Writing the Coast: BC and Yukon Book Prizes Podcast

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole revisits one of the most popular episodes of Writing the Coast. It features Roy Henry Vickers and Lucky Budd. The talked about their book Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History, nominated for the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In this conversation Roy and Lucky talked about how they began collaborating, the impact these stories had had on those around them and the power of storytelling in preserving knowledge and history. To find out more about Voices of the Skeena and to here more recordings by Imbert Orchard visit: memoriestomemoirs.ca/portfolio/voic…portorder=menu ABOUT LUCKY BUDD AND ROY HENRY VICKERS: Robert (Lucky) Budd is the co-author of the Northwest Coast Legends series and the author of Voices of British Columbia (Douglas & McIntyre, 2010), which was shortlisted for the 2011 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award, and its sequel, Echoes of British Columbia (Harbour Publishing, 2014), which won second prize in the BC Historical Federation's writing competition in 2014. He lives in Victoria, BC. Roy Henry Vickers is a Canadian Master Artist best known around the world for his limited edition prints. He is also an accomplished carver, design advisor of prestigious public spaces, a sought-after keynote speaker, and publisher and author of several successful books.In addition, he is a recognized leader in the First Nations community, and a tireless spokesperson for recovery from addictions and abuse. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole revisits one of the most popular episodes of Writing the Coast. It features Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians which was a finalist for the 2021 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the 2021 Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. Michelle talks about what it means to be an emerging writer and how she developed the characters in her novel. ABOUT MICHELLE GOOD: Michelle Good is a writer of Cree ancestry and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Her debut novel, Five Little Indians, won a Governor General's Literary Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, the Kobo Emerging Author Prize, and CBC's Canada Reads in 2022. She was a finalist for the 2023 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy for Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada. Good lives in southern Saskatchewan. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Sam George and Jill Yonit Goldberg talk about the book The Fire Still Burns: Life In and After Residential School. The Fire Still Burns was a finalist for the 2024 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In his conversation with host Megan Cole, Sam and Jill talk about how they started working together on the book, and Sam talks about the significance of telling his own story. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: www.bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About The Fire Still Burns: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/the-fire-still-burns/ ABOUT SAM GEORGE AND JILL YONIT GOLDBERG: Sam George is a Squamish Elder and a survivor of the Canadian Indian Residential School system. A retired longshoreman and semi-retired drug and alcohol counsellor, Sam now works as an educator with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and speaks with students and community groups about his experiences. Jill Yonit Goldberg is a writer, and a literature and creative writing instructor at Langara College in Vancouver, BC, where she teaches the Writing Lives course in which students collaborate with Indian Residential School survivors who are writing their memoirs. She worked with Sam George to bring his story to the page. Liam Belson, Dylan MacPhee, and Tanis Wilson are students who participated in the Writing Lives class where they worked with Sam George to write his story. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole revisits a past episode featuring a conversation with the Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. In their conversation, Her Honour talks about the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence and its past recipients, as well as what excites her about books written and published in British Columbia. Wendy Cocchia, was recently sworn in as the 31st Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. ABOUT THE GUEST: The Honourable Janet Austin was sworn-in as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia on April 24, 2018. Prior to this appointment, she spent 15 years as Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Metro Vancouver, one of the province's largest and most diversified non-profits. There she oversaw operations delivering services to tens of thousands of people annually at more than 40 locations. Raised in Alberta, Her Honour spent her early career in public sector roles in Calgary, working in regional planning and public consultation and communications for the provincial government. She eventually moved to British Columbia, where she began working with BC Housing and discovered her passion and aptitude for public office. Prior to joining the YWCA, Her Honour served as Executive Director of Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland, and actively volunteered for many organizations in commitment to helping improve the lives of others, as well as serving on various boards ranging from Translink to the Women's Health Research Institute. Her Honour is Chancellor of the Order of British Columbia and was invested as a Member of the Order in 2016. As Lieutenant Governor, she has identified three key themes for her mandate: the promotion of diversity and inclusion, democracy and civic engagement, and Reconciliation. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Maya McKibbin and Ellen Rooney share their thoughts and reflections the magic of illustration in picture books. Maya is the illustrator of The Song that Calls Them Home and Ellen Rooney is the illustrator of What to Bring, both were finalists for the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ To watch the full Storied video: https://vimeo.com/1046872971 About The Song that Called Them Home: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/the-song-that-called-them-home/ About What to Bring: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/what-to-bring/ ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Maya McKibbin is a Two-Spirited Ojibwe, Yoeme and Irish filmmaker, illustrator and storyteller. Using their education in computer graphics and interactive media, Maya's work is rooted in the natural world and our relations to it. Maya's previous picture book, Swift Fox All Along written by Rebecca Thomas, was nominated for numerous awards including a Governor General's Literary Award. Ellen Rooney is a children's book illustrator whose books include the critically acclaimed Her Fearless Run and Grandmother School. Ellen lives in the southern Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, where hot, dry summers bring tourists, peaches, swims in the lake, and the threat of wildfire. The uniquely beautiful landscape inspired the setting for this book. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

