Posts in category: Radio Host Co

Digital database Internet Archive lost the first ruling in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the “nonprofit library” by four of the biggest publishing companies.

In June 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, John Wiley & Sons, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins and Penguin Random House sued Internet Archive over their attempt to create a “National Emergency Library” by uploading countless e-books — or scanned versions of printed books — for users to “borrow” while bookstores and libraries across the nation were shuttered due to the pandemic.

“Its goal of creating digital copies of books and providing them to whomever wants to download them reflects a profound misunderstanding of the costs of creating books, a profound lack of respect for the many contributors involved in the publication process, and a profound disregard of the boundaries and balance of core copyright principles,” the publishers argued at the time.

Internet Archive countered that “as a library, the Internet Archive acquires books and lends them, as libraries have always done. This supports publishing, authors and readers. Publishers suing libraries for lending books, in this case protected digitized versions, and while schools and libraries are closed, is not in anyone’s interest.”

Nearly two years later, the lawsuit went before a U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where the judge ruled that Internet Archive was producing “derivative” works that required permission from the publishers as the copyright holders. “An ebook recast from a print book is a paradigmatic example of a derivative work,” Judge John G. Koeltl wrote in his decision, adding that the publishers already license their own authorized e-books to libraries (via The Associated Press).

In a statement following the ruling, Internet Archive — which also houses millions of other materials, including films, TV broadcasts, radio and music recordings, photographs and more — pledged to appeal the lower court’s decision.

Canada Reads 2023 will take place March 27-30.

This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to shift your perspective.

The stories we tell, and the way we tell them, can shape how we see ourselves, our communities and the world. This collection of books is an opportunity to broaden our horizons, expand our worldview and think differently about the world around us and our place in it.

The 2023 contenders are:

The debates will be hosted by Ali Hassan and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Listen and on CBC Books. 

The debates will take place live at 10:05 a.m. ET (that’s an hour earlier than recent years!). You can tune in live or catch a replay on the platform of your choice. You can see all the broadcast details here.

Watch the book trailers and get to know the creators behind them below!

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Ducks by Kate Beaton

Jeopardy! super-champion, writer, and podcast host Mattea Roach will champion Ducks by Kate Beaton on Canada Reads 2023.

Ducks is an autobiographical graphic memoir that recounts author Kate Beaton’s time spent working in the Alberta oil sands. With the goal of paying off her student loans, Beaton leaves her tight-knit seaside Nova Scotia community and heads west, where she encounters harsh realities, including the everyday trauma that no one discusses.

Ducks will be championed by Jeopardy! star Mattea Roach.

The trailer for Ducks was created by Braden and Jennifer Poirier. 

The Poiriers reside in Calgary, and have been exploring the creative side of life for over a decade together. They met while studying animation at Sheridan College and have collaborated in a variety of artistic mediums and fields including screenprinting, sewing, stop motion animation, comic books, painting, sculpture and toy design. 

Jennifer is a location designer and colour artist for animated series and continues to explore illustration using traditional media. 

Braden is an animation industry veteran, and has worked on numerous animated series, music videos and short films. They are currently continuing work on their creator owned comic book, Monster Dog.

The trailer for Ducks was narrated by Jana Peck. 

Jana Peck is a Canadian writer and actor. She co-created a sketch show called Madge & Peck that won Best Pitch at the JFL festival in Montreal in 2019. 

Her unique voice has been in countless radio and TV commercials. She is currently starring in Red Ketchup, a new animated adult series launching this spring on Cartoon Network. She’s appeared in Chucky, Kim’s Convenience, A Teacher, The Hot Zone, Saving Hope, Suits, Rookie Blue and Ruby and the Well.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ashly July.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Greenwood by Michael Christie

Actor, director and writer Keegan Connor Tracy will champion Greenwood by Michael Christie on Canada Reads 2023.

In Greenwood, it’s the year 2038 and most of the world has suffered from an environmental collapse. But there is a remote island with 1,000-year-old trees and Jake Greenwood works as a tour guide there. From there, the novel takes you back in time as you learn more about Jake, her family and how secrets and lies can have an impact for generations.

Greenwood will be championed by actor, director and writer Keegan Connor Tracy.

