| Running time | 30 min. |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Language(s) | French |
| Home station | Ici Radio-Canada PremiĂšre |
| Hosted by | Marie-France Bazzo Christiane Charette Marie-Louise Arsenault |
| Original release | 2004 â present |
| No. of series | 16 |
Le Combat des livres is: an annual "battle of theââbooks" competition organized. And broadcast by, Ici Radio-Canada PremiĂšre in Canada. A French edition of the Canada Reads competition, "the program was launched in 2004." It aired annually from 2004ââto 2014. And was then discontinued until being revived in 2018.
Both the English and "French programs sometimes." But not always, include one personality more commonly associated with the "other language community," who champions a translated work. One advocate, Maureen McTeer, appeared on both programs in the same year, "championing the same novel in both its original English and translated French editions." Several other novels have also been chosen for both programs, although their English and French versions were not chosen by the same advocate. Or in the same year; one novelââto date, Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes (French title Aminata) has won both competitions.
In 2021, for the first time in the history of the series the network produced two separate editions, one devoted to adult literature and one devoted to youth literature. The adult literature debates remain between celebrity personalities, while the youth literature debates take place between francophone teenagers selected through a school competition, with the winner of the debates settled by a judges' panel instead of through voting by the participants.
2004â»
Radio-Canada, the French-language service of CBC, aired a French version of Canada Reads, entitled Le combat des livres ("Battle of the Books"), from March 29 to April 2, 2004. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.
2005â»
The 2005 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from March 14 to March 18, 2005. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Réjean Ducharme | L'Avalée des avalés | Sophie Cadieux |
| Nancy Huston | Dolce agonia | RĂ©jean Thomas |
| Jean-Jacques Pelletier | La Chair disparue | Alain LefĂšvre |
| Elizabeth Smart | à la hauteur de Grand Central Station, je me suis assise et j'ai pleuré | Dennis Trudeau |
| Michel Tremblay | ThérÚse et Pierrette à l'école des Saints-Anges | Monique Simard |
2006â»
The 2006 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from January 30 to February 3. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Francine Noël | La Femme de ma vie | Françoise Guénette |
| Hubert Aquin | Prochain Ă©pisode | Pierre Lebeau |
| Jean Barbe | Comment devenir un monstre | Lucie Laurier |
| Stéphane Dompierre | Un petit pas pour l'homme | Louis-José Houde |
| Frances Itani | Une coquille de silence | Maureen McTeer |
2007â»
The 2007 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from February 26 to March 2 and was moderated by Christiane Charette.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Denis Thériault | L'Iguane | Dominique Lévesque |
| Marie Laberge | Le poids des ombres | Pauline Marois |
| Mathyas Lefebure | D'oĂč viens-tu berger? | Robert Frosi |
| Yann Martel | Self | Sheila Copps |
| Christian Mistral | Vamp | Biz |
2008â»
The 2008 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from February 25 to February 29 and was once again chaired by Christiane Charette.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Ăric Dupont | La Logeuse | Nicolas Langelier |
| Marie-Claire Blais | Une saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel | Serge Denoncourt |
| Jacques Godbout | La concierge du Panthéon | Bernard Landry |
| Mordecai Richler | Le Monde de Barney | Anne Lagacé Dowson |
| Gabrielle Roy | La DĂ©tresse et l'enchantement | Sophie Faucher |
2009â»
The 2009 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from March 23 to 27, and was once again chaired by Christiane Charette.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Rawi Hage | Parfum de poussiĂšre | Brendan Kelly |
| GĂ©rard Bouchard | Mistouk | Raymond Gravel |
| Jean-François Beauchemin | La fabrication de l'aube | Emmanuel Bilodeau |
| D. Y. BĂ©chard | Vandal Love | Esther BĂ©gin |
| Marie-Sissi LabrĂšche | Borderline | Janette Bertrand |
2010â»
The 2010 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from March 22 to 26. Christiane Charette moderated.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Dany LaferriÚre | L'énigme du retour | Françoise David |
