Algoma Reads to make its return virtually

After a year hiatus due to COVID-19, Algoma Reads is set to make its return in a virtual format.

The 2021 event will feature five CBC Canada Reads shortlisted books.

Following is a full release with details on the 2021 series, which is set to begin next week.

After going on furlough last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Algoma Reads is delighted to return virtually for 2021. Algoma Reads invites the local community to read the CBC Canada Reads shortlisted books with students at Algoma University. Five public events will be held to explore each of the five CBC Canada Reads books. Four of the five CBC Canada Reads authors have confirmed that they will participate in Algoma Reads this year. 

The 2021 series begins on Tuesday, Sept. 28, with a virtual visit from Jessica J. Lee to discuss Two Trees Make a Forest, a beautiful mix of memoir, history, travel, and nature writing. On Tuesday, Oct. 26, Natalie Zina Walschots will talk with us about her witty novel, Hench, which imagines the office politics of superheroes. 

C. L. Polk’s imaginative fantasy, The Midnight Bargain, will be the focus of our session on Tuesday, Nov 2; guest speaker for this event to be released in coming weeks. Algoma Reads will wrap up with visits from two exciting new writers. Francesca Ekwuyasi’s Butter Honey Pig Bread is a moving inter-generational and transnational narrative which she will discuss on Nov. 16. Joshua Whitehead has shot to fame with his historic win of CBC’s Canada Reads. His novel, Jonny Appleseed, is the first book by an Indigenous author to win Canada Reads. His visit will complete Algoma Reads 2021 on Dec. 7. 

All of these virtual events are free and open to the public. Each session will begin at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and will feature Algoma University students as hosts and speakers. Please send an email to register and receive the link to join us.