The trailer for Greenwood was created by concept artist Hasali Baddewithana. Baddewithana’s work is primarily composed of illustration, design and 3D modelling of environments and props with a focus on the video game or movie industries. She hopes to use her art and her life experiences to tell stories of the small things that are often underestimated and unappreciated in life, and in turn, to inspire the next generation of artists and storytellers to do the same.

The trailer for Greenwood was narrated by David Ferry, who also narrated the audiobook.

As an award winning theatre director, Ferry has worked nationally and internationally in a wide variety of genres of theatre. He has also worked increasingly as a director and narrator of Audio Books for Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, ECW Press and Audible. 

Ferry has also enjoyed success as an actor who has worked on stage across Canada including at the Stratford Festival, in England, Australia and the U.S. (performing on and off Broadway). He has filmed in over 100 projects on the movie screen and TV in a career that has spanned 50 years.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah

Bhangra dancer, artist and educator Gurdeep Pandher will champion Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah on Canada Reads 2023.

Hotline is about Muna Heddad, a widow and mother who has left behind a civil war in Lebanon and is living in Montreal in the 1980s. The only work she can find is as a hotline operator at a weight-loss centre where she fields calls from people responding to ads in magazines or on TV. These strangers have so much to say about their challenges, from marriages gone bad to personal inadequacies. Although her life in Canada is filled with invisible barriers, Muna is privy to her clients’ deepest secrets.

Hotline with be champined by bhangra dancer Gurdeep Pandher on Canada Reads.

The trailer for Hotline was created by artist G.C. Houle in collaboration with animator J.L.J-F. Léger.

G.C. Houle is a comic artist and illustrator based in the heart of Acadia. They are best known for a colourful and sleek style influenced by their earlier training as a graphic designer. A strong believer in the legitimizing power of art, Houle seeks to create work that reflects the unique beauty and concerns of marginalized people, especially those within the queer community.

J.L.J-F. Léger is a professional animator currently residing in Halifax. With backgrounds in game design, animation and film, he is constantly on the lookout for new and exciting ways to push his creativity. He is currently working on his first graphic novel.

The trailer for Hotline was narrated by Leen Amarin. 

Amarin is a Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian and newly Canadian author, creative, researcher and human rights advocate. Born and raised in Amman, Jordan, Amarin immigrated to Canada in 2013. Now based in Toronto, she attempts to reconcile with her identity as a migrant-settler through her creative practice and advocacy. Committed to equity and anti-oppression organizing, she held leading roles in the fight for refugee human rights and the empowerment of marginalized creatives and intellectuals. She’s currently a student of Human Rights & Equity Studies at York University interested in further exploring concepts of belonging in imagining decolonized futures.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

BookTok creator and nursing student Tasnim Geedi will champion Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia on Canada Reads 2023.

Mexican Gothic is a gothic horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. It tells the story of a young woman named Noemí who is called by her cousin to save her from doom in her countryside home, the mysterious and alluring High Place. Noemí doesn’t know much about the house, the region or her cousin’s mysterious new husband, but she’s determined to do whatever it takes to solve this mystery and save her cousin.

Mexican Gothic  will be championed by TikTok creator Tasnim Geedi on Canada Reads 2023.

The trailer for Mexican Gothic was created by Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea. 

Gustavo is a Colombian Canadian animator, music video director, festival programmer, producer and educator. His work is influenced by psychedelia, genre filmmaking, and Colombia’s history of violence. His work has been exhibited internationally at galleries and festivals, such as the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, Glas Animation Festival, Los Angeles Latino Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival, among others. 
Gustavo has also directed music videos and performances for Grammy-nominated singer, Lido Pimienta, and served as creative producer, animator, and production designer for her CBC Gem show, LidoTV. Gustavo is the current president of the Toronto Animated Image Society and teaches at OCAD University.

The trailer for Mexican Gothic was narrated by Sofia Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was born and raised in a hot desert city surrounded by mountains: Monterrey, Mexico. Pre-collonially, it was the land of nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples recorded as Alazapas, Coahuiltecos, Huachichiles and Borrados. Sofia is an immigrant and settler in Toronto, sometimes called the place ‘where there are trees standing in the water’, land of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Anishnaabeg, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Wendat peoples. 

She is immensely grateful to get to live, love, learn, heal and play for a living working as a multidisciplinary creator and performer. 

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Nêhiyaw actor, choreographer and director Michael Greyeyes will champion Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel on Canada Reads 2023.

