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CBC Books The First Page: Linwood Barclay
Linwood Barclay reads from the opening of his novel Escape, a sequel to his book Chase. He believes that what makes a good first page is something that grabs you right away: “You’ve got that first page, maybe two, to really grab the reader’s attention.” Download the First Page teacher guide for discussion questions on Barclay's novel, key concepts to writing a ...
- 2019
- 00:05:06
- 9-12
- Added on: 11/12/2019
CBC Books The First Page: Fonda Lee
Fonda Lee reads from the first page of Exo, her young adult sci-fi novel. She remarks that, when she starts a novel – particularly because she writes science fiction and fantasy – she thinks about presenting something familiar and presenting something strange; the idea being to make the reader feel comfortable while also giving them something to be curious about. She ...
- 2019
- 00:06:28
- 9-12
- Added on: 11/12/2019
CBC Books Shakespeare Selfie: David Chariandy on getting into your character's head
Novelist David Chariandy (Brother) delves into his writing process, how he gets into a character's head and the importance of the question "what if."
- 2019
- 00:02:42
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/26/2019
CBC Books Shakespeare Selfie: Reading of 2018 winner (Grades 7 to 9) – The Universe's Greatest Love Story by Cynthia Gan
Cynthia Gan, 14, won the Grades 7 to 9 category of the 2018 Shakespeare Selfie student writing challenge. Her poem on the total solar eclipse of 2017 was inspired by the star cross'd lovers and written from the perspective of Friar Laurence from Romeo & Juliet. Gan attends Richmond Christian Secondary School in Richmond, B.C. The text of her poem can ...
- 2018
- 00:02:43
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/26/2019
CBC Books Canada Reads 2019: Lindsay Wong on The Woo-Woo
In this video Lindsay Wong discusses The Woo-Woo, her dark, witty and touching memoir that gives an honest account of the impact of mental illness on her family. The Vancouver-based writer delivers 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 ...
- 2019
- 00:03:02
- 13-14
- Added on: 02/27/2019
CBC Books Canada Reads 2019: Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette on Suzanne
In this video Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette discusses Suzanne, an English translation of her celebrated 2015 novel La femme qui fuit. Barbeau-Lavalette’s novel is an imagined account of the life of her estranged grandmother. A novel that blurs the lines between fact and fiction, Suzanne tells the story of more than eight decades of art and political history through its portrait of a conflicted woman and ...
- 2019
- 00:05:35
- 13-14
- Added on: 02/27/2019
CBC Books Canada Reads 2019: Max Eisen on By Chance Alone
In this video Max Eisen discusses his deeply moving memoir By Chance Alone. When Eisen was 15 years old he and his family were taken from their home to Auschwitz, where he worked as a slave labourer. He survived the Holocaust and emigrated to Canada in 1949. Eisen has toured the world, educating people about the horrors he survived during the ...
- 2019
- 00:04:32
- 13-14
- Added on: 02/27/2019
CBC Books Canada Reads 2019: David Chariandy on Brother
In this video David Chariandy discusses Brother, his novel which takes 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.
- 2019
- 00:03:38
- 13-14
- Added on: 02/27/2019
CBC Books Canada Reads 2019: Abu Bakr al Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung on Homes
In this video Abu Bakr al Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung discuss Homes, a memoir of al Rabeeah's childhood in Iraq and Syria. Just before civil war broke out, al Rabeeah's family left Iraq for safety in Homs, Syria. Al Rabeeah was 10 years old when the violence began in his new home. He remembers attacks on his mosque and school, car bombings ...
- 2019
- 00:06:16
- 13-14
- Added on: 02/27/2019
The National The resurgence of poetry through a modern medium
Poetry is having a huge surge, largely through the growing popularity of so-called "Insta-poets." These young writers built their audience using Instagram, and have now drifted into the world of celebrity, gracing the front rows of fashion shows and getting celebrity endorsements.
- 2018
- 00:02:44
- 13-14
- Added on: 02/01/2019
CBC Books The First Page: Performance of 2017 winner (Grades 7 to 9) – Nameless by Sari Warshawsky
Hear the 2017 winning entry for The First Page student writing challenge in the Grades 7 to 9 category. The winning author, Sari Warshawsky, is a student at Royal West Academy in Montreal, QC. Sari's piece entitled Nameless tackles the pressure of perfection in a virtual world. It's performed by actor Nicole Volossetski. For the 2017 First Page writing challenge, over ...
- 2018
- 00:02:37
- 13-14
- Added on: 10/19/2018
CBC Books The First Page: Omar El Akkad
Author Omar El Akkad reads the first page from American War, his debut novel that was featured in Canada Reads in 2018. He suggests that what writers hold back from the reader in the opening pages is just as important as what they include. Download the First Page teacher guide for discussion questions on Omar's novel, key concepts to writing ...
