What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

My guest on this episode is Teresa Wong. Teresa is an author and artist whose work has appeared in The Believer, The New Yorker, McSweeney's and The Walrus. Her first book, the graphic novel Dear Scarlet, was longlisted for CBC Canada Reads. Her most recent book is the graphic novel All Our Ordinary Stories, published in 2024 by Arsenal Pulp Press. It was also longlisted for Canada Reads, and won two Alberta Literary Awards. (NB: as you'll hear, this episode was recorded a day before the book won.) Publishers Weekly said that “Wong explores her Chinese immigrant parents' history with gentle curiosity, wry humor, and moments of aching regret” and called the book “a resonant journey into the past.”Teresa and I talk about the potential meditative benefits of learning to swim as an adult, which she is currently doing, about worrying she was done making books entirely after All Our Ordinary Stories was published, and about her complicated thoughts on the whole concept of literary awards.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Kerry Clare. Kerry is the author of the novels Mitzi Bytes and Waiting for a Star to Fall and the editor of The M Word: Conversations About Motherhood, Kerry also edits the Canadian books website 49thShelf.com, is host of the BOOKSPO podcast, and writes about books and reading at her longtime blog, Pickle Me This. Kerry's most recent book is the novel Asking for a Friend, published by Doubleday Canada in 2023. Author Marisa Stapley said that “this novel is like the best kind of friend: honest, wise, complicated, endearing, smart.”Kerry and I talk about her new podcast and how it fits into a publishing landscape that seems to change completely every 5 years or so, about being surprised (and a little disappointed) that she had to work to promote her most recent novel just as hard as she did her first, and about the sense of liberation she felt, early on, when she realized she didn't have to try to write “pretentious CanLit.”This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Sid Sharp. Sid is an artist and illustrator whose debut graphic novel for young readers, The Wolf Suit, was featured in Best of the Year lists by the New York Public Library, School Library Journal, and The Globe and Mail, and has been translated into French, German, and Italian. Their most recent graphic novel, Bog Myrtle, was published in 2024 by Annick Press, and was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. It has also been nominated for an Eisner and Doug Wright awards. Publishers Weekly called the book a “lighthearted and surreal take on evergreen themes surrounding the benefits of kindness that's more Brothers Grimm than classic Disney.”Sid and I talk about how they originally had no plans to create work for children, about the fun but very exhausting experience of meeting young readers in the wild, and about how they need, in their words, to “draw some weird, sad stuff for grown-ups” before tackling another kids' book.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is John Lorinc. John is a journalist and editor who writes regularly for places like the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, The Walrus, and Spacing Magazine, where he is a senior editor. His previous books include The New City and Dream States: Smart Cities, Technology, and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias. He has also contributed to, co-edited, or project-managed a number of essay anthologies for Coach House Books, including one that has just come out, called Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything. The most recent book for which he is the sole author is the memoir No Jews Live Here, published in 2024 by Coach House. The Literary Review of Canada called the book “a poignant exploration of survival and identity that will resonate deeply with readers interested in Holocaust history.”John and I talk about his enduring interest in cities, about writing a Holocaust-themed memoir after working for so long in the realm of urbanism, and about his long relationship with Coach House BooksThis podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Charlie Angus. Charlie is a politician, musician, and author who has published nine books, including Unlikely Radicals, Children of the Broken Treaty, and Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower, which was shortlisted for the Trillium Prize. Charlie served in the Canadian Parliament for more than twenty years, representing the riding of Timmins—James Bay as a member of the NDP, before announcing he would not run again in the 2025 federal election. His most recent book is Dangerous Memory: Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed, published by House of Anansi in 2024. Author and activist Naomi Klein has called the book "an extraordinary read from a true Canadian original.”Charlie and I talk about the new pope and the future of the federal NDP, about how writing became a necessary activity during his time in Parliament, and about his work-in-progress, which examines our dystopic political present through the lens of the 1930s.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is C.S. Richardson. C.S. Richardson is an award-winning book designer who worked in book publishing for more than forty years, and an author whose first novel, The End of the Alphabet, was an international bestseller, published in fourteen countries and ten languages, and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book (Canada and the Caribbean). His second novel, The Emperor of Paris, was a national bestseller, named a Globe and Mail Best Book of the year, and was longlisted for the Giller Prize. His most recent book is the novel All the Colour in the World, published in 2023 by Knopf Canada. That book was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. The Toronto Star called it “a heady celebration of art, an act and form the author respects in all its facets.”C.S.—it's Charles Scott, by the way—and I talk about the reason for the decade-long gap between his second and third novels, about the advantages and disadvantages that come with writing a novel while working deep in the heart of publishing, and how retiring to become a full-time writer has allowed him to push his creative ambitions even further.My 2012 profile of C.S. Richardson in Toronto Life.