Station Eleven is a dystopian novel that takes place on an Earth undone by disease, following the interconnected lives of several characters — actors, artists and those closest to them — before and after the plague. One travels the wasteland performing Shakespearean plays with a troupe, while another attempts to build community at an abandoned airport and another amasses followers for a dangerous cause.

Station Eleven will be championed by actor Michael Greyeyes on Canada Reads.

The trailer for Station Eleven was created by Alina Pete. Pete is a Nehiyaw artist and writer from Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan. 

They grew up urban, but spent summers wandering the Qu’Appelle valley with their cousin from Cowessess First Nation. Alina is best known for their Aurora award-winning comics, but they also write short stories, poems and TTRPG supplements and their work has been featured in several Indigenous comic anthologies. 

Pete lives on unceded Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, and Tsawwassen land with their partner and three parrots who enjoy sitting on their shoulder as they write.

The trailer for Station Eleven was narrated by Jasmine Noseworthy Persaud. 

Jasminey is a nonbinary, mad and multiply disabled, digital media artist of Guyanese and English descent living in Treaty 13 territory. They are interested in where community arts meets community health. Their creative work seeks to create breathing space for survivors and queer, disabled, racialized communities. 

During the pandemic, this work has grown to revolve around explorations of love-grief as praxis, on a multi-sensory scale, and through the celebration of diverse bodyminds. Chosen media include: poetry, film, illustration. 

Jasmine is a current participant in the Ways of Attuning Curatorial Study Group for emerging QTBIPoC curators.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

SAN FRANCISCO: National Public Radio aims to cut back its workforce from approximately 1,200 to about 1,050 employees. The liberal outlet also halted many podcasts: ‘Invisibilia’ ‘Louder Than a Riot,’ ‘Rough Translation’ and “Everyone & Their Mom.” None of its radio shows were canceled. 

Due to financial difficulties, National Public Radio (NPR), a nonprofit media organisation with headquarters in Washington, has started to lay off 10% of its workforce, or around 100 personnel, and halted the production of four popular seasonal podcasts.

“By reforming our cost structure, we are actively working to protect NPR’s future at this very moment. It’s that crucial. It’s existential,” said John Lansing, the president and CEO of National Public Radio .

The international media organisation made intentions to fire approximately 10% of its present staff public last month after its financial picture “darkened dramatically over recent weeks.”

According to NPR, its financial difficulties are primarily attributable to advertisers’ rising unwillingness to invest money in an unstable economy, notably on podcasting.

In recent months, layoffs have also occurred at internet giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta as well as at media businesses like Gannett, CNN, and Vox Media.

On social media, a number of seasoned NPR employees, including Sylvia Poggioli and Karen Grigsby Bates, announced her retirement.

The cutbacks also impacted those who worked behind the scenes to create the shows and podcasts, create online graphics, and gather viewership data.

Jobs or Job Cuts? Accenture to lay off 19,000, Here’s why

Meta begins a new round of job cuts, affecting 1,500 personnel in Human resource management and recruiting

Alarming Job cuts in India! Byju, Swiggy, Ola among many firms to cut jobs

Canada Reads 2023 will take place March 27-30.

This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to shift your perspective.

The stories we tell, and the way we tell them, can shape how we see ourselves, our communities and the world. This collection of books is an opportunity to broaden our horizons, expand our worldview and think differently about the world around us and our place in it.

The 2023 contenders are:

The debates will be hosted by Ali Hassan and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Listen and on CBC Books. 

The debates will take place live at 10:05 a.m. ET (that’s an hour earlier than recent years!). You can tune in live or catch a replay on the platform of your choice. You can see all the broadcast details here.

Watch the book trailers and get to know the creators behind them below!

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Ducks by Kate Beaton

Jeopardy! super-champion, writer, and podcast host Mattea Roach will champion Ducks by Kate Beaton on Canada Reads 2023.

Ducks is an autobiographical graphic memoir that recounts author Kate Beaton’s time spent working in the Alberta oil sands. With the goal of paying off her student loans, Beaton leaves her tight-knit seaside Nova Scotia community and heads west, where she encounters harsh realities, including the everyday trauma that no one discusses.

Ducks will be championed by Jeopardy! star Mattea Roach.

The trailer for Ducks was created by Braden and Jennifer Poirier. 

