County Reads best book debate opens Authors Festival

County Reads 2025 debaters with moderator Ken Murray, (back left) include: Stacey Michener, Sarah Fox, Stacey Hatch, Chris Fanning and (unable to attend launch) Lars Hansen.

Story and photos by Sharon Harrison
While residents clean up from a weekend of freezing rain, hope for spring to arrive intensifies with the arrival of April on Tuesday, and soon, spring flowers, April showers, and also the County Reads Debate.

The annual event, based on the national Canada Reads, is popular and much-anticipated, where each year five County residents are chosen to present a Canadian book of their choice.

Organized and hosted by the County of Prince Edward Public Library and Archives, the great debate returns to St. Mary Magdalene Church in Picton again this year. The annual event usually sees a big crowd, as each presenter attempts to out-compete their co-presenters with superb presenting and persuasion skills, in what always brings a friendly rivalry for a fun, and oft humorous, evening.

Each outlines why their book is a good read, and why it stands out, as they attempt to convince the audience before them that their title should be chosen winner of the County Reads Debate.

The County Reads Debate County Library Authors’ Festival (April 24-26) committee comprises Marlene Fraser, Alexandra Bake, Janet Aston, Marilyn Leighton, Liz Zylstra, and Barbara Sweet.

The official launch of this year’s festival, of which the County Reads Debate is the key kick-off event, and the announcement of the five presenters and the books they will be defending, was held late last week.

Ken Murray, debate moderator. was pleased with the wide range of material in the presenters’ selections.

“That’s a great starting point, I am really pleased. We have poetry, fiction and non-fiction represented today, really great spectrum,” observed Murray.

And while the festival is still a month away, organizers enjoy the idea of building excitement and anticipation in the community for the enjoyable literary occasion. It also provides opportunity for those who wish to pick-up one or more of the titles to familiarize themselves in advance of the event, which many like to do as a way to enhance the overall experience.

All five book titles can be borrowed from any library branch, and should also be available to purchase from Picton’s Books and Company.

The five presenters this year are: Stacey Hatch who will be presenting Hair for Men (written by Michelle Williams), Chris Fanning with Way to Go (written by Richard Sanger), Sarah Fox, whose choice is Curiosities (written by Anne Fleming). Lars Hansen will be presenting Breaking and Entering (written by Don Gilmour), and Stacey Michener’s pick is Recipe for a Good Life (written by Lesley Crewe).

Murray, a writer and novelist, bicyclist and radio personality, returns in his role of moderator for his 10th year, where he outlined at the media launch the format for the upcoming evening and what the presenters can expect (especially since a few of them are new to the County Reads Debate event), providing some useful tips and tricks to master the evening, and an audience of some 300 people before them.

Ken Murray

On the night, names are drawn at random to determine the order the presenters will present. Each presenter will get five strictly-enforced minutes in round one to share their title with the gathered audience, where they must somehow convince the crowd why they should read their book.

“And that’s a tremendous challenge for rising up to that,” said Murray.

Because each book defender only gets a short allocated time, Murray explained that not every reason, and especially not a long list of reasons, should be shared by the presenter on why the book has to be read. A brief panel discussion follows in round two where each presenter is presented with a question or two (unknown to them in advance), concluding with a final one-minute pitch from each.

Don’t come with every reason of why it’s a good book, he suggested.

“If you list 17 reasons, sort through them, it always starts with, well, what’s the one reason, and if you get that one reason down, it’s like is there a second one I can put in there, is there a third. Somewhere along the way, it comes together, but it’s really challenging.”

It’s amazing what can make a book fantastic, he added.

“Sometimes, its a deeply personal thing, sometimes its seeing something in there that applies to the world you are living in right now, give reference to both, and give brief descriptions of the work, so bring that forward.”

Murray’s best advice was encouraging each presenter to enjoy the experience.

“It will pass by in about three minutes in your perceptions on the stage,” he offered. “It is this opportunity to take something you love and talk about it to people who want to hear about it, and that’s a wonderful space to be in.”

The whole evening usually wraps-up in about an hour, and that includes voting by ballot, where the winner of the 2025 County Reads Debate is announced.

“For a $10 ticket, it’s a really entertaining event,” said Murray.

“It’s just all pure entertainment, voting is not here nor there, it’s just a fun evening for everyone,” added Sweet.

The County Reads Debate is set for Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalene Church, 335 Picton Main Street (opposite Shire Hall). Tickets are available at any library branch or the door on the night, and cost $10. Details can be found at peclibrary.org/festival

Outlined below are a few details on the five presenters and their chosen titles. Murray urged the presenters not to share too much about their chosen book at this time, instead saving it for the big night.

CURIOSITIES BY ANNE FLEMING – PRESENTED BY SARAH FOX
Growing up north of Belleville, Sarah Fox spent time visiting family in the County, eventually moving to Picton in 2017 where this aspiring comedian and enthusiastic karaoke singer now works for Visit the County.

