Open Book: February 2024

Open book
In this issue

Letter from CELA’s Executive Director

The Canada Reads debates are just a few days away. We’ve been delighted to work with Canada Reads over the years and this year in particular with some of our colleagues in accessible publishing to bring you accessible versions of the shortlisted titles. One title in particular this year has been a real collaboration. Denison Avenue, published by ECW Press has a number of illustrations crucial to the story. Thanks to the publisher, the author and illustrator who were involved in creating the ALT text for the illustrations, and some of our colleagues in accessible publishing, we have this title in three formats in our collection. We look forward to more collaborative work to make illustrated books more accessible for our users.

We are also looking forward to the One eRead Canada event featuring Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah. One eRead/Un Livrel Canada is a digital, bilingual, cross-Canada book club which takes place in April, and we are pleased to have Hotline available in our collection in both French and English. Watch your local library or the One eRead website for events and resources.

As I mentioned in my letter last month, some of our team attended the Accessible Publishing Summit. If you are interested in learning more about what was discussed at this event, EDR, one of our collaboration partners, has an excellent overview on their blog. As accessible publishing continues to evolve, we’re excited about the possibilities for our users and grateful for the opportunity to engage with our colleagues at this event. 

Lastly, I wanted to thank you for your ongoing patience this past month as we have been working behind the scenes to address some issues with our website and services. These updates required some scheduled outages and some slowdowns in our services over the past few weeks. We will be continuing this work into March and will send out more information about any planned downtime in advance. While our goal is that these updates will ultimately improve our services for all our users, we understand how important easy access to books is for our users. We apologize for any inconvenience you may encounter.

I hope you find some great books to read this month!

Happy Reading!
Laurie Davidson, Executive Director

Denison Avenue available in accessible formats

Cover of the book Denison Avenue by by Christina Wong and Daniel Innes.Denison Avenue is a moving story told in visual art and fiction about gentrification, aging in place, grief, and vulnerable Chinese Canadian elders in Toronto’s Chinatown. Written by Christina Wong and illustrated by Daniel Innes the book was chosen to be one of the 5 featured titles for this year’s Canada Reads debates.

Often the inclusion of significant images and unique layouts makes it challenging to create an accessible book which captures the intention the author and illustrator had for their readers. Thanks to the detailed work of the publisher ECW Press, an accessibility certified publisher, and collaborations between the author, illustrator and some dedicated accessibility professionals, Joanne Pak, Adam Kitchen, and eBOUND Canada, the accessible versions of Denison Avenue provide an equitable experience for readers using accessible versions. Author Christina Wong and illustrator Daniel Innes worked together, drafting the image descriptions for the accessible book to capture all the information relevant for the readers.

Ioana Gandrabur, one of CELA’s Peer Trainers, reviewed the book before it was added to CELA’s collection and was delighted with the experience. “A few years ago, a book like this would not have been accessible to people with vision loss. Thanks to the work of all involved I can read this beautiful book and the descriptions of the illustrations add important context to the text.”

Laurie Davidson, CELA’s Executive Director, said that this project is an excellent example of the ways a collaborative approach and a focus on providing the best possible experience for people with print disabilities can produce an equitable reading experience. “It’s important that books be made accessible but it’s particularly important that readers with print disabilities can take part in the kinds of national conversations sparked by programs like Canada Reads. I am so pleased that this book is available to our readers and I want to thank all involved for their commitment to accessibility.”

Denison Avenue is available in audio, braille and ePub in the CELA collection.

Audie Awards nominees announced

Cover of the book Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.It's no secret that CELA readers love audiobooks and we often hear that a good narrator can really enhance the reading experience. The Audie Awards recognize the importance of narration by honouring the best in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment.

This year we are delighted to have more than 100 of the nominees in our collection.  The nominees are sorted into 28 categories including fiction, nonfiction, humour, fantasy and more. 

The winners of the Audie Awards will be announced at a gala on March 4, 2024.

Find Audie nominated titles in our collection.

Reading in the news

Book cover of House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas.The CBC recently ran an article about the ways social media is impacting the books we read and the ones that are published, particularly with the romance genre. 

The article notes that the genre is becoming more diverse. "The genre has long focused on 'own voices' stories — books about diverse communities written by members of those communities. Queer authors write romance novels about queer characters, autistic authors about autistic characters, and so on."

Two of our team members, Karen and Theresa, recently spoke with the team at AMI's Audiobook Review podcast about romantasy (a mash up of romance and fanstasy). This new genre has emerged recently as a hot trend, thanks to the influence of social media.