The Poiriers reside in Calgary, and have been exploring the creative side of life for over a decade together. They met while studying animation at Sheridan College and have collaborated in a variety of artistic mediums and fields including screenprinting, sewing, stop motion animation, comic books, painting, sculpture and toy design. 

Jennifer is a location designer and colour artist for animated series and continues to explore illustration using traditional media. 

Braden is an animation industry veteran, and has worked on numerous animated series, music videos and short films. They are currently continuing work on their creator owned comic book, Monster Dog.

The trailer for Ducks was narrated by Jana Peck. 

Jana Peck is a Canadian writer and actor. She co-created a sketch show called Madge & Peck that won Best Pitch at the JFL festival in Montreal in 2019. 

Her unique voice has been in countless radio and TV commercials. She is currently starring in Red Ketchup, a new animated adult series launching this spring on Cartoon Network. She’s appeared in Chucky, Kim’s Convenience, A Teacher, The Hot Zone, Saving Hope, Suits, Rookie Blue and Ruby and the Well.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ashly July.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Greenwood by Michael Christie

Actor, director and writer Keegan Connor Tracy will champion Greenwood by Michael Christie on Canada Reads 2023.

In Greenwood, it’s the year 2038 and most of the world has suffered from an environmental collapse. But there is a remote island with 1,000-year-old trees and Jake Greenwood works as a tour guide there. From there, the novel takes you back in time as you learn more about Jake, her family and how secrets and lies can have an impact for generations.

Greenwood will be championed by actor, director and writer Keegan Connor Tracy.

The trailer for Greenwood was created by concept artist Hasali Baddewithana. Baddewithana’s work is primarily composed of illustration, design and 3D modelling of environments and props with a focus on the video game or movie industries. She hopes to use her art and her life experiences to tell stories of the small things that are often underestimated and unappreciated in life, and in turn, to inspire the next generation of artists and storytellers to do the same.

The trailer for Greenwood was narrated by David Ferry, who also narrated the audiobook.

As an award winning theatre director, Ferry has worked nationally and internationally in a wide variety of genres of theatre. He has also worked increasingly as a director and narrator of Audio Books for Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, ECW Press and Audible. 

Ferry has also enjoyed success as an actor who has worked on stage across Canada including at the Stratford Festival, in England, Australia and the U.S. (performing on and off Broadway). He has filmed in over 100 projects on the movie screen and TV in a career that has spanned 50 years.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah

Bhangra dancer, artist and educator Gurdeep Pandher will champion Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah on Canada Reads 2023.

Hotline is about Muna Heddad, a widow and mother who has left behind a civil war in Lebanon and is living in Montreal in the 1980s. The only work she can find is as a hotline operator at a weight-loss centre where she fields calls from people responding to ads in magazines or on TV. These strangers have so much to say about their challenges, from marriages gone bad to personal inadequacies. Although her life in Canada is filled with invisible barriers, Muna is privy to her clients’ deepest secrets.

Hotline with be champined by bhangra dancer Gurdeep Pandher on Canada Reads.

The trailer for Hotline was created by artist G.C. Houle in collaboration with animator J.L.J-F. Léger.

G.C. Houle is a comic artist and illustrator based in the heart of Acadia. They are best known for a colourful and sleek style influenced by their earlier training as a graphic designer. A strong believer in the legitimizing power of art, Houle seeks to create work that reflects the unique beauty and concerns of marginalized people, especially those within the queer community.

J.L.J-F. Léger is a professional animator currently residing in Halifax. With backgrounds in game design, animation and film, he is constantly on the lookout for new and exciting ways to push his creativity. He is currently working on his first graphic novel.

The trailer for Hotline was narrated by Leen Amarin. 

Amarin is a Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian and newly Canadian author, creative, researcher and human rights advocate. Born and raised in Amman, Jordan, Amarin immigrated to Canada in 2013. Now based in Toronto, she attempts to reconcile with her identity as a migrant-settler through her creative practice and advocacy. Committed to equity and anti-oppression organizing, she held leading roles in the fight for refugee human rights and the empowerment of marginalized creatives and intellectuals. She’s currently a student of Human Rights & Equity Studies at York University interested in further exploring concepts of belonging in imagining decolonized futures.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

BookTok creator and nursing student Tasnim Geedi will champion Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia on Canada Reads 2023.