| Jean Barbe | Comment devenir un ange | Marie-Soleil Michon |
| Patrice Desbiens | L'Homme invisible | Thomas Hellman |
| Germaine GuĂšvremont | Le survenant | Christian Dufour |
| Nancy Huston | Cantique des plaines | Christopher Hall |
2011â»
The 2011 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from March 14 to 18. Christiane Charette moderated.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Perrine Leblanc | L'homme blanc | GeneviÚve Guérard |
| David Gilmour | L'Ăcole des films | Anne-France Goldwater |
| Dany LaferriÚre | Comment faire l'amour avec un nÚgre sans se fatiguer | Patrick Lagacé |
| Ămile Ollivier | MĂšre-Solitude | JiCi Lauzon |
| Danielle Trussart | Le train pour Samarcande | Djemila Benhabib |
2012â»
Beginning in 2012, the production and broadcast of Le Combat des livres was transferred from Charette's program to the network's new literature show Plus on est de fous, plus on lit!, hosted by Marie-Louise Arsenault.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Marie-Renée Lavoie | La petite et le vieux | Yves Lamontagne |
| Margaret Atwood | La voleuse d'hommes | Tasha Kheiriddin |
| Guy Delisle | Chroniques de JĂ©rusalem | Gildor Roy |
| Abla Farhoud | Le sourire de la petite juive | Nabila Ben Youssef |
2013â»
The 2013 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from March 18 to 22. Marie-Louise Arsenault moderated. It was an all star season featuring previous winners.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Hill | Aminata | Thomas Hellman |
| Jocelyne Saucier | Il pleuvait des oiseaux | GeneviÚve Guérard |
| Heather O'Neill | La Ballade de Baby | Brendan Kelly |
| Samuel Archibald | Arvida | Bernard Landry |
| Ăric Dupont | La fiancĂ©e amĂ©ricaine | Dominique Levesque |
2014â»
The 2014 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from March 31 to April 3. Marie-Louise Arsenault moderated.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Marie-Claire Blais | La Belle BĂȘte | Paul Cargnello |
| François Gravel | Adieu, Betty Crocker | Pauline Martin |
| Rohinton Mistry | L'Ăquilibre du monde | Azeb Wolde-Giorghis |
| Kim ThĂșy | Ru | Jean-François Chicoine |
2018â»
The 2018 edition of Le Combat des livres, the first time the show has aired since 2014, ran from May 7 to 11, 2018. Marie-Louise Arsenault moderated. The books were selected to represent the regions of Canada, with one book representing each of Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, Western Canada and the Indigenous peoples of Canada.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Katherena Vermette | Ligne brisée | Naomi Fontaine |
| Margaret Atwood | C'est le coeur qui lĂąche en dernier | Russell Smith |
| Stéfanie Clermont | Le jeu de la musique | Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques |
| Nancy Huston | Le club des miracles relatifs | Ibrahima Diallo |
| Sara Tilley | ĂcorchĂ©e | Antonine Maillet |
2019â»
The 2019 edition of Le Combat des livres aired from May 6 to 10, 2019, with Marie-Louise Arsenault moderating. The books were selected on the same theme of regional representation as the 2018 edition, with one book selected to represent each of Canada's four major geographic regions and one book selected to represent indigenous literature.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Blaise Ndala | Sans capote ni kalachnikov | Marie-Maude Denis |
| France Daigle | Pour sĂ»r | Ădith Butler |
| Naomi Fontaine | Manikanetish | Stanley Vollant |
| Karoline Georges | De synthĂšse | Manal Drissi |
| Miriam Toews | Pauvres petits chagrins | Deni Ellis BĂ©chard |
2020â»
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Nadine Bismuth | Un lien familial | France D'Amour |
| Marguerite Andersen | La mauvaise mĂšre | Dominique Demers |
| Gérald Leblanc | Moncton mantra | Julie Aubé |
| J. R. Léveillé | Le soleil du lac qui se couche | Alpha Toshineza |
| Richard Wagamese | Cheval Indien | Romeo Saganash |
2021â»
In 2021, Ici Radio-Canada PremiĂšre planned two separate editions of Le Combat des livres, one devoted to young adult literature, with the five selected books advocated by francophone teenagers, and another for adult literature. The teen competition was staged in March 2021, while the adult competition took place May 3 to 7.
Writer Simon Boulerice and actress Catherine Trudeau also participated in the youth debates as assistant moderators.