Find their conversation on Apple podcasts.

Read more about romantasy, and find books in our collection.

One eRead Canada

Book cover of Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah.In April, readers across the country are invited to take part in a national book club. One eRead Canada has selected Hotline by Lebanese Canadian author Dimitri Nasrallah as this year’s featured book. Available in our collection in both French and English, Hotline is a “vivid love letter to the 1980s and one woman’s struggle to overcome the challenges of immigration.” 

One eRead Canada and participating libraries will be hosting a series of events with the author. Dimitri Nasrallah will be at Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec in Montreal on Tuesday, April 23rd at 7 pm for an event in French with an interviewer from Radio-Canada. He will appear in Ottawa on Thursday, April 25th, at 7 pm. A CBC host will interview him for a program in partnership with Library and Archives Canada and Ottawa Public Library. Find out more at your local library, or visit the One eRead Canada website.

Hackmatack turns 25!

The text "25 years/ans Hackmatack" appears in red over a peach-coloured background with a white exploding firework pattern on it.Congratulations to Hackmatack which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The Children’s Choice Book Award is an Atlantic Canadian literary program designed to bring together readers in Grades 4-6 with great Canadian books and authors. 

The voting deadline is April 30th and winners will be announced in May.

​CELA works with Hackmatack to ensure that accessible books are available for children with print disabilities. You can find accessible versions of the featured Hackmatack books in French and English on the Hackmatack website or by visiting CELA’s Kids and Teen awards page. The Hackmatack voting deadline is April 30th and winners will be announced in May, so get busy reading!

Webinars for you

We host a series of webinars to help users access CELA services, to stay up to date on new technologies and to learn more about accessible reading.

On the Webinars for you page, you will find upcoming webinars, including CELA’s collection for young readers with print disabilities. On that same page you will find links to other CELA video resources available on our YouTube channel.

Envoy Connect: a New Accessible and Affordable Audiobook Player

In May 2023, CELA launched our new service which uses the new Envoy Connect audiobook player to read books in CELA’s collection. This webinar will provide a basic introduction to the Envoy Connect player, a portable, affordable and easy-to-use device. This webinar is for anyone who prefers listening to audiobooks using self-contained players with a tactile interface, rather than through computers, smart phones or tablets.

This webinar will cover:

  • Background and context to explain how and why the Envoy Connect became an option for accessing audio books.
  • Basics of the Envoy Connect Player: what it is, how it works, etc.
  • How to manage books on the Envoy Connect with the CELA Connect software.
  • Where to find learning resources or purchase the player.

Select the link below to register for this webinar:

Monday March 11 1:00-2:00pm EST

CELA at your fingertips: All about CELA’s braille collection

Have you ever wanted to learn more about CELA’s braille collection? Join us for this hour-long webinar about the braille reading delights that are at the fingertips of CELA users. This webinar is for anyone using braille or supporting new or experienced braille readers. By attending this webinar you will learn about:

  • The value of braille in developing literacy skills
  • CELA’s and Bookshare’s braille books, text magazines and specialized braille magazine collections
  • Braille formats, delivery options and compatible devices
  • Understanding human transcription and automatic transcription and how to choose which one you want to receive.

To register for this webinar select the link below:

Wednesday, April 17 2:00-3:00pm EDT

CCBC launches new resource for accessible books

The words Accessible Books Bank appear in a blue banner above a graphic of 4 people with various disabilities reading their books.Last month, the Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) launched their new Accessible Books Bank with a webinar.

Accessible Books Bank is a new discovery tool to help find Canadian children's books in accessible formats including ebooks, audiobooks, braille and more.

The video launch on the Bibliovideo YouTube channel is an excellent overview of print disabilities, the importance of accessible books, especially in the classroom, and the ways accessible books are constructed to help readers with print disabilities. It also demonstrates the new book bank and how to use it to find accessible books in multiple formats and through multiple services, including CELA.  Congratulations to our colleagues at the CCBC for their new service! 

The CCBC is looking for writers and reviewers for their newsletters. If you are interested in this paid opportunity reach out to the CCBC at info@bookcentre.ca. 

Featured title for adults: Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada's Telecom Empire

Cover of the book Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada's Telecom Empire by Alexandra Posadzki.A riveting, deeply reported account that takes us inside the dramatic battle for control of Canada’s largest wireless carrier, and paints a broader picture of the cutthroat telecom industry, the labyrinth of regulatory and political systems that govern it, and the high-stakes corporate games played by the Canadian establishment.

