BookLounge Podcast

Acclaimed non-fiction writer and doctor Abraham Verghese talks about how his new novel, Cutting for Stone (now available in paperback), came to be.

The Age of Persuasion authors Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant explain just how vast the impact of advertising is on our modern lives.

Canada's most distinctive commentator, Rex Murphy, chats about talking to strangers on tour, his non-celebrity status at home in Newfoundland, and the politics of Global Warming.

Mother-Daughter team Linda Haynes and Devin Connell share the inspiration and development for their new cookbook, Two Dishes.

Joan Clark takes up the challenge of writing for teens in Road to Bliss. In this interview, Joan explains why she doesn't try to "teach" through her young adult novels, and how she came to this story.

For Karen Connelly, Burma united her political and emotional connections to South Asia. From the same period and place that inspired her novel The Lizard Cage comes her memoir, Burmese Lessons.

In Egg on Mao, Denise Chong brings to light the story of Lu Decheng, a protester who defaced the portrait of Mao using paint-filled eggs – an unthinkable act during the height of China's Communist regime.

Michael Wex wants to bring the everyday wisdom gleaned from traditional Jewish texts to a modern world in How to Be a Mentsh (And Not a Shmuck).

Thomas Trofimuk discusses the various voices that weave together the story in Waiting for Columbus.

In Becoming George Sand, Rosalind Brackenbury explores the complexity and multifariousness of love and relationships.

Michael Crummey explores the mythology and realities of life in Newfoundland in his new novel, Galore.

Nurse and author Tilda Shalof shares the stories of ICU nurses from across North America in Lives in The Balance.

Linden MacIntyre's new novel explores the world of Catholic priests, of guilt, and of betrayal in The Bishop's Man.

Is the WWE a metaphor for our modern society? This is just one lens Chris Hedges has used to explore our society and its problems in Empire of Illusion.

Where We Have To Go started out as a short story, but as Lauren Kirshner explains, her character, Lucy Bloom, had a bigger story to tell.

Thomas Homer-Dixon addresses the twin problems of climate change and oil consumption in our near future in his new book, Carbon Shift.

Naturopathic Doctor, Natasha Turner, relates her personal experience with hormone imbalances, and how that led to her research the hormonal diet approach in The Hormone Diet.

Eric Walters tells us about how he came to write a non-fiction book for children, Tell Me Why, which is meant to inspire, provoke and engage our youth. Along the way, he met some truly amazing young adults.

Claire Letemendia explains how her budding academic career led to her debut novel, The Best of Men.

Damon Galgut explores the idea of corruption in his new novel, The Impostor, and which character, among many, is the title character.

Author Daniel Clay discusses his various inspirations for Broken, a darkly funny debut novel narrated by Skunk, an eleven-year-old girl in a coma.

Enjoy an audio interview with Jane F. Kotapish, author of the extraordinary debut novel, Salvage.

Giles Blunt talks to publisher Anne Collins about his new novel, No Such Creature, and his temporary departure from the dark world of his Cardinal series.

Listen in on a chat between Louise Dennys, Executive Publisher of Knopf, Random and Vintage Canada and Russell Banks, author of The Reserve, as well as The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction, among other novels.

Michael Schellenberg sits down with Mary Lou Finlay to talk about her new book, The As It Happens Files. Listen as she tells of her love of 'stories'.

Listen as Gwynne Dyer, author of Climate Wars, tells us why we need to start honestly talking about Climate, and the disappointing way Canada has failed to act.

A favourite at CityTV's Breakfast Television, Bryce Wylde joins us to talk about The Antioxidant Prescription. Here, he describes why the human health threshold is so important, and how you can get your body to do what it does best on its own.

Listen in to a conversation between best-selling author Miriam Toews and Associate Publisher Michael Schellenberg as they talk about the themes of her forthcoming novel, The Flying Troutmans.

Listen as The Gargoyle author, Andrew Davidson, tells Anne Collins about how his lead characters, the eccentric Marianne Engel and the nameless narrator, came to be.

Enjoy an interview with one of Canada's best poets, as Patrick Lane discusses Red Dog, Red Dog, his extraordinary debut novel.

Listen in as Mel Hurtig chats about his latest book The Truth About Canada with Douglas Gibson, Publisher of Douglas Gibson Books at McClelland and Stewart.

Perhaps the Gods were smiling on Marie Phillips when she submitted her book Gods Behaving Badly for publication. Listen in on this conversation with Anne Collins, Publisher Random House Canada, to discover the good luck in getting thirteen deals within three weeks.

Check out this video trailer for two-time Booker Prize-winner Peter Carey’s His Illegal Self. It’s a boisterous, moving tale about a monumental adventure in the life of a precocious seven-year-old boy as he seeks out his parents.

Sit in as Nick Heil chats about his experience in writing about the deadly and controversial 2006 climbing season on Mount Everest. Dark Summit is a riveting account of the death of climber David Sharp, and the troubling investigation into whether the pursuit of the ultimate mountaineering prize has spiraled out of control.

Listen in on the conversation between Mark Veldhuizen, Advertising Director, and Catherine O'Flynn as they discuss the background of her new novel What Was Lost, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the Costa First Novel Award in the UK.

Listen in as Mike Fuhr, Director of National Accounts Marketing chats with award-winning journalist Jan Wong about Beijing Confidential and her quest to find someone she encountered briefly in 1973, and whose life she was certain she had ruined forever.

Listen to Publisher of Vintage Canada Marion Garner in conversation with Henning Mankell, internationally acclaimed author of the Inspector Wallander mysteries about his new thriller Kennedy’s Brain.

William Marsden discusses Stupid to the Last Drop – his controversial book about the environmental Armageddon that Alberta is bringing to Canada.

Listen in as Mark Veldhuizen, Advertising Director for Random House of Canada, speaks with Janette Turner Hospital about her new novel, Orpheus Lost, and the role of music in the story.

Sit in on this candid conversation between President and Publisher of McClelland and Stewart Doug Pepper and his long-time friend and author of The Solitude of Emperors David Davidar.

Don’t miss this one! Mary Novik discusses Conceit — a historical first novel (long-listed for the 2007 Scotiabank Giller Prize) about the poet John Donne’s daughter Pegge.

Hear our interview with the award-winning author of The Garneau Block as he discusses his new novel, The Book of Stanley.

Sit in as Sir Martin Gilbert speaks with Marilyn Biderman, Director of Rights and Contracts for McClelland and Stewart, about Churchill and the Jews and the effect on today’s terrorism if Churchill had lived for another twenty years.

Listen to an interview with bestselling author of Random Passage and Waiting for Time, Bernice Morgan, as she describes her upcoming novel Cloud of Bone.

Don't miss John Mighton's revolutionary call for a new understanding of how people learn as he talks about his important book, The End of Ignorance.

Kristin Cochrane, Associate Publisher of Doubleday Canada, speaks with Mohsin Hamid about his new book The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Ellen Seligman, Publisher (Fiction) and Vice-President, McClelland and Stewart, speaks with Michael Ondaatje about his new book Divisadero.

Michael Schellenberg, Senior Editor of Knopf Canada, speaks with Heather Mallick about her new book Cake or Death.

Colleen Clarke, Publicity Manager at Random House Canada, speaks with Jen Sookfong Lee about her new book The End of East.

Anne Collins, Publisher of Random House Canada, speaks with Sally Armstrong about her new book The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor.

Anne Collins, Publisher of Random House Canada, speaks with Alissa York about her new novel Effigy.