Canada Reads 2011 – The home stretch

Well, we’re less than two weeks away from the great Canada Reads 2011 debates (February 7, 8, 9). This year the debates will held live with an audience at the CBC Broadcast Centre here in Toronto. If you’re interested in attending, here’s the info. You can also watch live streaming of the debates, with live chatting, and of course listen live online or, the old fashioned way, on your radio (you do have a radio, don’t you?). Many people have been asking me if I’m getting nervous with the debates now so close. My honest response? I’m really not. This has been such a wonderful experience in every way that I’m not really anxious about the outcome at all. Sure, if you win, it’s a big deal, and it would be fantastic. But really, all of the Canada Reads authors have already won just by making it as Canada Reads Selections. Canada Reads has helped to sell thousands of all of our books and given them higher levels of recognition than they’ve ever had. It’s a writer’s dream come true. Of course, winning it all would be great, but this has already been so wonderful, I’ll be all smiles whatever happens in the debates. And having met and gotten to know the other authors at least a little bit, I suspect they’re all feeling the same way. Without getting too maudlin about it all, let’s not lose sight of the ultimate goal of Canada Reads: to encourage reading in this country. A simple and noble goal. Here’s to an exciting finale to Canada Reads…