CBC Canada Reads: 2026 Longlist

Canada's great book debate is back for another year! Find all 15 of the longlisted titles at GVPL to read along.

Learn more about the debate on CBC: Canada Reads on CBC.

Updated March 20, 2026
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MINOR CHORUS A NOVEL
BELCOURT, BILLY-RAY.
Paper Book
In the stark expanse of Northern Alberta, a queer Indigenous doctoral student steps away from his dissertation to write a novel, informed by a series of poignant encounters: a heart-to-heart with fellow doctoral student River over the mounting pressure placed on marginalized scholars; a meeting...
Foe
Reid, Iain, 1981-
Paper Book
A taut, psychological mind-bender from the bestselling author of I'm Thinking of Ending Things. We don't get visitors. Not out here. We never have. In Iain Reid's second haunting, philosophical puzzle of a novel, set in the near-future, Junior and...
It's different this time
Richard, Joss
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * In this sweeping, second-chance romance, a twist of fate forces two former roommates back into their beloved New York City brownstone where they must confront the events that led to their estrangement--and the unresolved feelings lingering between them. ...
Celestina's House
Gonzalez, Clarissa Trinidad
Paper Book
RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE FINALIST * CBC BOOKS CANADIAN FICTION BOOKS TO READ IN FALL 2024 The secrets of the house are the secrets of the heart. It begins with an act of betrayal that destroys the tenuous bonds of Celestina Errantes's...
Crossroads : my story of tragedy and resilience as a Humboldt Bronco
Dahlgren, Kaleb
Paper Book
An inspiring story of hope and resiliency  On April 6, 2018, sixteen people died and thirteen others were injured after a bus taking the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team to a playoff game collided with a transport truck in a rural intersection. The tragedy...
Every thing is fine here : a novel
Tushabe, Iryn
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THREE SASKATCHEWAN BOOK AWARDS Longlist, Canada Reads 2026 A CBC Best Book of 2025 A beguiling coming of age novel set in Uganda in which a young woman grapples with the truth about her sister in a country that punishes gay people. Eighteen-year-old...
Heated rivalry
Reid, Rachel
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NOW A #1 STREAMING SHOW  The epic enemies-to-lovers hockey romance from Rachel Reid, streaming on Crave in Canada and on HBO Max in the U.S. "The book that got me into hockey romance." --NPR's ...
Julie chan is dead a novel
Zhang, Liann
Paper Book
INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER One of NPR's Books We Love for 2025 2026 Libby Book Awards Best Thriller For fans of Bunny and Yellowface, this razor-sharp debut thriller blends biting satire with chilling suspense, as a young woman...
Never been better
Toshiko Simpson, Leanne
Paper Book
Dee, Misa, and Matt were the 'three musketeers' of the psych ward. A year after discharge, Dee is eager to convince everyone that she's finally turning things around. But Matt and Misa are tying the knot in Turks and Caicos, surrounded by guests who have no idea where they met, and the secrecy isn't...
Restaurant kid a memoir of family and belonging
Phan, Rachel
Paper Book
A warm and poignant narrative about finding one's self amidst the grind of restaurant life, the cross-generational immigrant experience, and a daughter's attempts to connect with parents who have always been just out of reach. **An International Bestseller** ...
Hunger we pass down
Lee, Jen Sookfong.
Paper Book
Jordan Peele's Us meets The School For Good Mothers in this horror-tinged intergenerational saga, as a single mother's doppelganger forces her to confront the legacy of violence that has shaped every woman in their family. "Genuinely frightening story of rape, abuse,...

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