Obama to talk formative books in new podcast

Former U.S. president Barack Obama is known for regularly sharing his reading lists on social media, and now the 44th president will share his love of books in the form of a podcast.

A Great Book with Barack Obama will launch on Audible on Sept. 24 in conjunction with the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company, and will feature six episodes, each with a featured guest and a discussion on a different literary work that “shaped his worldview and our society:” Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré and All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren.

Obama posted his summer reading list on social media on July 29, which featured books such as Kin by Tayari Jones, Whistler by Ann Patchett, Vigil by George Saunders and Transcription by Ben Lerner.

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The Giller Prize has received a financial lifeline from the Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation to the tune of $4 million over multiple years.

After a contentious split from Scotiabank, the prize’s former sponsor, there was some uncertainty about the financial health and future of the award, which sees the winner of the annual fiction award receive $100,000, with the four shortlisted authors each receiving $10,000.

The funding will “help broaden the prize’s reach and impact by increasing support for Canadian authors, expanding a national book tour featuring shortlisted authors, and enhancing digital engagement and book club programming,” according to the Aug. 10 press release.

The funding was announced in honour of Hilary Weston, who died in 2025 and was deeply involved in the literary arts. The foundation also provides funding to the Writers’ Trust of Canada, and both the national and international non-fiction prizes presented annually by the organization are named after Hilary Weston.

The Giller Prize and Scotiabank parted ways in early 2025 after members of the literary community boycotted the prize over Scotiabank’s ties to an Israeli arms manufacturer.

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Four Canadian authors have been named the 2026 writers in residence for Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon.

Maria Reva (Endling), Eva Crocker (All I Ask), Christine Estima (Letters to Kafka) and Katie Munnik (The Heart Beats in Secret) will each spend two months at Berton House through the residency, which is run by the Writers’ Trust of Canada. Berton House is the childhood home of Writers’ Trust of Canada co-founder and late author Pierre Berton.

Each of the four writers in residence will also receive $4,000, and will be able to spend their time writing and connecting with readers.

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Robert J. Sawyer’s The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine won best novel at the 2026 Aurora Awards, which honours the best science fiction and fantasy titles written by Canadians or landed immigrants in the previous calendar year.

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Kate Beaton, whose 2022 graphic novel Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands won CBC’s Canada Reads in 2023, picked up the top prize for graphic novels at this year’s Aurora Awards for Shark Girl, while Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee took home the award for the best young adult novel for Breath of the Dragon.

For the complete list of awards, which were handed out Aug. 9, see wfp.to/aurora.

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A friendly reminder to Free Press Book Club members and anyone interested in hearing author and former Icelandic first lady Eliza Reid read from and discuss her thriller Death on the Island: this month’s meeting, which takes place Tuesday, Aug. 25, starts at noon instead of in the evening in order to accommodate Reid joining by video from Iceland.

To learn more, join the book club or see what titles and authors are coming later this year, see wfp.to/bookclub.

ben.sigurdson@winnipegfreepress.com