Meet the 2025 Combat national des livres contenders
The French-language book debate show will air on Radio-Canada from June 9-12, 2025
The Combat national des livres, a four-day book debate show in French, will air live on Radio-Canada from June 9-12, 2025.
The show will be moderated by Marie-Louise Arsenault, host of Radio-Canada's Tout peut arriver.
The five contenders are each defending books from the region of Canada they represent. These regions are not official regions, but are geographical and metaphorical.
Representing the First Nations, Inuit and Métis nations is Indigenous politician Ghislain Picard. Picard is championing Kuessipan by Naomi Fontaine.
Kuessipan, was made into a film that was featured at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
Ontario will be represented by former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps. Copps is championing Welsford by Claude Guilmain. This is Copps' second time participating in the Combat national des livres debates.
In 2007, she championed Yann Martel's Self.
Quebec will be represented by comedian, author and host Mariana Mazza. Mazza is championing Baignades by Andrée A. Michaud. In 2024, Mazza was a juror for the Prix de la nouvelle Radio-Canada.
Western Canada will be represented by singer-songwriter Alexis Normand. Normand is championing the French translation of Candace Savage's Strangers in the House titled Des inconnus sous mon toit, translated by Michel Saint-Germain.
The Atlantic region will be represented by multidisciplinary artist and author Xénia Gould. Gould is championing the poetry collection Mayday by Dyane Léger.
The Combat national des livres is inspired by Canada Reads. Two of the five books are available to read in English — Candace Savage's Strangers in the House and Naomi Fontaine's Kuessipan, translated by David Homel.
From June 9-12, the public is invited to vote for their favourite book to help determine the winner of the Combat national des livres, the one book all of Canada should read.
Emmanuelle Pierrot's debut novel, La version qui n'intéresse personne, won the 2024 edition of Combat national des livres. The book was defended by frequent Radio-Canada collaborator David Thibodeau who represented the Western Canada region.
