Meet the Canada Reads 2011 contenders
Canada Reads unveils 2011 panel, books
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 | 2:59 PM ET
CBC News
Singer Sara Quin will defend graphic novel Essex County by Jeff Lemire. (CBC)CBC's 2011 Canada Reads book panel will for the first time consider a graphic novel, after panellist Sara Quin chose Essex County by Jeff Lemire.
Quin, who is part of the music duo Tegan and Sara, is defending the graphic novel about the trials of a Canadian rural community.
Quin said she knows the graphic novel genre well and believes Essex County can be considered literature because of its "incredible characters and wonderful stories."
"The illustrations are so beautiful and so profound and tell a story all on their own," she said, speaking via video link at a press conference Wednesday.
Canada Reads announced its panellists and their choice of books for 2011 at the press conference.
The other panellists are:
- Actor Lorne Cardinal, who will defend Unless by Carol Shields.
- Former hockey pro Georges Laraque, who will defend The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou.
- TV personality Debbie Travis, who will champion The Birth House by Ami McKay.
- CNN journalist Ali Velshi, who will argue in favour of The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis.
Each of the 2011 panellists chose books from a list of 10 created after Canadians weighed in on the most significant Canadian books of the last 10 years.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/11/24/canada-reads-panel.html#ixzz16EjhktrK