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Carol Off. Carol is an author, journalist, and broadcaster who spent almost sixteen years co-hosting the multi-award-winning CBC radio program, As It Happens. Before that, she covered news and current affairs in Canada and around the world. Her books include The Lion, The Fox and the Eagle, The Ghosts of Medak Pocket, Bitter Chocolate, and All We Leave Behind, which won the British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. Her most recent book is At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage, published by Random House Canada in 2024. General Roméo Dallaire said that Carol “delivers a thoughtful yet searing examination of the power of words, the necessity of truth, and the existential need for humanity to communicate with care." Carol and I talk about the strangeness of the recent Canadian federal election, about her worry that At A Loss for Words was being overtaken by world events even as she was writing it, and about the trouble she's having getting down to work on her next book—despite already having a deadline to finish it.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Anne Fleming. Anne is the author of the story collections Pool-Hopping and Gay Dwarves of America, the novel Anomaly, as well as the middle-grade novel The Goat and a poetry collection, poemw. Her most recent book is the novel Curiosities, published in 2024 by Knopf Canada. That novel was longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Ferro-Grumley Award For LGBTQ Fiction. It was also a finalist for the 2024 Giller Prize. The Toronto Star said that Curiosities “grips with fervent tales of affection, love, and duty as it conjures a panicked era where witchery was no laughing matter.” Anne and I talk about the unexpected joy of doing a bookstore reading for two people, about why her latest novel was so hard to crack (and why the next one will be, too), and her feelings about being on the Giller Prize shortlist in a year in which the prize was the focus of so much controversy and so many author boycotts.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Kyo Maclear. Kyo is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and children's author. Her books have been translated into eighteen languages and published in over twenty-five countries, and have garnered nominations from the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Governor General's Literary Awards, the TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and the National Magazine Awards. Her most recent book is Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets, published by Knopf Canada in 2023. That book won the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction. The Washington Post called Unearthing “a moving account of a daughter's struggle to know her mother before she loses her.” Kyo and I talk about her tendency, as a writer and as a person, to seek out beauty and optimism, about starting to write a memoir even as the events it depicts are still happening, and about how the publication of Unearthing has allowed her to stop seeking to resolve some of the family secrets it explores. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this very Toronto-centric episode is Shawn Micallef. Shawn is an author whose books include Full Frontal TO, The Trouble With Brunch, and Frontier City. He's a weekly columnist at the Toronto Star, and a senior editor and co-founder of Spacing magazine. His most recent book is a fully updated version of Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto, originally published by Coach House Books in 2010. The updated version was published in 2024, also by Coach House. Author Douglas Coupland called Stroll "a smart and intimate guide to the city that makes you feel like an insider from start to finish."Shawn and I talk about his decision to finally abandon his Twitter account, which had been a big part of how he explored cities, about how updating Stroll turned out to be a more onerous task than he'd originally thought, and about how writing a weekly newspaper column and becoming a parent has a funny way of delaying big new book projects.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Eden Boudreau. Eden is an author whose work has appeared in the Globe & Mail, Flare, Today's Parent, and elsewhere. She is the host and creator of the podcast Dear Lonely Writer, which was aimed at destigmatizing mental health struggles during the writing process. Eden's most recent book is her debut, Crying Wolf: A Memoir, published by Book*hug Press in 2023 and shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. Author Erin Pepler called Crying Wolf “a vivid, searingly honest account of violence against women and the aftermath of an assault.” Eden and I talk about the difficult decision to pause her author podcast (which I had the honour of being a guest on), about her initial reluctance to include some darker truths about herself in her memoir, and why she's grateful she became a published writer a little later in life than she'd originally hoped.   This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this 100th episode is Ayelet Tsabari. Ayelet is the author of the short-story collection The Best Place on Earth and the memoir The Art of Leaving, which won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award and was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. She is also a co-editor of the anthology Tongues: On Longing and Belonging through Language. Her most recent book is the novel Songs for the Brokenhearted, published by HarperCollins Canada in 2024. That book won a National Jewish Book Award for Fiction and the AJL Jewish Fiction Award, and was named a book of the year by the Globe and Mail and the CBC. Kirkus Review called it “a timely, well-crafted tale, imbued with cultural and personal sorrow.” Ayelet and I talk about what she calls “the Situation” (i.e., the war in Gaza), about her occasional wish to write something completely unrelated to her identity, and about why she feels a bit apologetic, in her words, about her next book project. