Meet the Canada Reads 2018 contenders

What do a tornado hunter, an actor, a fashion icon,aTV host,and a singer have in common? They're the panellists forCanada Reads 2018.

Over four days, the five defenders will bring their diverse perspectives to this year's theme:One Book to Open Your Eyes.

The contenders and their chosen books are:

• Mozhdah Jamalzadah, defending The Boat People by Sharon Bala
• Tahmoh Penikett, defending American War by Omar El Akkad
• Greg Johnson, defending Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson
• Jeanne Beker, defending Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto
• Jully Black, defending The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

The debates take place March 26-29, 2018.

• Watch the 2018 Canada Reads panellists & authors in conversation with Gill Deacon

Ali Hassan from CBC's Laugh Out Loud will host for the second year in a row.

The debates will air onCBC Radio Oneat 11:05 a.m. ET, CT, MT, PT; 1:05 p.m. in Atlantic Canada; and at 1:35 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador. They will also be livestreamed onCBC Booksat 11 a.m. ET and can be seen on CBC Television at 4 p.m.local time.

Mozhdah JamalzadahdefendsThe Boat People by Sharon Bala

Mozhdah Jamalzadahis a singer and television host. In 2009, sheturned her father's protest poem into the songAfghan Girl. The song became a hit in Afghanistan, where she went on tohost of The Mozhdah Show and becameknown as the"Oprah of Afghanistan," but after receiving threats on her life, she had to return to Canada.

Told through the alternating perspectives of a refugee, his lawyerand a woman tasked with deciding who gets to stay in Canada,The Boat Peopleis the moving story of what happens when a group of Tamil refugees reach Vancouver's shores.

Sharon Balais a St. John's-based short story writer and recipient of the 2017 Writers' Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. The Boat Peopleis her first novel.

• Why Sharon Bala wrote about a refugee trying to make Canada their home

Tahmoh PenikettdefendsAmerican War by Omar El Akkad

Tahmoh Penikett, who grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon,is an actor known for his roles on thetelevision series Battlestar Galactica,Supernatural and Continuum.He's also appearing in the Netflix seriesAltered Carbon and NBC's Taken.

Set in the near future, American Warenvisions a world where government restrictions on fossil fuels have sparked a second Civil War in the United States. Growing up in the midst of this conflict, Sarat Chestnut is shaped by violence and displacement in ways she could never have imagined.

Omar El Akkad is a journalist who has coveredthe war in Afghanistan and the trials at Guantnamo Bay. He is aco-recipient of the2006 National Newspaper Award for Investigations.American Waris his debut novel andwas a finalistfor the 2017 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

• How a bad day at work was the push journalist Omar El Akkad needed to turn to fiction

Greg Johnson defends Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson

Greg Johnson is one of North America's top professional storm-chasers and severe weather experts and the star of the show Tornado Hunters. Selected as one of Canada's top 100 explorers byCanadian Geographic Magazine, he is also an accomplished photographer and public speaker.

Precious Cargo gathers memories from the yearCraig Davidsonspent driving a school bus for children with special needs. In the process, he learns to look at failure differently and comes to understand the meaning of compassion.

Davidson, who grew up inSt. Catharines, Ont., is the author of the short story collection Rust and Boneand the novel Cataract City, which was finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2013. He also pens horror novels under the pseudonym Nick Cutter.

• Craig Davidson discusses hisyear driving a special-needs school bus

Jeanne BekerdefendsForgiveness by Mark Sakamoto

Jeanne Beker has covered styleon and off runways for over 30 years as the host of Fashion Television, as the editor-in-chief of FQ and SIR magazines and as a columnist for The National Post, the Toronto Star, Metro, the Globe and Mail and Post City magazine. She is currently style editor for The Shopping Channel and host of the series Style Matters. She was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2014 and received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in 2016.

Forgivenessis the true story ofMark Sakamoto's grandparents. His maternal grandfather was captured and imprisoned as a prisoner of war in Japan during the Second World War all while his paternal grandmother and her Japanese-Canadian family was interned by their own government in Alberta.

Sakamoto is an entrepreneur, investor and lawyer who has worked in Canadian politics. He is also a memberof the Board of the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

• How Mark Sakamoto's grandparents taught him the true meaning of forgiveness

Jully Black defends The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

R&B singer-songwriter Jully Black has performed at concerts featuring The Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, Celine Dion and more. Her second album, Revival, received a Juno Award in 2008. In 2017,CBC Musicnamed herone of the "25 Greatest Canadian Singers Ever."

In the dystopian world of The Marrow Thieves, climate change has ravaged the Earth and a majority of the world's humans have lost their ability to dream. In North America, Indigenous people are on the run hunted for their bone marrow, which is believed to restore dreams.

Cherie Dimalineis a Georgian BayMtisnovelist.The Marrow Thieves,her fourth novel,won both the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature text and the Kirkus Prize for young readers' literature in 2017. Her other books include The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy and A Gentle Habit.

• The message Cherie Dimaline has for young Indigenous readers

Watch the 2018 Canada Reads panellists & authors in conversation with Gill Deacon

7 years ago

Duration 1:07:45

The Canada Reads defenders and authors took the stage in Toronto to discuss the five books that will be championed on CBC's battle of the books from March 26-29, 2018. Here and Now's Gill Deacon hosted the event in the Glenn Gould Studio.

Canada Reads: 'You never know what's going to happen'

7 years ago

Duration 2:09

The 2018 Canada Reads panellists share a few strategies and discuss their competition style.