Wordfest Alum battle it out for Canada Reads 2015

The 14th edition of Canada Reads, CBC's "battle of the books," brings together Wordfest alum Kim Thúy and Thomas King who are among the five finalists in a friendly competition to decide the one book that breaks barriers.

Kim Thúy's Ru tells the story of a young woman forced to leave her Saigon home during the Vietnam War, tracing the woman's journey from childhood in an affluent Saigon neighbourhood to youth in a crowded Malaysian refugee camp and then to Quebec where she struggles to fit in. Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, is championing the book for Canada Reads 2015.

Thomas King's The Inconvenient Indian is neither a traditional nor all-encompassing narrative of First Nations' experience in North America, but a personal meditation on wht it means to be "Indian." Craig Kielburger, a social entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, is championing the book for Canada Reads 2015.

Meanwhile Elaine "Lainey" Lui, who presented her new memoir in conversation with Jann Arden at a special Wordfest event last year, will be championing one of the Canada Reads finalists: When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid.

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