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Bob McDonald. Bob has been the host of CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks since 1992 and is a regular science commentator on the CBC News Network and a science correspondent for The National. He is the author of multiple books, including The Earthling's Guide to Outer Space, Canadian Spacewalkers, and The Future is Now. He has been honoured with the Michael Smith Award for science promotion from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Sandford Fleming Medal from the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, and the McNeil Medal for the public awareness of science from the Royal Society of Canada. He has also been made an Officer of the Order of Canada and has an asteroid named after him. Bob's most recent book is the memoir Just Say Yes, which was published in 2024 by Douglas & McIntyre. Astronaut and author Chris Hadfield says about Just Say Yes that “Bob takes his rare ability to explain the world to us all and applies it to himself in this delightful, often surprising and ever-insightful autobiography.” Bob and I talk about the importance of promoting and communicating real science amid the proliferation of misinformation and conspiracy theories (and why the closing of the Ontario Science Centre doesn't exactly help with that goal), about his initial reluctance to include the story of his childhood sexual abuse in his memoir (but why he is proud that he did), and about his work-in-progress, a book for kids that focuses on—surprise!—science. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on the episode is Jowita Bydlowska. Jowita is the author of four books, including the bestselling memoir Drunk Mom, and the novels GUY and Possessed. She is a journalist, and teaches at the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her most recent book is the novel Monster, which was published by Anvil Press in 2024. Author Barbara Gowdy said about Monster: “that a book with almost pornographic sexual scenes should be so humane and polished, so well written, is astonishing.” Jowita and I talk about the identity crisis she is currently undergoing as a writer, about the weirdly personal criticism she received for the revelations in her debut memoir, and about why she doesn't expect the same reaction when she publishes her next book, also a memoir. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Amy Stuart. Amy is the author of four bestselling novels, including her first, Still Mine, and her most recent, A Death at the Party, which was published in 2023. Her most recent book is Home and Away, a memoir by former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin, which she co-wrote with Sundin. That book was published by Simon & Schuster Canada in 2024, and was an instant #1 bestseller. Sundin's fellow player Tie Domi said about the book that “it's a treat to hear Mats tell his story after all these years.” Amy and I talk about the very out-of-character way she landed the job of co-writing the Mats Sundin book, about the newfound attention it has brought her when she coaches hockey, and about the impact it has had on the way she thinks about her career as a thriller writer. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Anuja Varghese. Anuja is a writer whose debut book, the short-story collection Chrysalis, was published by House of Anansi Press in 2023. That book won the Writers Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers, the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction, and the Hamilton Literary Award for Fiction. It was also nominated for a Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. Quill & Quire said that “every piece in Chrysalis is as subtle and punchy as the eponymous final story. Varghese's women are like her words: brutal, elegant, and resonant." Anuja and I talk about Hamilton, Ontario's weirdly tight-knit literary scene, about the manuscript for Chrysalis initially meeting with only rejection and silence from publishers, and about dealing with audiences and readers who have trouble with some of the more graphic material in that book. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guests on this episode are Daniel Innes and Christina Wong. Daniel is an artist whose work includes painting, art installation, graphic and textile design, and illustration. He currently divides his time between Toronto and an artist residency in Hyōgo, Japan. Christina is an author, playwright, and multidisciplinary artist whose plays have been performed at Factory Studio, Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, and the Palmerston Library Theatre, and whose writing has appeared in TOK Magazine and the Toronto Star. Daniel and Christina's first book collaboration is the graphic novel Denison Avenue, which was published by ECW Press in 2023 and was a finalist on Canada Reads and for a Carnegie Medal for Excellence through the American Library Association. In its review of the book, The New York Journal of Books said that “as Chinatowns all over the country become gentrified and disappear, Denison Avenue provides an important reminder of what is being lost.”  Daniel and Christina and I talk about the shock of their book's success, about getting advice on surviving the Canada Reads experience from former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, and about changing up their creative process for their next collaboration, currently in the works. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Margaret MacMillan. Margaret is a historian and author whose bestselling books include The War That Ended Peace; Nixon and Mao; Women of the Raj; and Paris 1919. She is emeritus professor of History at the University of Toronto, where she served as Provost of Trinity College, and an emeritus professor of International History at Oxford University, where she served as Warden of St Antony's College. Her work has won numerous awards, including the Samuel Johnson Prize, the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize, a Governor General's Literary Award, and the Duff Cooper Prize. In 2015 she was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. Her most recent book, War: How Conflict Shaped Us, was published by Allen Lane in 2020 and was a finalist for the Lionel Gelber Prize. The Guardian called War a “hugely readable chronicle of conflict.” Margaret and I talk about the current alarming state of international relations, about her drive to write historical works that can be read and understood by non-historians, and about the Canadian short-story writer whose biography she would love to write. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Ivan Lesay. Ivan is a senior climate finance advisor at the National Bank of Slovakia and has served as the State Secretary of that country's Finance Ministry. In addition to his policy work, he has published two children's books, and writes lyrics for a hardcore band. His debut novel for adults, Topografia bolesti, was published in 2020, and was shortlisted for the Slovak National Book of the Year award. An English translation of the novel, The Topography of Pain, translated by Jonathan Gresty, was published by Canada's Guernica Editions in 2024. In its review of The Topography of Pain, The Miramichi Reader said that “Lesay is comfortable with data and figures, no doubt; he's also gifted with words.” Ivan and I talk about the (mostly) friendly rivalry between Slovaks and Czechs, and how that parallels Canada's relationship with the US, about suddenly adding a side-career as a novelist to his distinguished work in economic policy, and about how, thanks to COVID, his novel never got a proper launch event until the publication of the translated version last year. