Thursday, November 25, 2010

ESSEX COUNTY AND CANADA READS 2011!

Some pics from the Canada Reads reception at CBC yesterday! Also a link to an interview in The Windsor Star, my hometown paper.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

ESSEX COUNTY NAMED ONE OF THE TOP FIVE ESSENTIAL CANADIAN BOOKS OF THE DECADE!

Meet the Canada Reads 2011 contenders

November 24, 2010 11:00 AM

Canada Reads unveils 2011 panel, books

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 | 2:59 PM ET Comments12 Recommend46

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.

Monday, November 15, 2010

SWEET TOOTH GOES HORIZONTAL IN FEBRUARY

SWEET TOOTH #18 Written by JEFF LEMIRE Art and cover by JEFF LEMIRE After the explosive conclusion of “Animal Armies,” Jepperd and his new traveling companions begin a long trek north in search of answers in this stand-alone issue. But as the first snowfall of the year hits, mistrust and fear threaten to tear the group apart before they even get started! This story will be presented in a special, horizontal storytelling format. On sale FEBRUARY 2 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US MATURE READERS

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Sweet Tooth Cover Being Auctioned!

The Cover Art for Sweet Tooth #10 will be auctioned tomorrow night at The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto as part of a charity fund-raiser for JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH. Details below. Any non-Toronto residents who are serious about placing a bid on the art contact me via email and we can arrange to place a bid for you and have the work shipped. Bidding will start at 200, but covers generally sell for 1000, so this is a chance to get one for a good price!

JFCY is a non-profit, legal clinic that provides legal assistance, advice and information to low-income children and youth in Toronto and across the province. We pursue the rights of children and youth through outreach and education, community development, policy and law reform, and test case litigation. Since 1978, JFCY has been empowering children and youth to obtain fair and equal access to legal, educational, medical and social resources.

We also run a specialty program, Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS), the only organization in Toronto reaching out to street-involved and homeless youth on their own “turf” – at drop-ins, shelters and health clinics – to make legal information, advice and referrals readily available. SYLS also conducts regular training sessions at some 25 youth agencies to educate the frontline staff who interact with street-involved youth every day.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

ESSEX COUNTY NAMED ONE OF THE TOP TEN ESSENTIAL CANADIAN BOOKS OF THE DECADE!

Meet your Canada Reads Top 10

November 9, 2010 10:30 AM

Our Top 40 is now a Top 10. We asked you to vote for the books you most wanted to see on Canada Reads — the Essential Top 10 Canadian Novels of the Decade, if you will. What you gave us, from the original 40 (which was a fabulous list, by the way, and should keep book clubs across the country rich in options for years to come), is 10 titles that represent the richness and diversity this entire campaign has offered. There are former Canada Reads contenders, a formerly self-published novel, a graphic novel, some titles from big publishers and others from smaller presses. There's a humorous book and a heartbreaking one, and everything in between. We think this list represents what Canada is reading and what Canada wants to read. So without further ado, Canada, meet your Top 10!

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

Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall

Essex County by Jeff Lemire

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

Unless by Carol Shields

It's out of your hands now, Canada. Five of these titles will be selected by our five celebrity panelists to defend during the Canada Reads debates in February. The books and panelists will be revealed on Wednesday, November 24!

In the meantime, we've got the biggest and best contest yet for you! Correctly guess the final five titles and you could win a chance to see the final round of debates and meet Jian Ghomeshi and the panelists! To enter, all you have to do is send in your prediction for the final five using this form. As with every contest, there are rules and regulations, so be sure to read those here! The deadline for the contest is Sunday, November 21, at midnight ET. Jian will randomly draw a name from all the correct entries on November 24. Good luck!

So, what do you think of your Top 10? Any surprises? Who do you think will move on to the final five? Share your thoughts onFacebook, Twitter or in the comments below!

Erin Balser is an associate producer with Canada Reads.