CBC’s CANADA READS 2024 concluded today with a live elimination vote, and The Future by Catherine Leroux has been voted Canada’s must-read book for 2024. Over four days of lively debate, moderated by eight-time host Ali Hassan, five celebrity panellists championed their chosen Canadian books that speak to the theme, ‘One Book to Carry Us Forward.’ Each day of the competition, one book was eliminated by the panellists until Leroux’s acclaimed book was crowned the winner, in a broadcast that was available on CBC Radio One, CBC TV, CBC Listen, CBC Gem, CBCBooks.ca, and YouTube.
The winning book’s champion is Montreal-based writer Heather O’Neill, whose own book Lullabies for Little Criminals, won Canada Reads 2007.
The Future by Montreal based-writer, Catherine Leroux, was translated from the original French by Susan Ouriou. The novel is an alternate, dystopian history of Detroit. Its residents deal with pollution, poverty and the legacy of racism — and strange and magical things are happening: children have created their own society in which the trees and burned houses regenerate themselves. It is a richly imagined story of community and a plea for persistence in the face of our uncertain future.
“Winning Canada Reads in a year that deals with the particular theme of the future and how to carry forward is so meaningful to me,” said Catherine Leroux. “In writing this book, disseminating it and meeting readers over the years, I’ve continued to think about the very question that started it all: how do we look towards the future, how do we go forward? I hope that the answers I offer in the book will inspire Canadians all around.”
The CANADA READS 2024 debates took place from March 4–7, 2024. This season, and for the past eight seasons, every CANADA READS finalist has appeared on the Canadian bestseller lists following the announcement of the shortlist, and many titles have spent months on these lists.
The books voted off this week in order of elimination are:
- Meet Me at the Lake (Viking Canada) by Carley Fortune, championed by fashion content creator and model Mirian Njoh.
- Denison Avenue (ECW Press) by Christina Wong (text) and Daniel Innes (art), championed by three-term mayor of Calgary and internationally recognized voice on urban issues Naheed Nenshi.
- Bad Cree (HarperCollins Publishers) by Jessica Johns, championed by former Team Canada athlete and CBC Sports contributor Dallas Soonias.
- Shut Up You’re Pretty (VS. Books, an imprint of Arsenal Pulp Press) by Téa Mutonji, championed by actor and TIFF-proclaimed rising star Kudakwashe Rutendo.
- WINNER: The Future (Biblioasis) by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou, championed by novelist, poet and screenwriter Heather O’Neill.
Catch up on the week’s debates on the free CBC Gem streaming service and CBC Listen.
CANADA READS finds new ways each year to raise awareness for a range of Canadian books and authors, and has influenced the way Canadians talk about and consume books.
