[1] Kavanagh was the creator of Canada Reads, an annual "battle of the books" competition which was first broadcast on CBC Radio in 2002.
[2] Kavanagh first conceived of the idea for what would become Canada Reads after learning of a similar program on public radio in the United States.
[2] Past winners of the competition have included Michael Ondaatje, Joseph Boyden and Kim Thúy.
[2] Kavanagh was a co-producer on the first season of Canada Reads before leaving the show to pursue other CBC projects.
[2] He contracted paralytic poliomyelitis when he was just two months old and spent much of his early infancy and childhood as a patient at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.