''Le Combat des livres'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by

Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) is a Canadian French-language radio network, the news and information service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known as Société Radio-Canada in French), the public broadcaster of ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. A French edition of the ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'' competition, the program was launched in 2004. It aired annually from 2004 to 2014, and was then discontinued until being revived in 2018."Combat des livres is back!"

CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, April 24, 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 Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

work. One advocate,

Maureen McTeer Maureen Anne McTeer (born February 27, 1952) is a Canadian author and lawyer, married to Joe Clark, the 16th Prime Minister of Canada. Family and education McTeer was born in Cumberland, Ontario, to John and Bea McTeer. Her father taught her an ...

, 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 novel to date,

Lawrence Hill Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist. He is known for his 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes,'' inspired by the Black Loyalists given freedom and resettled in Nova Scotia by the British after the ...

'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.

2004

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 Marie-France Bazzo (born July 8, 1961) is a Canadians, Canadian broadcaster, who has hosted television programming for Télé-Québec and radio programming for the Ici Radio-Canada Première network. Born in Montreal, she is a graduate of the Univ ...

2005

The 2005 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from March 14 to March 18, 2005. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.

2006

The 2006 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from January 30 to February 3. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.

2007

The 2007 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from February 26 to March 2 and was moderated by Christiane Charette.

2008

The 2008 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from February 25 to February 29 and was once again chaired by Christiane Charette.

2009

The 2009 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from March 23 to 27, and was once again chaired by Christiane Charette.

2010

The 2010 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from March 22 to 26. Christiane Charette moderated.

2011

The 2011 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from March 14 to 18. Christiane Charette moderated.

2012

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.

2013

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.

2014

The 2014 edition of ''Le Combat des livres'' aired from March 31 to April 3. Marie-Louise Arsenault moderated.

2018

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 Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

and the

Indigenous peoples of Canada In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and ''Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them ...

2019

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.

2020

2021

In 2021, Ici Radio-Canada Première planned two separate editions of ''Le Combat des livres'', one devoted to

young adult literature Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate w ...

, 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 Catherine Trudeau (born May 4, 1975) is a Canadian actress. She was born in L'Assomption, Quebec, Canada. Filmography * 1995 : '' 4 et demi...'' (TV) : ''Nancy Fugère (2000)'' * 2000 : '' Hochelaga'' : ''Louise'' * 2001 : ''Tar Angel (L'Ang ...

also participated in the youth debates as assistant moderators.

Combat des livres jeunesse

Combat national des livres

The adult literature competition was staged from May 3 to 7, 2021.

2022

Combat des livres jeunesse

Combat national des livres

The adult literature competition was staged from May 2 to 6, 2022.André Duchesne
"Vanessa Léger remporte le Combat national des livres"
'' La Presse'', May 6, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combat des livres, Les French-language radio programs in Canada 2004 radio programme debuts Ici Radio-Canada Première