Mexican Gothic is a gothic horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. It tells the story of a young woman named Noemí who is called by her cousin to save her from doom in her countryside home, the mysterious and alluring High Place. Noemí doesn’t know much about the house, the region or her cousin’s mysterious new husband, but she’s determined to do whatever it takes to solve this mystery and save her cousin.

Mexican Gothic  will be championed by TikTok creator Tasnim Geedi on Canada Reads 2023.

The trailer for Mexican Gothic was created by Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea. 

Gustavo is a Colombian Canadian animator, music video director, festival programmer, producer and educator. His work is influenced by psychedelia, genre filmmaking, and Colombia’s history of violence. His work has been exhibited internationally at galleries and festivals, such as the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, Glas Animation Festival, Los Angeles Latino Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival, among others. 
Gustavo has also directed music videos and performances for Grammy-nominated singer, Lido Pimienta, and served as creative producer, animator, and production designer for her CBC Gem show, LidoTV. Gustavo is the current president of the Toronto Animated Image Society and teaches at OCAD University.

The trailer for Mexican Gothic was narrated by Sofia Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was born and raised in a hot desert city surrounded by mountains: Monterrey, Mexico. Pre-collonially, it was the land of nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples recorded as Alazapas, Coahuiltecos, Huachichiles and Borrados. Sofia is an immigrant and settler in Toronto, sometimes called the place ‘where there are trees standing in the water’, land of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Anishnaabeg, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Wendat peoples. 

She is immensely grateful to get to live, love, learn, heal and play for a living working as a multidisciplinary creator and performer. 

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Nêhiyaw actor, choreographer and director Michael Greyeyes will champion Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel on Canada Reads 2023.

Station Eleven is a dystopian novel that takes place on an Earth undone by disease, following the interconnected lives of several characters — actors, artists and those closest to them — before and after the plague. One travels the wasteland performing Shakespearean plays with a troupe, while another attempts to build community at an abandoned airport and another amasses followers for a dangerous cause.

Station Eleven will be championed by actor Michael Greyeyes on Canada Reads.

The trailer for Station Eleven was created by Alina Pete. Pete is a Nehiyaw artist and writer from Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan. 

They grew up urban, but spent summers wandering the Qu’Appelle valley with their cousin from Cowessess First Nation. Alina is best known for their Aurora award-winning comics, but they also write short stories, poems and TTRPG supplements and their work has been featured in several Indigenous comic anthologies. 

Pete lives on unceded Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, and Tsawwassen land with their partner and three parrots who enjoy sitting on their shoulder as they write.

The trailer for Station Eleven was narrated by Jasmine Noseworthy Persaud. 

Jasminey is a nonbinary, mad and multiply disabled, digital media artist of Guyanese and English descent living in Treaty 13 territory. They are interested in where community arts meets community health. Their creative work seeks to create breathing space for survivors and queer, disabled, racialized communities. 

During the pandemic, this work has grown to revolve around explorations of love-grief as praxis, on a multi-sensory scale, and through the celebration of diverse bodyminds. Chosen media include: poetry, film, illustration. 

Jasmine is a current participant in the Ways of Attuning Curatorial Study Group for emerging QTBIPoC curators.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

SAN FRANCISCO: National Public Radio aims to cut back its workforce from approximately 1,200 to about 1,050 employees. The liberal outlet also halted many podcasts: ‘Invisibilia’ ‘Louder Than a Riot,’ ‘Rough Translation’ and “Everyone & Their Mom.” None of its radio shows were canceled. 

Due to financial difficulties, National Public Radio (NPR), a nonprofit media organisation with headquarters in Washington, has started to lay off 10% of its workforce, or around 100 personnel, and halted the production of four popular seasonal podcasts.

“By reforming our cost structure, we are actively working to protect NPR’s future at this very moment. It’s that crucial. It’s existential,” said John Lansing, the president and CEO of National Public Radio .

The international media organisation made intentions to fire approximately 10% of its present staff public last month after its financial picture “darkened dramatically over recent weeks.”

According to NPR, its financial difficulties are primarily attributable to advertisers’ rising unwillingness to invest money in an unstable economy, notably on podcasting.

In recent months, layoffs have also occurred at internet giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta as well as at media businesses like Gannett, CNN, and Vox Media.

