Here is the Canada Reads 2019 longlist

JAN. 31, 2019 UPDATE: The Canada Reads 2019 books and panellists have been revealed.

The 2019 contenders are:

• Chuck ComeaudefendingHomesbyAbuBakralRabeeahwithWinnieYeung
• Lisa RaydefendingBrotherbyDavidChariandy
• Ziya TongdefendingBy Chance AlonebyMaxEisen
• Yanic TruesdaledefendingSuzannebyAnasBarbeau-Lavalette, translated byRhondaMullins
• Joe ZeedefendingThe Woo-WoobyLindsay Wong

Fifteen books are on theCanada Reads longlist for 2019.

From thought-provoking fictionto inspiring memoirs, this year's longlisted books speak to the theme:One Book To Move You. Spanning separations and reconciliations, wars of the past and present, personal histories and imagined futures, these titles will disturb and disrupt, inspire and incite, and move readers to feel, to think and to act.

The final five booksand their championswill be revealed onJan. 31, 2019.

The debates will take place March 25-28, 2019 and will be hosted by Ali Hassan. The debates will be broadcast onCBC Radio One,CBC TV and online atCBC Books.Ticket information to attend thedebates live will be announced on Jan. 31.

• In Toronto? See the Canada Reads 2019 contenders in conversation at the Toronto Reference Library

The Canada Reads 2019 longlistis:

• HomesbyAbu Bakr al Rabeeah&Winnie Yeung
• Suzanne by Anas Barbeau-Lavalette, translated by Rhonda Mullins
• Brother by David Chariandy
• By Chance Alone by Max Eisen
• Corvus by Harold R.Johnson
• The Boy on the Beach by Tima Kurdi
• That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung
• An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
• Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
• The Crazy Game by Clint Malarchuk, withDan Robson
• Life on the Ground Floor by James Maskalyk
• All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
• This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
• The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by Andrew Westoll
• The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong

Homesby AbuBakralRabeeahwith WinnieYeung

Homesis a memoir ofAbu Bakr alRabeeah's childhood in Iraq and Syria. Just before civil war broke out, the alRabeeahfamily left Iraq for safety inHoms, Syria.alRabeeahwas 10 years old when the violence began in his new home. He remembers attacks on his mosque and school, car bombings and firebombs. Now a high school student in Edmonton, Alta.,al Rabeeahshares his story with writerWinnie Yeungin hopes it will bring greater understanding of Syria.

Homeswas a finalist for the2018 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction.

• Abu Bakr al Rabeeah, teenage refugee from Syria, tells his story with help from his teacher Winnie Yeung

SuzannebyAnasBarbeau-Lavalette, translated by RhondaMullins

An English translation of the celebrated 2015 novel,La femme quifuit,SuzanneisAnasBarbeau-Lavalette'simagined account of the life of her estranged grandmother. A novel that blurs the lines between fact and fiction,Suzannetells the story of more than eight decades of art and political history through its portrait of a conflicted woman and her granddaughter's search for understanding.Barbeau-Lavaletteis a filmmaker and writer who lives in Montreal, Que.

• Anas Barbeau-Lavalette on the question she's tired of answering

Brother by DavidChariandy

David Chariandy'sBrothertakes us inside the lives of the mixed heritage sons of Trinidadian immigrants. Rooted in Chariandy's own experience growing up as a person of colour in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, the novel is a beautiful meditation on discrimination, agency, grief and the power of human relationships. Chariandynow lives in Vancouver, B.C.

Brother won the 2017 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

• How David Chariandy brought his novel Brother to life

By Chance Alone by Max Eisen

When Max Eisen was 15 years old, he and his family were taken from their home to Auschwitz, where Eisen worked as a slave labourer. He survived the Holocaust and emigrated to Canada in 1949.Eisenhas toured the world, educating people about the horrors he survived during the Second World War. He has recorded his memories in the deeply moving memoirBy Chance Alone. Eisen now lives in Toronto,Ont.

By Chance Alonewas a finalist for the 2017 RBC Taylor Prize.

• Max Eisen shares the hardest thing about being a writer

Corvusby Harold R. Johnson

Corvusby Harold R. Johnson is a work of speculative fiction, in which the North American landscapehas been ravaged byflash floods, droughtsand tornadoescausing mass migration and wars to break out in the north. The wealthy inthis new society useOrganic Recreational Vehicles, which immerse them in the perpetual bliss of virtual reality. When two lawyers, George and Lenore,are taken out of their physical and cultural comfort zones, they are forced to change their way of thinking and see the world in a different light. Johnson, who worked as a miner, logger and lawyer before becoming a writer, lives in La Ronge, Sask.

• Harold R. Johnson on why endings are harder to write than beginnings

The Boy on the Beach byTimaKurdi

TimaKurdiis the aunt ofAlan Kurdi, the young Syrian toddler whose body washed up on the Turkish shoreline after he and his family fled the Syrian War. A photo of Alan went viral andTima, who was living in Canada, became a spokesperson for the Syrian refugee crisis. In her memoir, The Boy on the Beach, Kurdi shares her own story. She grew upin Damascus andemigratedto Canada at 22, and theSyrian war and the death of Alan had a profound effect on her and her family.Kurdi provides the human side of a story that hasdominated the news cycle. Kurdinow lives inCoquitlam, B.C.