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Sheung-King. Sheung-King's debut novel, You Are Eating an Orange. You Are Naked, was published by Book*Hug Press in 2021, and was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and the Amazon Canada First Novel Award. It was longlisted for Canada Reads and named one of the best book debuts by the Globe and Mail. His most recent book is the novel Batshit Seven, published by Penguin Canada in 2024. That book was named a book of the year by the Globe and Mail and by the CBC, and was the winner of the Writers' Trust Atwood Gibson Fiction Prize. The Toronto Star called Batshit Seven “a highly unusual, highly effective examination of both contemporary society and the quest for identity.” Sheung-King and I talk about his state of mind the morning after winning the Atwood-Gibson prize, about some of the best writing advice he ever got, and about living in both Canada and China, and always feeling like a returnee no matter which country he is in. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Shashi Bhat. Shashi the author of the novels The Most Precious Substance on Earth, a finalist for the Governor General's Award, and The Family Took Shape, a finalist for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. Her fiction has won the Writers' Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize and been shortlisted for a National Magazine Award and the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. She is the editor-in-chief of EVENT magazine and teaches creative writing at Douglas College. Shashi's most recent book is the story collection Death by a Thousand Cuts, published by McClelland & Stewart in 2024. That book was longlisted for the  Giller Prize and was named a book of the year by the Globe and Mail, Apple Canada, and the CBC. Author Liz Harmer said about the book that “Shashi Bhat writes scenes of contemporary life with such wit and aplomb you almost don't realize they've also broken your heart.” Shashi and I talk about how her writing style has grown both darker and more overtly humorous, the pressures she has felt about the kinds of stories that she, as a woman from a South Asian family, was supposed to write, and about her enduring love for short fiction. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Derek McCormack. Derek is the author of more than a dozen books, including Dark Rides, The Haunted Hillbilly, and The Well-Dressed Wound. He has written frequently about fashion and art for places like Artforum and The Believer, and was a regular fashion writer for the National Post. His most recent book is Judy Blame's Obituary: Writings on Fashion and Death, a collection of his fashion writing published in 2022 by Pilot Press. The Heavy Feather Review called Judy Blame's Obituary “a furious haberdashery of [McCormack's] own shining and ghostly obsessions. When writing about fashion, McCormack is writing about his life.” Derek and I talk about his complicated literary reputation, about writers needing to fight against their natural desire for attention and acceptance, and, not uncoincidentally, about publishing a novel with a title I am too boring and polite to say out loud on a podcast. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is francesca ekwuyasi. francesca is a writer, artist, and filmmaker whose first book, the novel Butter Honey Pig Bread, was published in 2020 by Arsenal Pulp. That book won the Writers' Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers; was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, and a Lambda Literary Award, and was longlisted for the Giller Prize. In 2021, it was a runner-up on the CBC's Canada Reads competition. Her most recent book is Curious Sounds: A Dialogue in Three Movements, a collaboration with celebrity chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and visual and recording artist Roger Mooking. That book was published in 2023, also by Arsenal Pulp. Publishers Weekly said about Curious Sounds that “there's a sense of a mind spilled onto the page, with sharp insights scattered throughout. The results are both odd and enchanting.” francesca and I talk about how having her first book on Canada Reads was directly responsible for her second, about how writers should let themselves explore whatever theme or territory has them in its grip, and about how, having written her first novel all over the place and on whatever materials were handy, she has finally discovered the joy of writing at an actual desk. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Leigh Nash. Leigh has worked as the publisher at House of Anansi Press and Invisible Publishing, and is now the co-publisher at Assembly Press, a brand-new independent literary press. She also helps run the PEP Rally Reading Series out of Books & Company in Picton and co-founded The Emergency Response Unit, a chapbook press. Her most recent book was also her debut: the collection Goodbye, Ukulele, published by Mansfield Press in 2010. The scholarly journal Canadian Literature said Leigh “has an eye for unsettling images” and praised Goodbye, Ukulele as “a compelling read.” Leigh and I talk about the founding of Assembly Press, about her ongoing love for her debut collection, and about how the world of books has changed in the quarter-century since its publication. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

This episode was originally uploaded in June 2023. It is a conversation with Andrew Pyper, who died just a few days ago at the age of 56. Andrew was the author of more than a dozen books, including The Homecoming, The Residence, and many others. In our conversation, Andrew talks about the odd career he has created for himself as a writer with one foot in the literary world and one in the worlds of horror and suspense and thrillers. We also talk about Andrew's connection to the late Steve Heighton. I have not re-edited the conversation itself, except to lop off the original intro and outro.   Andrew's family has posted a link where people can donate to Trees Canada in his name: https://justgiving.com/campaign/andrewpyper This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.    