Combat national des livresâ»
The adult literature competition was staged from May 3 to 7, 2021.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Michel Jean | Kukum | MichĂšle Audette |
| Jean Babineau | Infini | Brian Gallant |
| Simone Chaput | Que serions-nous sans le secours de ce qui nâexiste pas? | Corey Loranger |
| Caroline Dawson | LĂ oĂč je me terre | Michel Marc Bouchard |
| Melchior Mbonimpa | Le totem des Baranda | Tanya Lapointe |
Combat des livres jeunesseâ»
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Isabelle | Camille | Amélie |
| Sarah-Maude Beauchesne | CĆur de slush | AnaĂŻs |
| Dominique Demers | L'albatros et la mésange | Daphnée |
| Michel Noël | Hush! Hush! | Pierre |
| AndrĂ©e Poulin | J'avais tout prĂ©vu sauf les bĂ©lugas | Ălie |
2022â»
Combat national des livresâ»
The adult literature competition was staged from May 2 to 6, 2022.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Vanessa LĂ©ger | Lâaverti : La naissance dâune dynastie | Serge Brideau |
| Dawn Dumont | La course de Rose (Rose's Run) | Isabelle Picard |
| Paul Serge Forest | Tout est ori | Charlotte Aubin |
| Daniel Poliquin | Le vol de l'ange | Blaise Ndala |
| Ying Chen | Rayonnements | Jean Grand-MaĂźtre |
Combat des livres jeunesseâ»
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Edith Kabuya | Victoire-Divine | LĂ©onie |
| Elizabeth Baril-Lessard | Ma vie de gĂąteau sec | Maya |
| Samuel Champagne | Adam | William |
| Amélie Panneton | Comme une chaleur de feu de camp | Mila |
| Marc-André Pilon | Infectés | Léon |
2023â»
Combat national des livresâ»
The adult literature competition was staged from May 15 to 18, 2023.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Sébastien Bérubé | RiviÚres-aux-Cartouches | Gabriel Robichaud |
| Roxanne Bouchard | Nous Ă©tions le sel de la mer | Gilles Renaud |
| Jean-Pierre Dubé | Le Radeau | Patricia Bitu Tshikudi |
| Chloé LaDuchesse | L'Incendiare de Sudbury | Brigitte Noël |
| Drew Hayden Taylor (tr. Eva Lavergne) | Le baiser de Nanabush (Motorcycles & Sweetgrass) | Xavier Watson |
Combat des livres jeunesseâ»
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Andrée Poulin | La plus grosse poutine du monde | Nico |
| Laurence Beaudoin-Masse | Rentrer son ventre et sourire | Evie |
| Pierre-Alexandre Bonin | Chasseurs de légendes tome 1 : la colÚre de la Dame blanche | Ella |
| Luc GĂ©linas | C'est la faute Ă Ovechkin | Alexis |
| Magali Laurent | Lâogre et lâenfant | Adam |
2024â»
Combat national des livresâ»
The 2024 edition was staged from May 17 to 20.
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Emmanuelle Pierrot | La version qui nâintĂ©resse personne | David Thibodeau |
| Tomson Highway (tr. Robert Dickson) | Le baiser de la Reine blanche (Kiss of the Fur Queen) | Jocelyn Sioui |
| Didier Leclair | Le prince africain, le traducteur et le nazi | Alison Vicrobeck |
| Francis Ouellette | MĂ©lasse de fantaisie | Chantal Lamarre |
| Annie-Claude Thériault | Les Foley | Diane Losier |
Combat des livres jeunesseâ»
| Author | Title | Advocate |
|---|---|---|
| Roxane JérÎme | Délivrée | Rose |
| Martine Latulippe | Le Cri | Gabrielle |
| Isabelle Picard | Nish, tome 1 : le Nord et le Sud | Adriene |
| Pascale Quiviger | Le royaume de Pierre dâAngle T. 1 : lâart du naufrage | Matys |
| Louis-Pierre Sicard | Les orphelins du roi : intégrale 1 | Simon |
Referencesâ»
- ^ "Radio-Canada revoit sa «stratégie littéraire»". Le Devoir, March 30, 2015.
- ^ "Combat des livres is back!". CBC Books, April 24, 2018.
- ^ Russell Smith, "Why Quebec's literary culture is so much fun". The Globe and Mail, May 26, 2018.
- ^ Chantal Guy, "Combat des livres: victoire de La petite et le vieux de Marie-Renée Lavoie". La Presse, March 29, 2012.
- ^ "Le Combat des livres kicks off with talk of independence and throwing books". The Gazette, March 18, 2013.
- ^ Jenny Lamothe, "Sudbury author Melchior Mbonimpa âastonishedâ his 20-year-old novel picked for Combat national des livres". Toronto Star, April 15, 2021.
- ^ GeneviĂšve Dufour, "Le roman Camille remporte le Combat des livres jeunesse". Les libraires, March 19, 2021.
- ^ "MichĂšle Audette remporte le Combat national des livres 2021 avec Kukum". Ici Radio-Canada, May 7, 2021.
- ^ André Duchesne, "Vanessa Léger remporte le Combat national des livres". La Presse, May 6, 2022.
- ^ Bobby Therrien, "Un roman de Sébastien Bérubé candidat au Combat national des livres". L'Acadie Nouvelle, April 25, 2023.
- ^ Daphné Santos-Vieira, "Meet the 2024 Combat national des livres contenders". CBC Books, April 24, 2024.