollins Canada, $21.99 pa, 9781554685912)

8. The Book of Awesome, Neil Pasricha
(Berkley/Penguin $17.50 pa, 9780425238905)

9. Maya, Justin Jennings
(Royal Ontario Museum Press, $5.05 pa, 9780888544872)

10. The Supercharged Hormone Diet, Natasha Turner
(Random House Canada, $32 cl, 9780307356512)

11. Lynn Crawford’s Pitchin’ In, Lynn Crawford
(Viking Canada, $37 cl, 9780670065936)

12. Canadian Living: The One-Dish Collection
(Trancontinental Books, $26.95 pa, 9780981393896)

13. The Tiger, John Vaillant
(Vintage Canada, $22 pa, 9780307397157)

14. Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen, Michael Smith
(Penguin Canada, $32 pa, 9780143177630)

15. Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat
(Penguin Canada, $18 pa, 9780143052173)

16. Money-Smart Kids, Gail Vaz-Oxlade
(HarperCollins Canada, $6.99 pa, 978-1443412292)

17. Cold Hard Truth, Kevin O’Leary
(Doubleday Canada, $29.95 cl, 9780385671743)

18. The Ice Pilots, Michael Vlessides
(Douglas & McIntyre, $21.95 pa, 9781553659396)

19. Never Too Late, Gail Vaz-Oxlade
(HarperCollins Canada, $21.99 pa, 9781554688685)

20. Persuasion, Arlene Dickinson
(HarperCollins Canada, $32.99 cl, 9781443405966)

Canadian literary event roundup: Feb. 3-9

It’s another busy week for literary events. Here’s a sample of what’s going on across the country:

• Dinner and reading with Pico Iyer, Grano, Toronto (Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m., $100)
• Ron Stevens signs Much Ado About Squat, McNally Robinson, Winnipeg (Feb. 4, 2:00 p.m., free)
• Debbie Hanlon and Grant Boland sign The Adventures of Gus & Isaac: Backyard Bullies, Chapters, St. John’s (Feb. 4, 1 p.m., free) and Coles (Feb. 5, 1.p.m., free)
• Lorenzo Reading Series presents an evening with Alexander MacLeod, University of New Brunswick, Saint John (Feb. 6, 7 p.m., free)
• Sue Goyette reads from her poetry collection Outskirts, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax (Feb. 7, 7 p.m., free)
• Kathy Dobson, author of With a Closed Fist, speaks about poverty, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie (Feb. 9, 7 p.m., free)
• CBC Canada Reads: True Stories, CBC Broadcast Centre, Toronto (Feb. 6-9, 9a.m., free)
• Susan Dodd discusses her new book, The Ocean Ranger: Remaking the Promise of Oil City, University of King’s College, Halifax (Feb 9., 7 p.m., free)
• David Rotenberg launches his new book, The Placebo Effects, Runnymede Library, Toronto (Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m., free)
• Pivot Readings presents readings with Meira Cook, Dani Couture, and Sarah Pinder, Press Club, Toronto (Feb. 8., 8 p.m.)

Quillblog is looking for photos from literary events across Canada. Send your photos to scflinn@quillandquire.com.

CBC to adapt Terry Fallis title for TV

The CBC’s love affair with The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis continues. On Tuesday, Jian Ghomeshi announced at the CBC Canada Reads launch party that CBC Television will adapt the book into a six-part miniseries.

The Best Laid Plans, which was self-published in 2007 and picked up by McClelland & Stewart after winning the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 2008, was selected as one of CBC Books’ top five Canadian novels of the decade in 2010, and won CBC Canada Reads in 2011.

Peter Moss, who has previously adapted work by Mordecai Richler and Timothy Findley, will direct and produce the series. In a blog post, Fallis writes that he will work with Moss and the creative team as a story consultant, “not so that I can jealously protect my work, but really just to indulge my curiosity about the whole process of adapting a novel to television.” He adds that the project will likely be ready for broadcast in about 18 months. No word yet on casting, but this could be a great way to thank his Canada Reads defender, Ali Velshi.

Slideshow: Introducing the 2012 Canada Reads finalists

If yesterday’s CBC Canada Reads public meet-and-greet in Toronto was any indication, the non-fiction contest, which airs in February 2012, will be a battle fuelled by strong personalities.

Canada Reads host Jian Ghomeshi introduced the five finalists and their defenders to a large lunch-hour crowd in the CBC’s Barbara Frum atrium.

The event ranged from sweet – Marina Nemat’s enthusiastic greeting to her defender Arlene Dickinson (“It’s like meeting a fictional character [from] Jane Austen”) – to the intense, with celebrity lawyer Anne-France Goldwater’s threats to “bust the balls” of her competitors.

Click on the photos for event highlights.

CBC Canada Reads opts for non-fiction lineup

This morning, CBC Books announced that the 2012 edition of its annual book battle, Canada Reads, will focus on non-fiction. Canada Reads: True Stories follows the same format of last year’s 10th anniversary contest by culling its list of contenders from public recommendations and a popular vote. Recommendations are being accepted online over the next three weeks via CBC Books. The longlist will be released Oct. 18, at which point public polls whittle the list down to 10. From there the celebrity panel — to be revealed in November — takes over, selecting five titles to champion over the airwaves in February.

