JC VILLAMERE
Your friend from the internet. And print.
BOOKS
Is Canada Even Real?
How A Nation Built On Hobos, Beavers, Weirdos, And Hip Hop Convinced The World To Beliebe
Dundurn Press
With sharp wit and playful storytelling, Villamere challenges Canadian stereotypes while celebrating the country's charm.
Agent: Carolyn Swayze
"One Of The Best Comedy Books Of The Year"
- Vulture
An exclusively Canadian textbook, this collection investigates the relationships between identity, geography, and popular culture produced and consumed in this sprawling country.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Leacock Award's History of Overlooking Women is No Laughing Matter
The Toronto Star
It's the biggest award for humour writing in Canada — and women have only won it six times since 1947. Why the discrepancy?
Giant Tiger beat the discount chain odds and became your go-to stop on the way to the cottage.
Conducted in-depth business research
Researched the history of Canadian department stores
Interviewed sources
Provided original photos and sourced vintage images
ET Canada
Collaborated for 8+ years, creating over 200 entertainment news articles.
17 Black Canadians Who Changed The Music Scene
Oscar Peterson’s Most Famous Fans
The 2 Live Crew And 30 Years Of The Parental Advisory Label
The 25 Biggest Moments In Juno Award History
50 Glorious Years Of Juno Awards Fashion
The Life and Times of RuPaul
A Look Back At Canada’s ‘Royal’ Wedding: Wayne Gretzky And Janet Jones’ Glamorous 1988 Ceremony
Gordon Lightfoot: A Look Back At A Canadian National Treasure
Hats Off To Bob Dylan: A Birthday Tribute
30 Years Ago: Toronto Police’s Beef With Madonna — Plus 11 Other Law-Skirting Music Shows
Keith Richards: His Life In Pictures
Snubbed Stars! The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s Biggest Brush-Offs
The Top Royal Moments Of 2022
‘The ‘Happy Birthday Drake!’ Guide To Understanding Just How Famous Drake Is
NKOTB’s ‘Step By Step’ (Oooh Baby!) Album At 30: A Track-By-Track Evaluation
Happy Birthday, Bieber! Take A Look At Justin’s Hometown Museum Exhibit
Neil Diamond: He Is, He Says
The New ‘Queen of Twitter’ Turns 80: Dionne Warwick’s Life in Pictures
Fight Song: John Cena and 11 More WWE Stars Who Sing
The 22 Biggest Pop Culture Headlines of 2022
‘Vs.’ At 25: A Track-By-Track Look Back At Pearl Jam’s Record-Setting Second Album
The Most Accurate Grammy Predictions You’ll Read All Day
TESTIMONIALS
"Villamere knows her way around a story. Her brilliant writing is fast and funny one moment, sad and serious the next, but always rooted in the familiar, often hilarious, truth of self-discovery. Start, and you won’t stop.”
— Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Award, 2011 winner of Canada Reads
“Villamere's writing is a literary spritz of the funny, sad and conflicted, with a frankness to give it the bite of hard candy, not forgetting its gooey heart.”
— Dave Bidini, 2011 Canada Reads finalist, National Post columnist, founding member of Rheostatics
“Frisky, light-spirited, uninhibited – dare I say teasing? Villamere extols the virtues of a spirited life; the energetic frolic through career and love that takes courage and smarts and a rich fever in the blood.”
— Michael Winter, winner of the 2008 Writers’ Trust Award, shortlisted for the 2007 Giller Prize
Select Citations
Ruel, Maxime. "The Bizarro Laws Keeping Canada Weird" Medium, September 12, 2018.
Nathan Taylor. “Orillia Festival Helps Keep the Art of Storytelling Alive and Well.” Orillia Matters, July 16, 2018 newspaper.
"The best Canadian books of all time" Ottawa Life, July 1, 2018, magazine.
"The best Canadian books of all time" Kobo, June 26, 2018, website.
Boone, Brian. "The Best Comedy Books of 2017" Vulture/New York, December 25, 2017, magazine
Sinclair, Reyes. “Funny Canadian History” Reading for You, November 30, 2017, website.
Davidson, Dan. "Poking Fun at Some National Icons on Our Birthday" What's Up Yukon, August 30, 2017, magazine.
"Is Canada Even Real?" The Book Trail, June 30, 2017, website.
“Various Artists: Dominionated IV” Dominionated, June 30, 2017, website.
Tennant, Jamie. “Get Lit E31 with J.C. Villamere” 93.3 CFMU-FM, June 22, 2017, radio.
Day, Lisa. "#IsCanadaEvenReal? ET Canada’s J.C. Villamere finds out" Book Talk, May 29, 2017 website.
Dandeneau, Lolly K. "Is Canada Even Real? How a Nation Built on Hobos, Beavers, Weirdos, and Hip-Hop Convinced the World to Beliebe by J.C. Villamere" Book Stalker, May 23, 2017, website.
Brody, Laura. "Is Canada Even Real?" CHCH TV, May 16, 2017, television.
Gray, Charlotte. "Review: Jesse Brown’s The Canadaland Guide to Canada and J.C. Villamere’s Is Canada Even Real?" The Globe & Mail, May 12, 2017, newspaper.
Rockingham, Graham. “Hamilton writer celebrates Canada's 'weirdos’” the Hamilton Spectator, May 10, 2017, newspaper.
Spuckler, Joseph "Book Review — Is Canada Even Real?: How a Nation Built on Hobos, Beavers, Weirdos, and Hip Hop Convinced the World to Beliebe" Evilcyclist's Bookshelf, March 7, 2017, website.
Kathy Renwald, Kathy. “Curating Canadiana" the Hamilton Spectator, August 6, 2015, newspaper.
“People in Publishing.” Masthead, March 3, 2011, magazine.
“Tips From CSME Panel on Building a Successful Blog.” Masthead, February 17, 2011, magazine.
Villamere rhymes with ‘spill a beer’.