I Read Canadian Day

Today in Canada, we’re celebrating a day of reading Canadian books for young people. I’ve already seen terrific Facebook posts by Canadian children’s authors, Darlene Foster and Eileen Holland to promote exactly that. As stated on the I Read Canadian website, its purpose is to “raise awareness of Canadian books and celebrate the richness, diversity, and breadth of Canadian literature. You can read more about it HERE.

When my kids were in school, reading was a high priority in elementary and middle schools, but it dwindled somewhat in their high school years. When I was in school, oh so long ago, the majority of our required reading was by American or British authors. It’s great to see that more Canadian schools and libraries are reaching out to local authors.

Some of the books I love are Darlene’s, who many of you know through her WordPress blog. I also want to give a shoutout to children’s author Eileen Holland, whose two children’s books found a home with a Canadian publisher a couple of years ago. If you have school age children in your lives and you’re looking for good reads, please check them out.

Darlene can be found HERE and Eileen can be found HERE

There are many other great children’s authors, but a google search will help you find many more. And if you know of any, feel free to share their links with others.

As it happens, I’m also reading a Canadian mystery author this week, named Winona Kent. Although Lost Time is written for adults, it’s still Canadian and Winona is another terrific author who deserves attention. Canadian books and Canadian authors have been working hard to raise their profile over the years. Sadly, it doesn’t appear that the number of Canadian publishers has risen all that much recently. Our country is a small market, so we have to work hard to gain a little attention. But we’re a tenacious lot with plenty to say. It’s always a thrill to find new exciting authors, not only here in Canada, but everywhere. 😊

Author: debrapurdykong

I'm a British Columbia author who's been writing for over 30 years. My volunteer experiences, criminology diploma, and various jobs, inspired me to write mysteries set in BC’s Lower Mainland. Employment as a campus security patrol and communications officer provide the background for my my Casey Holland transit security novels. I'm also a part-time facilitator in Creative Writing Workshops through Port Moody's Recreation program. Feel free to contact me at dpurdykong@gmail.com

13 thoughts on “I Read Canadian Day”

  2. Many thanks for this, Debra. I had never heard of I read Canadian, even though I do indeed mostly read Canadian authors by preference. I’m going to take a much closer look at this website. And it’s impossible to oversell all the excellent CanLit for all ages!

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  5. My school experience was similar. In elementary school I remember the readers being full of Greek mythology. Along with Shakespeare and English poets in high school, I was turned off reading until in year 12 we were finally exposed to The Timeless Land which I could, for the first time, make a connection to.

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    1. I think the only Canadian novelist we were introduced to in high school was Margaret Laurence. Meanwhile, it was Steinbeck, Hemingway, etc. By the time my daughter was in high school it was The Handmaid’s Tale, although still not enough Canadian authors in my view.

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  6. While I fully recognize the struggles American publishers are going through, in truth they are no different than the struggles of publishers in other countries. I am so perplexed as to why we have such trouble getting in and getting introduced TO international authors — especially Canadian and UK authors — who have been quietly muted or “disappeared” from American bookstores… even old mainstays (like Best Of Horror collections and top Fantasy authors) are no longer “carried”… Way to go Canada to self-promote and make U.S. readers wonder what we are missing!

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