My guest on this episode is Martha Baillie. Martha is the author of multiple works of fiction, including the novel The Incident Report, published by Coach House Books in 2009 and longlisted for the Giller Prize. Darkest Miriam, a feature film based on that novel, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this year and had its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, where it won the DGC Best Director prize. Her most recent book is the memoir There Is No Blue, which was published in 2023, yet again by Coach House, and recently won the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize For Nonfiction. The Guardian called the book “tough, tender, and compelling." Martha and I talk about her continuing post-award high, about strangers sharing with her their stories of mental health struggles, and about the oddity—but also delight!—of relatively late-career success. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Stephen Maher. Stephen has been writing about Canadian politics for decades as a columnist and investigative reporter at Postmedia News, iPolitics, and Maclean's. His work has won numerous awards, including the Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, the Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism, a National Newspaper Award, two Canadian Association of Journalism Awards, and a Canadian Hillman Prize, and has been nominated for several National Magazine Awards. He is also the author of a handful of thriller novels, which we talk about briefly in this episode. Stephen's most recent book is The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau, was published in May 2024 by Simon & Schuster Canada. The Globe & Mail called the book “a thoroughly researched and fair-minded accounting of Justin Trudeau's accomplishments and failings.” Stephen and I talk about the very recent and ongoing chaos surrounding Trudeau and his government, the particular stresses of researching and writing a biography of an acting political figure whose fortunes could change at any moment, and the book he is currently working on, about another Canadian icon with a very tarnished brand: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Charlene Carr. Charlene is the author of 10 self-published works of fiction, as well as the novel Hold My Girl, which was published by HarperCollins Canada in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. Her most recent book, the novel We Rip the World Apart, was published at the start of this year by HarperCollins Canada, and will be published in the US in January. Author Marisa Stapley called We Rip the World Apart “both a charged emotional epic and a gentle exploration of the nuances of love.”  Charlene and I talk about manifesting her first traditionally published novel into being, working on marketing plans while in a maternity ward, and deciding to put some temporary limits on the amount of time and mental space she can give her career. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Josh O'Kane. Josh is a reporter at the Globe and Mail whose first book, Nowhere With You: The East Coast Anthems of Joel Plaskett, The Emergency and Thrush Hermit was published by ECW Press and was a Canadian bestseller. Josh's most recent book, Sideways: The City Google Couldn't Buy, was published by Random House Canada in 2022. It was a national bestseller and a finalist for numerous Canadian and international literary awards, including the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, the National Business Book Award, the Ontario Speaker's Book Award, the Heritage Toronto Book Award, and the Best in Business Book Award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. It was named one of the best books of 2022 by The Globe and Mail, CBC, The Hill Times and more. The book was also adapted for the stage by Toronto's Crow's Theatre and Michael Healey as The Master Plan. Margaret O'Mara, author of The Code, called Sideways “a thrill ride of a book, revealing what really happened when Google tried to build a city and Silicon Valley's magical thinking fell to earth.” Josh and I talk about the extremely unequal distribution of wealth in arts and culture (one his main beats as a reporter), the strangeness of seeing your deeply reported journalistic work become a hit play that features a talking tree, and the wait for the next big book-worthy idea.   This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Casey Plett. Casey is the author of A Dream of a Woman, Little Fish, and A Safe Girl to Love, and the co-editor of Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy From Transgender Writers. She is also the publisher at LittlePuss Press. Casey's most recent book is On Community, published in 2023 by Biblioasis. That book was a Finalist for the Firecracker Award in Creative Nonfiction, the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction, and  the Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature. Geist magazine called On Community  “a heartfelt, funny, wistful read—just conceptually rigorous enough to provoke thought, but without difficult theory or jargon.” Casey and I talk about her terrible author signature, surviving the first days of the new Trump regime, and the shift in approach she is taking with her novel-in-progress. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Alison McCreesh. Alison is a writer, visual artist, and the creator of the graphic novels Ramshackle: A Yellowknife Story, which won the NorthWords Best Book Award, and Norths: Two Suitcases and a Stroller Around the Circumpolar World. Both books were published by Conundrum Press. Alison's most recent book is the graphic memoir Degrees of Separation: A Decade North of 60, published by Conundrum earlier this year. Joe Sacco called Degrees of Separation a “tender and loving ode to the people and landscapes of the Far North.” Alison and I talk about mostly eliding her artistic career in her own memoir, the miracle of family-friendly artist residencies, and the new graphic novel project she isn't entirely sure she'll ever complete. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Lisa Whittington-Hill. Lisa is a writer whose work has appeared in Longreads, Hazlitt, Catapult, The Walrus, and more. She is the publisher of This Magazine and teaches in the publishing program at Centennial College. Lisa's most recent two books are The Go-Go's Beauty and the Beat, part of the 33 1/3 series published by Bloomsbury, and the essay collection Girls, Interrupted: How Pop Culture Is Failing Women, published by Véhicule Press. Both books were published in the fall of 2023. Lauren McKeon, author of No More Nice Girls, called Girls, Interrupted “brilliantly considered, meticulously researched, and laugh-out-loud funny.” Lisa and I talk about the gender gap in celebrity redemption arcs, the inadvertent marketing boost Britney Spears gave to Girls, Interrupted, and the magazine about the pets in her neighbourhood she made when she was seven years old. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.  