It seems, though, not just any non-fiction fare will cut the mustard. The contest is open to works of memoir, biography, and literary non-fiction only. From CBC Books:

We want stories. Books that are page-turners with captivating narratives, memorable characters and vivid prose. Books so riveting you forget they are non-fiction. Books that introduce readers to a brand new world and bring them wholly into it. While we love the work that Canadian essayists, academics, chefs, decorators and self-help gurus do, those books aren’t quite right. We want the final five to have stories that captivate the country.

Shields, McKay among CBC Canada Reads finalists

CBC Canada Reads host Jian Ghomeshi announced the five finalists this morning, selected from a previous listener-chosen shortlist of 10 titles. Happily, the panelists have mostly avoided the Canada Reads candidates of prior years, which included Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes, Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road. The finalists are:

• Angie Abdou, The Bone Cage (NeWest Press), chosen by former NHL-er Georges Laraque
• Terry Fallis, The Best Laid Plans (McClelland & Stewart), chosen by CNN broadcaster Ali Velshi
• Jeff Lemire, Essex County (Top Shelf), chosen by Sara Quin of rock duo Tegan and Sara
• Ami McKay, The Birth House (Vintage Canada), chosen by design guru Debbie Travis
• Carol Shields, Unless (Vintage Canada), chosen by actor Lorne Cardinal

Martel, Boyden make cut for CBC Canada Reads

This morning, CBC Canada Reads host Jian Ghomeshi announced results of the second round of public voting, which saw a list of 40 titles reduced to a mere 10. At the risk of sounding biased, we have to give a shout-out to our very own staff writer Zoe Whittall, whose debut novel, Bottle Rocket Hearts, made the cut. Hurray Zoe! Check out the list below, or click here for the Canada Reads website.

• Bottle Rocket Hearts, by Zoe Whittall
• Essex County, by Jeff Lemire
• Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
• Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
• The Best Laid Plans, by Terry Fallis
• The Birth House, by Ami McKay
• The Bone Cage, by Angie Abdou
• The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill
• Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden
• Unless, by Carol Shields

CBC Canada Reads announces Top 40

As many of you are doubtless aware, the next CBC Canada Reads competition will be slightly different from past ones, in that the public is being asked to narrow the field of candidates by voting for the 40 essential Canadian novels of the decade. Polling has now closed, and the list of 40 nominees has been revealed. Check out the list below, or click here for the Canada Reads website.

• A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews
• Bottle Rocket Hearts, by Zoe Whittall
• Clara Callan, by Richard B. Wright
• Come, Thou Tortoise, by Jessica Grant
• Conceit, by Mary Novik
• Crow Lake, by Mary Lawson
• Drive-by Saviours, by Chris Benjamin
• Elle, by Douglas Glover
• Essex County, by Jeff Lemire
• Far to Go, by Alison Pick
• February, by Lisa Moore
• Galore, by Michael Crummey
• Heave, by Christy Ann Conlin
• Inside, by Kenneth J. Harvey
• Late Nights on Air, by Elizabeth Hay
• Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
• Lullabies for Little Criminals, by Heather O’Neill
• Moody Food, by Ray Robertson
• Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
• Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
• Room, by Emma Donoghue
• Shelf Monkey, by Corey Redekop
• Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
• Sweetness in the Belly, by Camilla Gibb
• The Best Laid Plans, by Terry Fallis
• The Birth House, by Ami McKay
• The Bishop’s Man, by Linden MacIntyre
• The Bone Cage, by Angie Abdou
• The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill
• The Day the Falls Stood Still, by Cathy Marie Buchanan
• The Fallen, by Stephen Finucan
• The Girls Who Saw Everything, by Sean Dixon
• The Last Crossing, by Guy Vanderhaeghe
• The Stone Carvers, by Jane Urquhart
• The Way the Crow Flies, by Ann-Marie MacDonald
• The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood
• Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden
• Through Black Spruce, by Joseph Boyden
• Twenty-Six, by Leo McKay Jr.
• Unless, by Carol Shields

A new twist on the Canada Reads spin-off trend

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the CBC must be feeling pretty good right now. Just in case you can’t get enough of the various spin-offs of the CBC’s Canada Reads competition – including the National Post’s Canada Also Reads and literary blog Pickle Me This’ Canada Reads Independently – the Keepin’ It Real Book Club has just announced their very own adaptation, called Civilians Read.

However, instead of offering yet another new booklist for readers to take on, Civilians Read uses the original CBC Canada Reads list, with lesser-known book lovers defending each title. The “civilian” panelists include:

• Erin Balser, senior editor for Books@Torontoist, defending Wayson Choy’s The Jade Peony
• Nic Boshart, digital projects co-ordinator for the Association of Canadian Publishers, defending Nicholas Dickner’s Nikolski
• Sarah Labrie, project co-ordinator for the Association of Canadian Publishers, defending Marina Endicott’s Good to a Fault
• Ashleigh Gardner, manager of digital development for Dundurn Press, defending Douglas Coupland’s Generation X
• Natalie St. Pierre, freelance editor and assistant to a literary agent, defending Ann-Marie Macdonald’s Fall On Your Knees

From the Keepin’ It Real Book Club:

We don’t have any training on the radio. We don’t have professional equipment. It’s going to be a little rough and tumble — it’ll likely lack finesse, basic courtesy, and a catchy theme song. But hopefully we’ll also say some smart things, spark some interesting discussion, and determine how weighty the panelist-X factor is.

All discussions will be hosted by Jen Knoch, associate editor at ECW Press and the main blogger at the KIRBC website. The Civilians Read panelists will release one podcast per day starting March 1, leading up to the official Canada Reads debate itself, which runs March 8-12.