Amanda Leduc’s dazzling new novel, WILD LIFE, follows two walking, talking hyenas as they interact with humans over decades. Blurring the line between human and animal, these strange messengers reveal what is possible when the cages that contain us are broken.
In 2020, Amanda Leduc’s first book Disfigured was the first Canadian title to be published in all accessible and traditional formats simultaneously, thanks to a unique collaboration between Amanda, her publisher Couch House, CELA and the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS). Thanks to Amanda’s enthusiastic commitment to accessibility and accessible reading, her second book The Centaur’s Wife also was available simultaneously in accessible and commercial formats. Her third book WILD LIFE, released today, follows that same path and will be available in accessible audio and braille, at the same time as the commercial options.
CELA had a chance to catch up to Amanda, to talk about her commitment to accessibility and why it is so important to her.
“I am thrilled to know that WILD LIFE is going to be able to reach readers with print disabilities right from its first day of publication. This new novel of mine is very much about the communities that rally around us—as wild and unexpected as they may be!—and to know once again that the CELA community has rallied around my work in this way is really the most wonderful feeling. I hope readers across the country can connect with WILD LIFE in whatever way suits them best, and I’m so grateful to the team at CELA for their continued hard work in ensuring that Canadians with print disabilities have access to the literature that our country has to offer.”
Like the Centaur’s Wife, WILD LIFE is being published by Random House Canada. CELA’s Executive Director Laurie Davidson says that the support of authors like Amanda Leduc, and publishers like Penguin Random House Canada have helped immensely in growing awareness about accessible reading and how it is a matter of equity. “People with print disabilities used to wait months longer than their neighbours to read new releases like WILD LIFE. With more timely access readers can participate in our national conversations, community book clubs and even neighbour to neighbour discussions. At its root, this access to reading materials and information is a matter of equality. CELA is so grateful to collaborate with the Amanda Leduc, Penguin Random House Canada publisher and NNELS, ” says Laurie Davidson.
Anne Collins, Executive Editor, Random House Canada, Vice-president, Penguin Random House Canada agrees. “Storytelling is such a crucial human need. Sometimes it draws us out of our daily lives and transports us. Sometimes it deepens our empathy and understanding of what is going on in our own lives and all around us. Amanda Leduc’s WILD LIFE is that rare novel that does both; how perfect that it will be immediately available to all readers however they read. That’s really important to Amanda, and to her publisher.”
We are grateful to Penguin Random House Canada for providing both the audio and EPUB files and to NNELS for producing and providing us with braille.
Find WILD LIFE in various formats in our collection on March 11, 2025.