My guest on this episode is Ali Bryan. Ali is the author six novels, including Roost, which was a One Book Nova Scotia selection, The Figgs and The Hill. Her work has won and been nominated for multiple awards, including the Leacock Prize, the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, the Pushcart Prize, a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award, a Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and the BPAA Trade Fiction Book of the Year. Her most recent books are the novels Coq, shortlisted for the Leacock Award for Humour, and The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships—both published in 2023, by Freehand and Henry Holt, respectively—and the young adult novel Takedown, published earlier this year by DCB Young Readers. Kirkus Reviews called Takedown “visceral and violent yet ultimately hopeful.” Ali and I talk about our mutual dislike of aspirational novels, the current literary trend against ambiguity in literary fiction, and the elements of a successful and enjoyable book launch. (Spoiler: a 90-minute reading is not one of those elements.) This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Hannah Green. Hannah is a writer as well as the poetry editor at the literary journal CV2. Her debut collection, Xanax Cowboy, was published by House of Anansi in 2023 and won the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. In its starred review of the book, Quill & Quire called the book “timely and witty” and said “it leaves nothing off stage, hides nothing.” Hannah and I take about a photo from her book launch that went viral, about writing poetry before and after getting sober, and about the unexpectedly long break from writing she took after finishing Xanax Cowboy. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this Halloween-themed episode is Ainslie Hogarth. Ainslie is the author of two YA horror novels, The Lonely and The Boy Meets Girl Massacre (Annotated), and the adult novel Motherthing, which was a New York Times Best Book of the Year and was included in Cosmopolitan's list of Best Horror Books of All Time. Her short fiction has been published in Hazlitt, Black Static, and elsewhere. Her most recent book is the novel Normal Women, published by Strange Light in 2023. In its review of the book, Booklist said that “Hogarth has a talent for writing depth and invoking lavish mental pictures.” Ainslie and talk about Halloween, provoking readers, and the perils of trying to remake yourself as a writer. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Dan Werb. Dan is an author, epidemiologist and policy analyst whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Salon, and elsewhere. His first book, City of Omens: A Search for the Missing Women of the Borderlands, was published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2019 and was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction. He holds faculty appointments at the University of California San Diego and the University of Toronto, and was the inaugural winner of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse Avenir Award. He is also the recipient of a Traiblazer Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In addition to that, Dan is a musician and composer who has performed and recorded as part of various groups and has written music for film.  Dan's most recent book The Invisible Siege: The Rise of Coronaviruses and the Search for a Cure, was published by Crown Publishing in 2022. That book won the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize. In its starred review of the book, Publishers Weekly called The Invisible Siege “a page-turning and unsettling look at the history of coronaviruses” and a “unique and valuable addition to the expanding body of work on COVID-19.” Dan and I talk about how his musical career does, and doesn't, connect with his scientific one, about the accelerating threat from strange and destructive new viruses, and about why the joy of winning a major non-fiction book award lasted... about a day and a half. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Tamara Faith Berger. Tamara is an author and screenwriter whose books include Lie With Me, which she helped adapt into a feature film, The Way of the Whore (later republished by Coach House Books as Little Cat), Maidenhead, Kuntalini and Queen Solomon. She has been nominated for the Trillium Book Award and won the Believer Book Award. Two films for which she wrote the screenplays will be premiering in 2025. Tamara's most recent book is the novel Yara, published in 2023 by Coach House Books. The Toronto Star and the Globe & Mail selected it as one of the best books of that year. Publishers Weekly said that “this provocative coming-of-age story … raises questions about sexuality, power, and the intersection of the personal and the political." Tamara and I talk about mainstream Canadian literary culture's discomfort with her work's signature combination of deep ideas and frank sexuality, about the complicated experience of publishing a novel that explores Jewish identity and its relationship to Israel in the fall of 2023, and the total coincidence that led to her having two films appearing in one year. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Paige Maylott. Paige is a writer and gamer who works as an accessibility expert at McMaster University. Her first book, the memoir My Body Is Distant, was published by ECW Press in 2023. That book won an Independent Publisher Book Award for LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Rakuten KOBO Emerging Writer Prize in the nonfiction category. Publishers Weekly said that “Maylott's gripping debut memoir covers her gender transition, divorce, and experiments with online relationships in thrillingly nonlinear fashion.” Paige and I talk about the cultural and personal importance of the early 80s video game Zork, about the decision she made, while writing her memoir, to always show herself in a worse light than anyone else, and about how she struggled with the idea of writing a second memoir—but why she is doing it anyway. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Waubgeshig Rice. Waubgeshig is the Anishinaabe author of four books, including the short story collection Midnight Sweatlodge (2011), and the novels Legacy (2014) and Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018). As a journalist, he has worked for various outlets, including CBC Radio One. He also hosted, along Jennifer David, the Storykeepers podcast, which focused on Indigenous writing. He has won the Independent Publishers Book Award, the Northern 'lit' Award, and the Debwewin Citation for Excellence in First Nation Storytelling. Waubgeshig's most recent book is Moon of the Turning Leaves, published in 2023 by Random House Canada. That novel was a #1 national bestseller and a finalist for the Aurora Award for Best Novel. Book Riot said that Moon of the Turning Leaves is “gripping, to say the least, and it's a haunting read that'll linger in the recesses of your mind for quite some time.” Waubgeshig and I talk about how being a very in-demand author is a little bit like touring in a rock band, about the pleasures of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which he was introduced to by his friend (and the current premier of Manitoba) Wab Kinew, and about how he is not yet closing the door on a possible third book in the series that began with Moon of the Crusted Snow. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is David Bergen. David is the author of numerous acclaimed novels and short-story collections, including The Case of Lena S, which won the 2002 Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, and The Time In Between, winner of the 2005 Giller Prize. Four of his books have won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. David's work has also won the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction and the John Hirsch Award, and been nominated for the Manitoba Book of the Year, the Relit Prize, and the International Dublin Literary Award. Four of his books have won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. He himself was awarded the Matt Cohen Award in 2018, in honour of a distinguished lifetime contribution to Canadian literature. His most recent novel is Away from the Dead, published in 2023 by Goose Lane Editions. Author and former What Happened Next guest Omar El Akkad called Away from the Dead “a deceptively stunning novel… written by one of Canada's best.” David and I talk about adding his name to the opposition to the Giller Prize's association with Scotiabank, about the crime novel he wrote a decade ago that will finally get published next year, and about the advice he wishes he'd given Ron McLean when Ron defended one of David's books on Canada Reads. (David and I also bond over not yet having read Middlemarch.) This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Christine Estima. Christine is a journalist, author, and performer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Walrus, VICE, the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Maisonneuve, and elsewhere. She was shortlisted for the 2018 Allan Slaight Prize for Journalism, longlisted for the 2015 CBC Canada Writes Creative Nonfiction prize, and was a finalist for the 2011 Writers' Union of Canada short prose competition. She's also been a contestant on reality TV competition… twice! Christine's debut book is The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society, published by House of Anansi Press in 2023 and included in the CBC's list of Best Canadian Fiction for that year. Maisonneuve said that the book “weaves a haunting tale of how the pain of loss … reverberates across generations." Christine and I talk about dealing with sexist idiots, about how she uses moments of rejection to propel her forward in her writing and her career, and about her new book, a fictional take on a notorious and tragic literary relationship. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.  

