We couldn’t be more thrilled with the Canada Reads big reveal!

CNN correspondent Ali Velshi announced that he would defend Terry Fallis’ The Best Laid Plans!

“This is a funny book that could only have been written by someone with firsthand knowledge of politics in Canada, including its occasionally absurd side. This is a great read for anyone thinking of running for office, and especially reassuring for those who have decided not to” - The Hon. Allan Rock, former Justice Minister and Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations

Corner Gas star Lorne Cardinal announced that he will defend Carol Sheild’s Unless!

“Unless” is a signal word, curious, a warning and a sign. As this is a signal novel, profound and resonant, written with the virtuosity and understated brilliance that is distinctive to Carol Shields. Quite simply, Unless is a masterpiece. Brava! Brava!” — The Ottawa Citizen

Decorating guru Debbie Travis announced that she will defend Ami McKay’s The Birth House!

“From the beginning of Ami McKay’s debut novel, The Birth House, we know we’re in for a bit of magic…. The Birth House is compelling and lively, beautifully conjuring a close-knit community and reminding us, as Dora notes, that the miracle happens not in birth but in the love that follows.”

—The Globe and Mail

We were also pleased to hear that Essex County by Jeff Lemire will be championed by Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara. Athlete and activist Georges Laroque chose The Bone Cage to round out the top 5. You can follow all the Canada Reads action on CBC.ca

We can’t wait for the debates to air in March. Happy reading, Canada!

I love my job because I’m always getting to do something new and exciting. My newest project is coordinating our very first Literary Live Blog, which you can catch on Monday, November 10 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Authors, publishers and editors will converse from their keyboards, with moderated comments from readers. Participants include:

Doug Pepper, President and Publisher, McClelland & Stewart
Martha Kanya-Forstner, Editorial Director, Doubleday Canada
Nino Ricci, author of The Origin of Species
Vincent Lam, author of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
Doug Hunter, author of God’s Mercies
Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans

Discussion topics will include:

- getting published
- the importance of authors and editors working together
- the impact of winning a major literary award

Want to join in? No need to get dressed up, or call a cab. Just click here on Monday at 11:30.

Appearing at readings and writers’ festivals is still a new and wondrous experience for me, as is bearing the surreal label of “writer.” If you’d have told me six months ago that this weekend I’d be reading, and on a panel, as a “writer”, at the Ottawa International Writers Festival, I’d have suggested reassessing your medication. Yet here I am.

I arrived in Ottawa by train on Saturday and met fellow writer and panelist Stephen Henighan, author of The Afterlife of Culture. Good guy. Smart guy. We checked in at the Delta and then headed over to the National Archives building a couple of blocks away on Wellington Street where the festival has been unfolding all week. We made it in time for a reading and discussion with prolific writer Bill Gaston, award-winning novelist David Bergen, and the much celebrated author Rawi Hage, recent recipient of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. What a line-up! These wonderful writers read powerful pages from their new novels. To coin a phrase, “the audience was listening.”

After the session, Stephen and I helped ourselves to some dinner laid on for festival staff and authors. I learned that tofu can actually look exactly like beef bourguignon and I was reminded why I remain an inveterate meat-eater. Did the tofu taste like beef? Not so much.

I’m looking forward to our panel discussion on Sunday afternoon. Stephen Henighan, the aforementioned Bill Gaston and I will each read from our books, and then we’ll be led in discussion by award-winning novelist Sarah Dearing on the current state of Canadian literature. Yikes! I expect I’ll be doing a lot of sage head-nodding punctuated by the odd “agreed” and “exactly.” A friend has also suggested that I consider “steepling” my fingers in a thoughtful pose. Good advice. Stay tuned.