CBC Radio One reveals CANADA READS 2010 lineup

The country's "Battle of the Books" is back with panellists Perdita Felicien, Cadence Weapon, Samantha Nutt and more

TORONTO , Dec. 1 /CNW/ - Olympic champion hurdler Perdita Felicien, Vancouver broadcaster Simi Sara, hip hop artist and Edmonton's poet laureate Roland Pemberton (a.k.a. Cadence Weapon), War Child Canada executive director Dr. Samantha Nutt and Montreal author Michel Vézina were today announced as the panellists for the ninth season of CANADA READS.

The Canada Reads debates will air from March 8 to 12, 2010, on CBC Radio One, at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ( 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. NT), and on CBC's digital channel bold, at 6 p.m. ( 7:30 p.m. NT, 3 p.m. PT ). Jian Ghomeshi, host of CBC Radio One's Q, will again moderate.

During the debates, each celebrity panellist defends a work of Canadian fiction of their choice. One by one, the books are voted off until one prevails. The winning title will be announced nationally on Friday, March 12, 2010 .

    
    On this year's CANADA READS:
    -   Perdita Felicien defends Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald
        (Vintage/Random House of Canada)
    -   Simi Sara defends Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott (Freehand Books)
    -   Roland Pemberton (Cadence Weapon) defends Generation X by Douglas
        Coupland (St. Martin's Press/H.B. Fenn and Company, Ltd.)
    -   Dr. Samantha Nutt defends The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy (Douglas &
        McIntyre)
    -   Michel Vézina defends Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner, translated by
        Lazer Lederhendler (Vintage/Random House of Canada)
    

"This year's lineup of books and panellists is one of our most eclectic and compelling to date," said Susan Feldman , executive producer of Literary Programming for CBC Radio. "These five celebrated novels are bound to spark passionate debate from our diverse group of savvy panellists."

CANADA READS continues to host a vibrant and active web community for book lovers at www.cbc.ca/canadareads. The interactive site is the destination for everything you'll need to know about this year's books, authors and panellists, and will feature blogs, podcasts, social media tools and contests in the three months leading up to the broadcast.

Each year, participating publishers donate books to libraries and the publisher of the winning book makes a significant donation to a national adult literacy organization. This year's recipient is Frontier College.

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster, and one of its largest cultural institutions. With 28 services offered on Radio, Television, the Internet, satellite radio, digital audio, as well as through its record and music distribution service and wireless WAP and SMS messaging services, CBC/Radio-Canada is available how, where, and when Canadians want it.

For further information: Charmaine Khan, Jeri Brown, Media Profile, [phone], [email protected], [email protected]