Special Feature: CBC's Ann Jansen Talks Canada Reads' Past, Present, & Future

Ann Jansen is the Senior Producer for CBC Canada Reads, the national, week-long debate-based battle that each year chooses a Canadian book as the best of the best. Each day, panellists engage in unscripted, live debates, with each one championing one book and voting one book off, until there is just one winner.

The popularity of the show is such that the so-called "Canada Reads Bump" has become a coveted phenomenon amongst publishers, as winning the competition is one of the biggest boosts a Canadian title can receive, with sales of the winning book (and even shortlisted books) spiking before and following the competition. Indigo Books even offers a special Canada Reads sale promotion.

The show's beginning was markedly more modest than the current, slickly produced television and online live stream iteration, however, and each year the formula is further refined and the audience grows. The 2017 competition is a multi-genre shortlist, with heavy-hitters like André Alexis' Giller Prize-winning novel Fifteen Dogs (Coach House Books) and CanLit icon M.G. Vassanji's newest book Nostalgia (Doubleday Canada). Rounding out this impressive list are The Break by Katherena Vermette (House of Anansi), Company Town by Madeline Ashby (Tor Books), and The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Penguin Canada).

The panellists are equally impressive with singer Chantal Kreviazuk defending The Right to Be Cold, Humble The Poet defending Fifteen Dogs, soprano Measha Brueggergosman defending Company Town, comic (and CBC's own) Candy Palmater defending The Break, and author and Canadian sniper Jody Mitic defending Nostalgia.

We're speaking with Ann today about the competition, and she tells us about Canada Reads' evolution from a pre-taped radio show to a nail-biter of a live studio show, what she looks for in a panellist, and just how intense things get behind the scenes.

Canada Reads 2017 runs from March 27-30 and will be hosted by Ali Hassan. Stay tuned to Open Book for coverage of the Canada Reads 2017 debates later this month!

Open Book:

Tell us a little bit about how Canada Reads began and how it has evolved over the years.

Ann Jansen:

Back in 2001, a CBC producer noticed the new phenomenon of one-city, one-book projects and thought it would be cool to have a whole country reading together. It was the early days of the wave of reality shows, so Canada Reads was also a kind of "literary Survivor," with books being voted "off the bookshelf." Canada Reads has evolved from a pre-taped radio show to live shows in a studio with audiences, that are also livestreamed and air on CBC-TV’s Main Network as well as CBC Radio. All five of this year’s books hit the bestseller lists more than a month before the shows. So instead of a one-book project, we actually have a five-book community reads leading up to the debates and the panellists choosing one book.

OB:

What are you looking for in a panelist when deciding who will be championing the books each year?

AJ:

We look for people who are passionate about books and also very articulate, and who are competitive enough to want to win. We talk to a number of celebrities and people at the top of their game to get a sense of their tastes in books and to gauge how they might do in a debate. We look for people from different fields, athletes and musicians and humanitarians and actors, people who reflect the diversity of the cultures that make up Canada, and people with different perspectives (and different voices for radio.) Then we figure out what mixture of personalities will lead to a great conversation. We always want to book different kinds of readers, so that everyone has a unique take on the books on the shortlist. Booking a panel is a bit like planning a very animated dinner party, where the stories are lively and sparks can fly.

OB:

What is the process like in terms of selecting the books (as well as the final selection by the panelists)?

AJ:

At first, picking the books feels a little like climbing a mountain. We start with our theme, and our take on the kinds of books the panellists love to read. We put a call out to publishers for suggestions and we also call in some books, and of course we canvas book producers here at the CBC. Then we start to read or re-read books, with a few people at CBC Books pitching in. We suggest a few books to each panellist - it’s kind of like match-making but between readers and books. We chat with each person about possible books, send them all a few to consider, then we talk some more. The goal is to come up with a book for each panellist that they love and believe in. It often amazes me how perfectly these book and panellist pairings come together. There’s a kind of “click” when that happens, which is just the best feeling.

OB:

How and when did you become involved with Canada Reads? And do you have a favourite book from years past?

AJ:

I joined the Canada Reads team in 2005, and became Senior Producer in 2007. Favourite book? Help. There have been 80 books on Canada Reads so far. It would be like choosing a favourite child. And when you spend around four months with five books each and every year, reading and re-reading them, talking about them with their advocates and other passionate readers, all the books become like close friends. Of course, there are some friends I’d rather go on long trips with...

OB:

Is there anything about the behind the scenes process that might surprise fans?

AJ:

Every year, I’m surprised by how intense people get about the books and Canada Reads. The panellists develop such strong relationships with the authors and get totally into wanting to win. They care so much about the author and the book. They start to say "my book" and "my author," and some of them get pretty emotional behind the scenes. And our audience get passionate about the books too. There are so many discussions in schools, in libraries, in bookstores, in Facebook groups. People come out to CBC events across the country and there are listening sessions during show week in libraries. I think that people would be surprised by how much happens leading up to the shows.

OB:

What is next for Canada Reads, after this year’s competition is complete? How do you envision the future of the competition?

AJ:

Canada Reads is one of the strongest ways we have in this country to connect CBC audiences with books and it’s a very popular program, so we’ll be back. I can tell you that Canada Reads 2018 will involve five panellists, five books and people falling in love with those books, but other than that… Let’s wrap this season first!