On social media, a number of seasoned NPR employees, including Sylvia Poggioli and Karen Grigsby Bates, announced her retirement.

The cutbacks also impacted those who worked behind the scenes to create the shows and podcasts, create online graphics, and gather viewership data.

Jobs or Job Cuts? Accenture to lay off 19,000, Here’s why

Meta begins a new round of job cuts, affecting 1,500 personnel in Human resource management and recruiting

Alarming Job cuts in India! Byju, Swiggy, Ola among many firms to cut jobs

Canada Reads 2023 will take place March 27-30.

This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to shift your perspective.

The stories we tell, and the way we tell them, can shape how we see ourselves, our communities and the world. This collection of books is an opportunity to broaden our horizons, expand our worldview and think differently about the world around us and our place in it.

The 2023 contenders are:

The debates will be hosted by Ali Hassan and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Listen and on CBC Books. 

The debates will take place live at 10:05 a.m. ET (that’s an hour earlier than recent years!). You can tune in live or catch a replay on the platform of your choice. You can see all the broadcast details here.

Watch the book trailers and get to know the creators behind them below!

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Ducks by Kate Beaton

Jeopardy! super-champion, writer, and podcast host Mattea Roach will champion Ducks by Kate Beaton on Canada Reads 2023.

Ducks is an autobiographical graphic memoir that recounts author Kate Beaton’s time spent working in the Alberta oil sands. With the goal of paying off her student loans, Beaton leaves her tight-knit seaside Nova Scotia community and heads west, where she encounters harsh realities, including the everyday trauma that no one discusses.

Ducks will be championed by Jeopardy! star Mattea Roach.

The trailer for Ducks was created by Braden and Jennifer Poirier. 

The Poiriers reside in Calgary, and have been exploring the creative side of life for over a decade together. They met while studying animation at Sheridan College and have collaborated in a variety of artistic mediums and fields including screenprinting, sewing, stop motion animation, comic books, painting, sculpture and toy design. 

Jennifer is a location designer and colour artist for animated series and continues to explore illustration using traditional media. 

Braden is an animation industry veteran, and has worked on numerous animated series, music videos and short films. They are currently continuing work on their creator owned comic book, Monster Dog.

The trailer for Ducks was narrated by Jana Peck. 

Jana Peck is a Canadian writer and actor. She co-created a sketch show called Madge & Peck that won Best Pitch at the JFL festival in Montreal in 2019. 

Her unique voice has been in countless radio and TV commercials. She is currently starring in Red Ketchup, a new animated adult series launching this spring on Cartoon Network. She’s appeared in Chucky, Kim’s Convenience, A Teacher, The Hot Zone, Saving Hope, Suits, Rookie Blue and Ruby and the Well.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ashly July.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Greenwood by Michael Christie

Actor, director and writer Keegan Connor Tracy will champion Greenwood by Michael Christie on Canada Reads 2023.

In Greenwood, it’s the year 2038 and most of the world has suffered from an environmental collapse. But there is a remote island with 1,000-year-old trees and Jake Greenwood works as a tour guide there. From there, the novel takes you back in time as you learn more about Jake, her family and how secrets and lies can have an impact for generations.

Greenwood will be championed by actor, director and writer Keegan Connor Tracy.

The trailer for Greenwood was created by concept artist Hasali Baddewithana. Baddewithana’s work is primarily composed of illustration, design and 3D modelling of environments and props with a focus on the video game or movie industries. She hopes to use her art and her life experiences to tell stories of the small things that are often underestimated and unappreciated in life, and in turn, to inspire the next generation of artists and storytellers to do the same.

The trailer for Greenwood was narrated by David Ferry, who also narrated the audiobook.

As an award winning theatre director, Ferry has worked nationally and internationally in a wide variety of genres of theatre. He has also worked increasingly as a director and narrator of Audio Books for Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, ECW Press and Audible. 

Ferry has also enjoyed success as an actor who has worked on stage across Canada including at the Stratford Festival, in England, Australia and the U.S. (performing on and off Broadway). He has filmed in over 100 projects on the movie screen and TV in a career that has spanned 50 years.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah

Bhangra dancer, artist and educator Gurdeep Pandher will champion Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah on Canada Reads 2023.