My guest on this episode is Carl Wilson. Carl is the music critic at Slate and also writes for The Globe and Mail, Hazlitt, The New York Times Magazine and many other online and print publications. His work has been included in two of Da Capo Books' annual Best Music Writing collections. Carl's first book was Let's Talk about Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, which Carl himself describes as being about “aesthetic conflict, class, and Céline Dion.” That book was originally published in 2007 by Bloomsbury as part of the 33 1/3 series of books about popular music. An expanded edition was published in 2014 that included essays by  Nick Hornby, Krist Novoselic, Ann Powers, Mary Gaitskill, Sheila Heti and others, as well as a new afterword by Carl. The LA Review of Books said that  "Let's Talk About Love...is not just a critical study of one Céline Dion album, but an engaging discussion of pop criticism itself." Carl and I, of course, talk about Céline's recent performance at the Paris Olympics, about the unlikely popular and academic success of Let's Talk About Love, and about the two book-length works he wants to complete—one a biography of a beloved writer and singer-songwriter, the other an argument for the legitimacy of crying as a critical response to great art. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Peter Darbyshire. Peter is an author, journalist, and communications professional whose debut novel, Please, won the KM Hunter Award for Best Emerging Artist and the ReLit Award for Best Novel. He is also the author of the novel The Warhol Gang and the story collection Has the World Ended Yet? He works as Communications Officer for BC's Provincial Health Services Authority. I'm doing something slightly different in this episode, because Peter actually has three books that are about to be published: The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, The Dead Hamlets and The Apocalypse Ark, which are all part of his Cross series of supernatural thrillers. All three books are being published in October by Wolsak & Wynn. However, all three were previously published by another indie press in 2013, 2015, and 2016, respectively. The Vancouver Sun said, in its review of the Cross series, that Darbyshire “writes with the unfettered delight of a gluttonous reader trapped in a library in his own mind, drawing promiscuously from myth, folk tale, religious texts and apocrypha, literature, music and philosophy.” Peter and I talk about how running the COVID-19 social media response for a provincial health authority gave him a new perspective on the apocalypse, about the process of getting the Cross series reprinted—and why it needed to be—and about how the stretch of time since his last new work of fiction speaks to something of a crisis of faith when it comes to his own writing‑but also a sense of liberation. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Michael Christie. Michael is the author of the 2012 story collection, The Beggar's Garden, which was longlisted for the Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Writers' Trust Prize for Fiction, and won the Vancouver Book Award. His 2015 novel If I Fall, If I Die was also longlisted for the Giller Prize, as well as the Kirkus Prize, and was selected as a New York Times Editors' Choice Pick, and was on numerous best-of-the-year lists. His essays and book reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Globe & Mail. Michael's most recent novel is Greenwood, which was published in 2019 by McClelland & Stewart. That books was a national bestseller and won the Le Prix du Livre de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. It was also shortlisted for the 2020 Forest of Reading Evergreen Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize, and longlisted for the Giller Prize, and was a 2023 Canada Reads Finalist. The New York Times Book Review called Greenwood “superb” and said it “penetrates to the core of things.” Michael and I talk about how his writing career has been influenced by his previous semi-pro skateboarding career, about converting Greenwood into a TV series, and about how while working on his new novel, he had to resist the temptation to copy the narrative formula that had worked so well in Greenwood. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Deborah Dundas. Deborah is a writer and journalist who has worked as a television producer and as the Books Editor for the Toronto Star, where she is currently an opinion editor. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Maclean's, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Canadian Notes and Queries, the Belfast Telegraph, and the Sunday Independent. She also teaches Creative Non-Fiction at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. Deborah's first book is On Class, which was published by Biblioasis Books in 2023. That book was A Hamilton Review of Books Best Book of 2023 and was shortlisted for the 2024 Speaker's Book Award. The Winnipeg Free Press called On Class “a nifty, provocative little book.” Deborah and I talk about her work on the most picked-over and discussed literary story of the decade, which are the revelations about the late Alice Munro and her family, and about how she initially wanted to say no to working on that story. We talk about some of the progress and great conversations about class she has seen witnessed publishing her book, and how she feels just a little less like an outsider in Canada's literary culture.   This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.  