Alexandra Posadzki’s ground-breaking coverage in the Globe and Mail exposed one of the most spectacular boardroom and family dramas in Canadian corporate history—one that has pitted the company’s extraordinarily powerful chairman and controlling shareholder, Edward Rogers, against not only his own management team but also the wishes of his mother and two of his sisters. Hanging in the balance is no less than the pending $20 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications, a historic deal that promises to transform Rogers into the truly national telecom empire that its late founder, Ted Rogers, always envisioned. Based on deeply sourced, investigative reporting of the iconic $30 billion publicly traded telecom and media giant, Posadzki takes us inside a company that touches the lives of millions of Canadians, challenging what we thought we knew about corporate governance and who really holds the power. Rogers v. Rogers is also a story of family legacy and succession, of an old guard pushing back at the new guard, and of a company struggling to find its footing in the wake of its legendary founder’s death. At the heart of it all is a dispute between warring factions of the family over how they each interpret the desires of the late patriarch and the very identity of the company that bears their name.

Read Rogers v. Rogers by Alexandra Posadzki.

Top five books

Cover of the book The Bittlemores by Jann Arden.Most popular with our readers this month:

  1. The Whispers: A Novel by Ashley Audrain, Suspense and thrillers
  2. Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page, Biography
  3. The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose, General fiction
  4. The Bittlemores by Jann Arden, Gentle mysteries
  5. The Fury by Alex Michaelides, Suspense and thrillers

Featured title for children: The Curse of Eelgrass Bog

Cover of the book The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling.Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse. Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim). But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in town. 

Lilou comes to Kess for help breaking a mysterious curse—and the only clue she has leads straight into the center of Eelgrass Bog. Everyone knows the bog is full of witches, demons, and possibly worse, but Kess and Lilou are determined not to let that stop them. As they investigate the mystery and uncover long-buried secrets, Kess begins to realize that the curse might hit closer to home than she’d ever expected, and she’ll have to summon all her courage to find a way to break it before it’s too late.

Read The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling.

Top five for kids

Cover of the book City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.Most popular with kids this month:

  1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Fantasy
  2. The City of Ember: The First Book Of Ember (The City of Ember #1) by Jeanne DuPrau, Science fiction
  3. Harry Potter: Cinematic Guide by Felicity Baker, General non-fiction
  4. The Dark by Robert Munsch, General fiction
  5. The Barren Grounds (The Misewa Saga, Book #1) by David A. Robertson, Family stories

Top five for teens

Cover of the book The Giver by Lois Lowry.Most popular with teens this month:

  1. The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1) by Lois Lowry, Science fiction
  2. One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus, Mysteries and crime stories
  3. Hatchet: Hatchet series, book 1 by Gary Paulsen, Adventure stories
  4. The Hawthorne Legacy (Inheritance Games #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, General fiction
  5. One of Us is Next: The Sequel to One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus, Mysteries and crime stories

Holiday hours

A white rabbit sits in the grass behinds a selection of coloured eggs.CELA and our Contact Centre will be closed on Friday, March 29 and Monday, April 1 to observe Good Friday and Easter Monday. We will reopen with our regular hours on Tuesday, April 2. 

Enjoy your holiday.

Edie Mourre Scholarship now accepting applications

Braille Literacy Canada is now accepting applications for the 2024 Edie Mourre Scholarship. The deadline is March 31, 2024.

The Edie Mourre Scholarship fund is intended to assist those who are pursuing employment as a braille transcriber or proofreader, or as an educator.  Eligible codes include: Unified English Braille, Code braille français uniformisé, music braille, or other braille systems.  

More information on the program and application forms (in English and in French) may also be found online at the Braille Literacy Canada website. 

Updates to email regulations

A close up of a computer keyboard shows a pink button with the image of an envelope.Recent changes have been made to our emails to our users, including to Open Book and other newsletters. You will now find an unsubscribe option in the header of our emails. We’ve made this change to comply with changes required by some of the major email services like Google and Yahoo. 

Please note, if you unsubscribe using that button in your email, you will be removed from all of our mailing lists and will not receive information about service or system updates in the future.

If you unsubscribe by mistake, please go to our website and resubscribe using the link on our newsletter page. 

Stay connected!

Facebook and twitter logos.Visit CELA's social media, including Twitter, Facebook and our blog, for more news about what's happening in the world of accessible literature.