What is Red Deer Reads?

Red Deer Reads is a city-wide initiative designed to bring Red Deerians together through a shared reading experience. It is an opportunity for the entire community to connect and have engaging conversations about a particular book, its author, and the themes and ideas within the book. 

After selecting three finalist novels, we heard from over 200 Red Deerians who voted for this year's winning title!

How does it work?

First, we collect and review potential titles, and select our top three finalists.

To be considered for Red Deer Reads, a book must:

• Be written by a living Canadian author.
• Be a well-written story with a WOW factor!
• Appeal to a wide audience.
• Be a great conversation starter.
• Be in print and available in a variety of formats.

We had a huge list of potential titles in mind for our 2023 Red Deer Reads shortlist, and we narrowed it down to our top three titles: Astra, opens a new window by Cedar Bowers, A Funny Kind of Paradise, opens a new window by Jo Owens, and The Theory of Crows, opens a new window by David A. Robertson. 

Then, we ask Red Deerians to vote for their favourite!

Red Deerians have a few months to read the finalists and vote for the book they think should win Red Deer Reads! We make sure to have plenty of copies available in various formats for everyone to borrow, and voting takes place in person at any branch as well as online.

Next, we announce the winner!

Once Red Deerians have had a chance to vote, we announce the winning title! After the announcement, we encourage everyone to check out a copy and read the winning title. What better way to bring a community together than by all reading the same book?! Once the winning title is announced, we encourage the community to engage with us online and discuss the book using the hashtag #RedDeerReads.

Finally, the author visits for an extra special event!

Red Deer Reads traditionally culminates in October - which is library month in Canada - with a visit from the author of the 2023 Red Deer Reads winning title! This highly anticipated special event will take place in the fall, and more information will be shared online soon!