My guest on this episode is Jackie Khalilieh. Jackie is a writer and former teacher whose first book, the YA novel Something More, was published by Tundra Books in 2023. That novel was shortlisted for the Ruth & Sylvia Shwartz Award, as well as the Snow Willow Award, and was selected for several Best of the year lists, including by the New York Public Library and Audible Books Canada. Publishers Weekly called Something More a “thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining debut that centers questions of identity via a fresh lens." Jackie and I talk about how her identities as a person with autism and a Palestinian-Canadian inform the kinds of stories she wants to tell, about some of the negative response her book has received from readers who perhaps wanted its autistic main character to conform to a particular ideal, and about how she can't on GoodReads without stripmining the site for data and projections about her own writing career.   This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer. Kathryn is the author of the novels All the Broken Things, Perfecting, and The Nettle Spinner, as well as the story collection, Way Up, which won the Danuta Gleed Award. Her work has been published in Granta Magazine, Maclean's Magazine, The Walrus, Joyland, This Magazine, and elsewhere. Her fiction has won a Danuta Gleed Award and been nominated for The Amazon First Novel Award, the Toronto Book Award, CBC Canada Reads, and the Relit Award.  Kathryn's most recent book is Wait Softly Brother, which was published by Wolsak & Wynn in 2023 and was longlisted for the Giller Prize. The Toronto Star said that Wait Softly Brother is “rich with the true stuff of imagined lives, and the imagined stuff of true lives,” and “is a glorious enchantment indeed.” Kathryn and I talk about how the enormous emotional, existential, and even geographic changes she has gone through in past decade have impacted her writing—for the better—about how Wait Softly Brother came out of a very public writing experiment after she started to think her career was over, and about her compulsive need to transform every experience into the seed for more writing. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.  

My guest on this episode is Kelly S. Thompson. Kelly is a former Logistics Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces who began writing about her military experiences in a blog for Chatelaine magazine. She wrote about those experiences again in her debut book, Girls Need Not Apply, which was published in 2019 by McClelland & Stewart, named a Globe and Mail Top 100 Book, and became an instant bestseller. Kelly teaches Creative Nonfiction at the University of King's College. Her most recent book, the memoir Still, I Cannot Save You, was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2023, and was also an instant bestseller. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award. Rachel Matlow, author of Dead Mom Walking, wrote that “with this heartwrenching yet hopeful book, Kelly has turned her loss and grief into something beautiful.” Kelly and I talk about how her current writing practice is informed by her years in the military and by her experiences with chronic illness, about the worst response to her writing she has ever received, and about how publishing Still, I Cannot Save You has led to some expected, but no less agonizing difficulties with her extended family. A quick warning: this conversation covers some very difficult and traumatic territory, such as addiction and domestic abuse.   This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Rollie Pemberton. Rollie is a writer, rapper, producer, poet and activist who performs under the name Cadence Weapon. His album Parallel World won the 2021 Polaris Music Prize and his writing has been published in Pitchfork, The Guardian, Wired, Toronto Life, and Hazlitt. Rollie has also acted as Poet Laureate for his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. He also recently released a song and a video celebrating that city's hockey team and its run for the Stanley Cup. Rollie's debut book is the memoir Bedroom Rapper: Cadence Weapon on Hip-Hop, Resistance and Surviving the Music Industry, which was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2022. The Toronto Star called Bedroom Rapper “an intriguing window into a creative mind that takes creativity and the constant betterment of that creativity very seriously.” Rollie and I talk about his relentlessly curatorial approach to art and the world, about the need for more and better artistic criticism, and about why he thinks books and writing will soon eclipse music as his central creative pursuit. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this first episode of The Walrus era is John Vaillant. John is a Vancouver author and journalist whose acclaimed, award-winning nonfiction books, The Golden Spruce and The Tiger, were national bestsellers. His debut novel, The Jaguar's Children, was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award. John has written for, among others, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and... The Walrus. John's most recent book is Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, which was published by Knopf Canada in 2023. Fire Weather was a national bestseller, and won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize For Political Writing, the Baillie Gifford Prize For Nonfiction, and the 2024 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize, in addition to being a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize, a National Book Award, the Hubert Evans Prize, and a Pulitzer Prize. The Guardian called the book “an urgent warning—and an all-consuming read.” John and I talk about how the devastating things he writes about in Fire Weather really are our new reality, about the fact that he is still talking publicly about the book almost every single day—even a year after it was published—and about why the novel he had been planning to write instead of Fire Weather will probably remain unwritten.   This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.  

My guest on this episode is Alissa York. Alissa is the author of the novels Mercy, Effigy (which was shortlisted for the Giller Prize), Fauna and The Naturalist (which was winner of the Canadian Author's Association Fiction Award, and the  short fiction collection, Any Given Power.  Alissa's essays and articles have appeared in The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, Brick magazine and elsewhere, and she teaches at Humber College, where she is the coordinator for the Creative Writing program. Full disclosure, we used to have offices right across the hall from each other at Humber. Alissa's most recent book is Far Cry, which was published by TK in 2023 by Random House Canada. The Toronto Star said Far Cry is “dazzling and brilliant” and called it “a transfixing, glorious novel.” Alissa and I talk about the Humber Creative Writing program, how she makes herself disconnect from social media, and most other social things, when she is working on a book, and where she begins when she is starting a new novel.   Alissa York: alissayork.com Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Contact Nathan Whitlock at nathanwhitlock.ca/contact