Hotline is about Muna Heddad, a widow and mother who has left behind a civil war in Lebanon and is living in Montreal in the 1980s. The only work she can find is as a hotline operator at a weight-loss centre where she fields calls from people responding to ads in magazines or on TV. These strangers have so much to say about their challenges, from marriages gone bad to personal inadequacies. Although her life in Canada is filled with invisible barriers, Muna is privy to her clients’ deepest secrets.

Hotline with be champined by bhangra dancer Gurdeep Pandher on Canada Reads.

The trailer for Hotline was created by artist G.C. Houle in collaboration with animator J.L.J-F. Léger.

G.C. Houle is a comic artist and illustrator based in the heart of Acadia. They are best known for a colourful and sleek style influenced by their earlier training as a graphic designer. A strong believer in the legitimizing power of art, Houle seeks to create work that reflects the unique beauty and concerns of marginalized people, especially those within the queer community.

J.L.J-F. Léger is a professional animator currently residing in Halifax. With backgrounds in game design, animation and film, he is constantly on the lookout for new and exciting ways to push his creativity. He is currently working on his first graphic novel.

The trailer for Hotline was narrated by Leen Amarin. 

Amarin is a Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian and newly Canadian author, creative, researcher and human rights advocate. Born and raised in Amman, Jordan, Amarin immigrated to Canada in 2013. Now based in Toronto, she attempts to reconcile with her identity as a migrant-settler through her creative practice and advocacy. Committed to equity and anti-oppression organizing, she held leading roles in the fight for refugee human rights and the empowerment of marginalized creatives and intellectuals. She’s currently a student of Human Rights & Equity Studies at York University interested in further exploring concepts of belonging in imagining decolonized futures.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

BookTok creator and nursing student Tasnim Geedi will champion Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia on Canada Reads 2023.

Mexican Gothic is a gothic horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. It tells the story of a young woman named Noemí who is called by her cousin to save her from doom in her countryside home, the mysterious and alluring High Place. Noemí doesn’t know much about the house, the region or her cousin’s mysterious new husband, but she’s determined to do whatever it takes to solve this mystery and save her cousin.

Mexican Gothic  will be championed by TikTok creator Tasnim Geedi on Canada Reads 2023.

The trailer for Mexican Gothic was created by Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea. 

Gustavo is a Colombian Canadian animator, music video director, festival programmer, producer and educator. His work is influenced by psychedelia, genre filmmaking, and Colombia’s history of violence. His work has been exhibited internationally at galleries and festivals, such as the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, Glas Animation Festival, Los Angeles Latino Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival, among others. 
Gustavo has also directed music videos and performances for Grammy-nominated singer, Lido Pimienta, and served as creative producer, animator, and production designer for her CBC Gem show, LidoTV. Gustavo is the current president of the Toronto Animated Image Society and teaches at OCAD University.

The trailer for Mexican Gothic was narrated by Sofia Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was born and raised in a hot desert city surrounded by mountains: Monterrey, Mexico. Pre-collonially, it was the land of nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples recorded as Alazapas, Coahuiltecos, Huachichiles and Borrados. Sofia is an immigrant and settler in Toronto, sometimes called the place ‘where there are trees standing in the water’, land of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Anishnaabeg, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Wendat peoples. 

She is immensely grateful to get to live, love, learn, heal and play for a living working as a multidisciplinary creator and performer. 

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Nêhiyaw actor, choreographer and director Michael Greyeyes will champion Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel on Canada Reads 2023.

Station Eleven is a dystopian novel that takes place on an Earth undone by disease, following the interconnected lives of several characters — actors, artists and those closest to them — before and after the plague. One travels the wasteland performing Shakespearean plays with a troupe, while another attempts to build community at an abandoned airport and another amasses followers for a dangerous cause.

Station Eleven will be championed by actor Michael Greyeyes on Canada Reads.

The trailer for Station Eleven was created by Alina Pete. Pete is a Nehiyaw artist and writer from Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan. 

They grew up urban, but spent summers wandering the Qu’Appelle valley with their cousin from Cowessess First Nation. Alina is best known for their Aurora award-winning comics, but they also write short stories, poems and TTRPG supplements and their work has been featured in several Indigenous comic anthologies. 

Pete lives on unceded Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, and Tsawwassen land with their partner and three parrots who enjoy sitting on their shoulder as they write.

The trailer for Station Eleven was narrated by Jasmine Noseworthy Persaud. 