- 2018
- 00:03:10
- 9-12
- Added on: 10/19/2018
CBC Books The First Page: Jennifer Chen
Jennifer Chen reads the first page from her debut YA novel, Super, and talks about the importance of not only finding a great hook, but building on the intrigue of the hook. Download the First Page teacher guide for discussion questions on Jennifer's novel, key concepts to writing a compelling first page and more.
- 2018
- 00:04:39
- 9-12
- Added on: 10/19/2018
The National Trump, #MeToo and Times Up movements change romance
The romance novel genre is a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. and there's a big shift happening, as writers empower the female characters in their stories.
- 2018
- 00:03:59
- 13-14
- Added on: 07/03/2018
CBC Books Shakespeare Selfie: Current affairs in fiction with Sharon Bala
Novelist Sharon Bala shares what sparked her to write about the recent experiences of Tamil refugees. For students working on their entries for CBC Books' Shakespeare Selfie youth writing challenge, Sharon's advice will inspire them to search for real-life details when depicting current events through fiction.
- 2018
- 00:02:47
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/21/2018
CBC Books Shakespeare Selfie: Performance of 2017 winner (Grades 7 to 9) – That Something Wicked by Ali Nelson
Actress Bahareh Yaraghi performs the winning entry from the 2017 Shakespeare Selfie student writing challenge, Grades 7 to 9 category. "That Something Wicked" was written by Ali Nelson, who attends Abbey Park High School in Oakville, Ont. She wrote about the Syrian Civil War from the perspective of Macbeth's First Weird Sister.
- 2018
- 00:02:18
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/21/2018
CBC Books Shakespeare Selfie: Kristin Kreuk on elements of a great monologue
Kristin Kreuk (The Burden of Truth, Smallville) talks about what makes a monologue powerful from her perspective as an actor. Learning how she prepares for a performance and what makes the material easy to work with may help students prepare for CBC Books' Shakespeare Selfie student writing challenge.
- 2018
- 00:02:24
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/21/2018
CBC Books Shakespeare Selfie: An introduction to Shakespeare with Kenneth Oppel and Philippa Sheppard
Why does the work of Shakespeare continue to be relevant? Kenneth Oppel, author and judge for CBC Books' Shakespeare Selfie 2018 student writing challenge, and Philippa Sheppard, English professor at the University of Toronto, discuss the Bard's continuing popularity in the 21st century, his craft in writing the soliloquy, his ease with both humour and tougher topics like political power ...
- 2018
- 00:06:58
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/20/2018
CBC Books Canada Reads: Stephen Lewis on the art of debate
Former UN ambassador Stephen Lewis stresses the importance of being well-organized, but also maintaining the ability to enjoy a great argument from another debater (like Wab Kinew). Stephen defended The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood in Canada Reads 2014.
- 2018
- 00:08:48
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/19/2018
CBC Books Canada Reads: Kristin Kreuk on the art of debate
Actress Kristin Kreuk emphasizes the importance of being prepared for difficult conversations, plus other debating advice. She defended Kamal Al-Solaylee's memoir Intolerable in Canada Reads 2015.
- 2018
- 00:07:19
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/16/2018
CBC Books Canada Reads: Humble The Poet on the art of debate
Writer and rapper Humble The Poet talks about the importance of letting the other person know that you hear what they have to say, along with other debating tips. He championed the André Alexis novel Fifteen Dogs and emerged the winner on Canada Reads 2017.
- 2018
- 00:08:58
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/16/2018
CBC Books Canada Reads: Elaine "Lainey" Lui on the art of debate
Elaine "Lainey" Lui is proud of her competitive spirit and argues for the importance of women showing their competitive side, along with other aspects of her debating strategy. She defended Raziel Reid's debut novel When Everything Feels like the Movies in Canada Reads 2015.
- 2018
- 00:07:54
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/16/2018
CBC Books Canada Reads: Cameron Bailey on the art of debate
Artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), past panellist and winner of Canada Reads 2015, Cameron Bailey shares what he should have paid more attention to from the beginning when defending the book Ru by Kim Thúy, plus other debating tips.
- 2018
- 00:07:14
- 13-14
- Added on: 03/16/2018
CBC Books Canada Reads 2018: Craig Davidson on Precious Cargo
Craig Davidson drove five kids in a small school bus, each with special needs. His experience prompted a deeper understanding about disability and stigma. In this video, he discusses what so-called able-bodied people can learn from interactions with people with disabilities and other themes from Precious Cargo, his memoir about being a bus driver for special needs kids.
- 2018
- 00:04:28
- 9-12
- Added on: 03/05/2018
CBC Books Canada Reads 2018: Cherie Dimaline on The Marrow Thieves
Métis writer Cherie Dimaline won the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature. Watch the author discuss her Young Adult novel The Marrow Thieves, a futuristic, dystopian narrative rooted in Canadian history.
- 2018
- 00:02:52
- 9-12
- Added on: 03/05/2018