• How Tima Kurdi is honouring the memory of her nephew with her book, The Boy on the Beach

That Time I Loved You byCarrianneLeung

In Carrianne Leung's linked short story collectionThat Time I Loved You,residents of a small suburban neighbourhood in Scarborough, Ont. take turns describing the aftermath of a series of suicides in their community. These interconnected short stories explore a wide range of experiences racism, homophobia, domestic and sexual abuse revealing that hard truths canbe hidden within a well-kept home. Leunglives in Toronto, Ont.

• How Carrianne Leung drew on her Scarborough roots to tackle sensitive subjects

An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim

Thea Lim's An Ocean of Minutes is a novel set in an alternative timeline: one where adeadly flu rippedthrough America,forever changing the country.When Polly Nader's partner Frank becomes infected, shemakes a drastic decision in order to save him. A company called TimeRaiser agrees to pay for life-saving treatment if Polly time travels 12 years into the future, where she can be reunited with Frankand work as a bonded labourer. But Polly is accidentally sent 17 years into a future where Frank is nowhere to be found. Lim grew up in Singapore and now lives in Toronto, Ont.

An Ocean of Minutes was shortlisted for the 2018 Scotaibank Giller Prize.

• Thea Lim wanted to write about grief and ended up with a time travelling love story

Heart Berries byTereseMarieMailhot

Terese Marie Mailhottraces her life story from a dysfunctional upbringingon Seabird Island in B.C., with an activist mother and abusive father, toan acceptance into the Masters of Fine Art program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico. This slim poetic volume packs a powerful punch in just 140 pages. Mailhotnow lives inWest Lafayette, Indiana.

Heart Berrieswas a finalist for the 2018Governor General's Literary Award for nonfictionandthe Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

• Why, behind the pain, Terese Marie Mailhot's Heart Berries champions hope

The Crazy Game by ClintMalarchuk, with Dan Robson

Retired NHL goaltender Clint Malarchukis probably best known for suffering one of the most horrific sports injuries in recent history. In 1989, during a game against the St. Louis Blues, an opponent's skate hit Malarchuk's neck,severing hiscarotid artery and nearly costing him his life. The Crazy Gamerecalls Malarchuk's subsequent battles with PTSD and a lifelong struggle with mental illness and substance abuse. Malarchuk grew up in Grand Prairie, Alta. and now lives in Nevada.

• Former NHL goaltender Clint Malarchuk speaks out about PTSD

Life on the Ground Floor by JamesMaskalyk

James Maskalykpractices emergency medicine and trauma at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital. His memoir,Life on the Ground Floor, chronicleshis career treating patients in emergency rooms around theworld, includingin Ethiopia, Cambodia and Bolivia.

Life on the Ground Floorwon the2017 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

• Why James Maskalyk wanted to explore the human side of emergency medicine

All Our Wrong Todays by ElanMastai

Screenwriter and author Elan Mastaihas a knack for humorous storytelling and witty prose, skills he puts to good use with his debut novelAll Our Wrong Todays.It's 2016 and, in Tom Barren's world, technology has solved all of humanity's problems there's no war, no poverty, no under-ripe avocados. Unfortunately, Tom isn't happy. He's lost the girl of his dreams. And what do you do when you're heartbroken and have a time machine? Something stupid. What happens next is a funny and bittersweet adventure. Mastaiis a screenwriter best known for the filmThe F Word. He was born in Vancouver, B.C., and now lives in Toronto, Ont.

• Elan Mastai imagines the future in his debut novel

This Accident of Being Lostby Leanne BetasamosakeSimpson

Drawing from herNishnaabegstorytelling roots, LeanneBetasamosakeSimpson has created a poignant collection of songs and stories inThis Accident of Being Lost,exploringIndigenous identitiesand experiences.Simpson is an academic, musician, artist and writer who isa member of Alderville First Nation.

This Accident of Being Lostwasafinalist for the 2017 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

• How turning to her Nishnaabeg roots helped Leanne Betasamosake Simpson overcome a creative challenge

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by AndrewWestoll

Andrew Westollis a journalist and teacher who spent months as avolunteer caregiver at the Fauna Sanctuarywith 13 chimps rescued from a research lab. Westollforms strong bonds with the chimps during their recovery from some of their tragic pasts. From establishing friendships, to grooming and playing games,The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuarybrings to light the chimps's remarkable capacity to heal. Westolllives in Toronto, Ont.

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary won the 2012 Charles TaylorPrize, which is now known as the RBC Taylor Prize.

• Andrew Westoll on studying monkeys in a South American jungle

The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong

The Woo-Woo is adark, witty and touching memoir by Vancouver-based writerLindsay Wong, who gives an honest account ofthe impact of mental illness on her family.Wongdelivers a raw and emotional look at whispered secrets, dysfunctional relationships and how her grandmother, mother, aunt and even herself initially blamed the mythical "woo-woo," Chinese spirits that plague the living, for their mental health issues.

The Woo-Woowas a finalist for the 2018 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

• Rejected multiple times, Lindsay Wong's memoir is now a finalist for Canada's biggest nonfiction prize