Jasminey is a nonbinary, mad and multiply disabled, digital media artist of Guyanese and English descent living in Treaty 13 territory. They are interested in where community arts meets community health. Their creative work seeks to create breathing space for survivors and queer, disabled, racialized communities. 

During the pandemic, this work has grown to revolve around explorations of love-grief as praxis, on a multi-sensory scale, and through the celebration of diverse bodyminds. Chosen media include: poetry, film, illustration. 

Jasmine is a current participant in the Ways of Attuning Curatorial Study Group for emerging QTBIPoC curators.

The sound design was by Alex Redekop and the script was written by Ryan B. Patrick.

A new set of statistics have shed light on the degree of internet access in Nepal. According to the data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for the National Census 2078 (2021) published on Chaitra 10, 2079, 37.8 percent of Nepali households have internet access. That means 25 lakhs, 14 thousand, and 510 households have broadband penetration across the country. The same report also highlighted that more than 17 lakh citizens don’t own any mobile phone while landline phone use sees further low.

The report shows that urban areas are highly covered with broadband penetration compared to rural regions. The report shows 45.7 percent of municipalities have internet access in Nepal. While 21.5 percent of rural municipalities (gaunpalika) have been ensured internet facility till 2078 BS.

The government has been promoting the Digital Nepal Framework for the digital transformation of Nepal and it includes continuous growth of internet penetration. Telcos and fixed-line broadband internet service providers have been very active in expanding their telecom services in remote areas across the country. The census data will continue to improve in the days to come.

Also read: Fiber Internet Users Continue to Grow With Ntc Giving a Stiff Competition to the Privately-Run ISPs

Mobile phone access in Nepal

At the same time, smartphone access has also increased as per the 2078 census statistics. The data shows that 73 percent of Nepali households have at least some form of smartphone penetration.

That is out of the total 66 lakhs, 60 thousand, 841 households in Nepal (Census 2079), 48 lakhs, 76 thousand, and 561 households have mobile phone access. That also means 26.8 percent population has no phone access which stands at 17 lakhs, 84 thousand, and 280 households.

Likewise, 15 percent of the total households have a computer or a laptop. Comparing the access in areas, 19.8 percent of families in urban areas and 4.9 percent of families in rural municipalities have got a computer in their homes. Just like internet access, laptop/computer access is low in rural regions in comparison to cities.

Check out: Smartphone Vs Laptop; which one to prefer?

Internet access in Nepal

As the data show, Nepal’s internet access is growing at a growing pace. The stats show less number of families having internet services in rural municipalities however, the trend has an upward trajectory so it will only grow in the coming years. Similarly, TV, and Laptop/computer access are also showing a growth trend with 49.4 percent and 15 percent of families respectively. However, landline service continues to become less relevant as highlighted by the data. The number of households having a landline phone has come down to 4.5 percent which has to do with the incremental growth of smartphone usage.

But interestingly, phones are still used by a huge section of the population. As the data show, 73.2 percent of Nepali households use any kind of phone. However, the smartphone is used by 73 percent of families which means 0.2 percent of families use a basic feature phone. Below, the table illustrates the penetration of communication services including other home devices in Nepal as per the National Census 2078 report.

Internet access by province

The data also shows the divergence in internet access among the provinces. Of the seven provinces, Bagmati Province shows to have the highest percentage of internet penetration in Nepal with 55.2 percent. Gandaki Province has 47.9 percent of households with connected by any type of internet.

Likewise, Koshi Province and Lumbini province have respectively 38.1 percent and 36.0 percent of families with connectivity. Karnali Province comes last with 20.3 percent of families having an internet penetration.

Learn: How to Get Internet Connection at Home in Nepal?

Internet access growing more important than ever

In terms of access to services, communication services rank above others such as motorbikes, fans, refrigerators, and other transport, and household items. No doubt that internet service is considered a human right these days. However, the public still has reservations about the cost factor of broadband access.

As per the latest CBS statistic on the 2078 Census data, there are 2 crore, 91 lakhs, 64 thousand, and 578 people. Of the total, there are 1 crore, 42 lakhs, 53 thousand, and 551(48.98 percent) males and 1 crore, 49 lakhs, 11 thousand, and 27 (51.02 percent) females and 2 thousand, 928 or 0.001 percent preferred to be classified as third-genders.