“I feel honoured to be invited to do this as I think it means that I have really made it in the County,” she laughed, where she noted how it has been a wonderful opportunity for her to get back to reading again.

“I was a voracious reader as a child, usually five books a week, majored in English lit at university, and then COVID came and my capacity for reading a full book cover-to-cover kind of just evaporated.”

She explained how Curiosities by Anne Fleming is historical novels set in the 17th century told from the perspective of the person who is researching through archives finding letters, along with the perspective of multiple characters through their personal accounts and letters.

“I am still trying to figure out if there are elements of truth in this or not because the researcher is named Anne, as is the author, and I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t,” explained Fox. “And there are LGBTQ themes talking about being trans at a time when there wasn’t language around that, and it’s just really interesting how so many things that are happening in the 17th century are so pertinent to today.”

“It’s been one of those really immersive experiences, and I think it’s going to get me back into that rhythm again, which I am very excited about.”

RECIPE FOR A GOOD LIFE BY LESLEY CREWE – PRESENTED BY STACEY MICHENER
Stacey Michener has called the County home for just over three years, having grown up in Scarborough. She built a house near Point Petre and “just wanted to be out there in the forest”. A retired educator and an avid reader, she said she dreams of becoming an author, but now in retirement, she spends most of her time avoiding writing, by reading. She states she also likes to sing badly, walk her dog (Alice), and partake in knitting groups, but she really likes to read.

Presenting Recipe for a Good Life by Lesley Crewe, Michener describes the book as a very nice read, “it’s an easy read, it’s heartfelt”.

HAIR FOR MEN BY MICHELLE WILLIAMS – PRESENTED BY STACEY HATCH
A psychotherapist, a researcher in the area of adult mental health and a professor, Stacey Hatch has lived in the County since 1998 where she maintains organic farmland and a wildflower meadow. A huge fan of the library, she said as much as she loves to read fiction, she doesn’t usually have a lot of time for it.

“I have to be so selective and I can’t feel like it’s wasted, so this book, Hair for Men by Michelle Williams, really is hilarious, its heartfelt, it is about adolescent trauma. It’s about the punk scene in Toronto in the late ‘70s and ‘80s,” explains Hatch. “It’s framed with lyrics from the Tragically Hip, culminating from the final concert, one of those nights everybody remembers where they were, and as I was reading this, I was thinking this feels like one of my diaries from the era, so I am very happy to be defending this book.”

Hatch says she is motivated by curiosity, questions and a bit of chaos, so of course, reading and sharing a great novel with others is a favourite activity. She also enjoys cycling, kayaking, hiking and motorcycling, and is trying to master cribbage and crochet.

WAY TO GO BY RICHARD SANGER – PRESENTED BY CHRIS FANNING
A professor of 18th-century English literature at Queen’s University since 1999, Chris Fanning has been co-publisher of the Picton Gazette since 2023, a role he says he never imagined for himself, but is one he finds deeply rewarding.

A recent Cressy resident, Fanning will be presenting Richard Sanger’s book of poetry, Way to Go. “Rich was a friend of mine and I think everybody needs more poetry in their lives, so I intend to share some of the riches about this book in particular.”

Born in Toronto, Fanning notes how he has acquired a taste for Frank Sinatra, and martinis, along with acquiring five children, including two sets of twins.

BREAKING AND ENTERING BY DON GILMOUR – PRESENTED BY LARS HANSEN
A Picton resident since 2020, Lars Hansen has spent time in the County since childhood, and now works in marketing and communications at Queen’s University. He enjoys the County for the places and spaces to get out and explore with four-legged friends (he owns a large dog), enjoying the many parks, beaches and trails in the County. Hansen was not available to attend the media launch.

2025 COUNTY LIBRARY AUTHORS’ FESTIVAL

The 2025 County Library Authors Festival takes place April 24-26 at Picton branch library (unless stated otherwise), with the following author events:

Friday, April 25:
Peggy Collins, author of Harley the Hero (10 a.m. free children’s event at Wellington branch library)
Samra Zafar, author of Unconditional (1 p.m. author readings and discussion)
Phoebe Wang, author of Relative to Wind (2 p.m. author readings and discussion)
Andrew Forbes, author of Field Work (3 p.m. author readings and discussion)
Shane Peacock, author of As We Forgive Others (4 p.m. author readings and discussion)

Saturday, April 26:
Bonnie Reichert, author of How to Share an Egg (1 p.m. author readings and discussion)
Marissa Stapley, author of The Lightning Bottles (2 p.m. author readings and discussion)
Nita Prose, author of The Maid’s Secret (3 p.m. author readings and discussion)

Festival passes are $40, or admission to individual events is $15 per event, available at the door at the event, or at any County library branch.

Visit peclibrary.org/festival for more information, or drop in or call any County library branch.