In this episode, Ian Kennedy talks about his book The Best Loved Boat: The Princess Maquinna. The Best Loved Boat won the 2024 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In his conversation with host Megan Cole, Ian talks about how he became interested in the Princess Maquinna and how it fits with British Columbia's complex maritime history. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: www.bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About The Best Loved Boat: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/the-best-loved-boat/ ABOUT IAN KENNEDY: Ian Kennedy is the author of several books about BC history including Sunny Sandy Savary (Kennell Publishing, 1992) and he co-authored Tofino and Clayoquot Sound (cloth edition, 2014; paperback edition available in fall 2023). For many years, he has also served as one of Canada's few rugby journalists and has written for numerous magazines around the world. He currently lives in Comox, BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

In this episode, Jazmin Welch talks about book design. Jaz Welch is the founder and book designer of fleck creative studio. In her conversation with host Megan Cole, Jaz talks about how she got into book design, what she thinks about the trends in book covers, and answers the age-old question, "should we judge a book by its cover?" Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: http://www.bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About fleck creative studio: https://fleckcreativestudio.com/ About Luke Bird: https://www.lukebird.co.uk/ About Holly Ovenden: https://www.hollyovenden.com/ ABOUT JAZ: Fleck is owned by creative director Jazmin Welch (call her Jaz). She has a love for the details and revels in the problem solving challenge that each new book poses. Her goal is always to create a compelling and page-turning design that stands out on the bookshelf, suits the target audience and respects each author's own unique desires. She loves creating artful and meaningful solutions while fostering strong connections with authors. Jaz is a book lover who is here to advocate for your story and impress your readers! She holds an Honours Bachelor of Design (Ryerson University) and Master of Publishing (Simon Fraser University). Jaz is a dog mom with a love of fresh ocean air. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

In this episode, Cassie Smyth talks audiobooks. Cassie Smyth is the audiobooks manager at ECW Press. In her conversation with host Megan Cole, Cassie talks about why she loves audiobooks, she talks about how they find narrators for their audiobooks, and corrects many of the misconceptions around audiobooks and audiobook production. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About ECW Press: https://ecwpress.com/pages/about-us ABOUT CASSIE: Cassie Smyth is the Audiobooks Manager at ECW Press. In her role, she manages the production of more than 120 audiobooks per year, all by Canadian publishers and authors, and narrated by Canadian voice talent. She holds a BA in English, minor in Business from Carleton University, and a certificate in Creative Book Publishing from Humber College. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

In this episode, Christopher Patterson. Christopher is an author and professor at the University of British Columbia, but for today's episode he'll be talking about his partner, Y-Dang Troeung's book Landbridge. Landbridge was a finalist for the 2024 Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. Christopher talks about Y-Dang's approach to writing in fragments, and how she approached rejection. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Landbridge: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/landbridge/ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Y-Dang Troeung was Assistant Professor of English at the University of British Columbia, where she did research and taught in the fields of transnational Asian literatures, critical refugee studies, global south studies, and critical disability studies. She was also an Associate Editor of the journal Canadian Literature, and a 2020 Wall Scholar at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. Her recent publications can be found in Canadian Literature, Brick: A Literary Magazine, Amerasia Journal, and Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. Y-Dang passed away in November 2022, after completing the final draft of her extraordinary memoir, Landbridge. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

In this episode, Jennifer Bonnell talks about her book Stewards of Splendour: A History of Wildlife and People in British Columbia. Stewards of Splendour was a finalist for the 2024 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In her conversation, Jennifer talks about returning home through the research in the book, she also talks about the need to cultivate abundance. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Stewards of Splendour: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/stewards-of-splendour/ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Bonnell is a historian of people's changing relationships with land, water, and wildlife in Canada. She grew up on Vancouver Island and spent several summers conducting field research on coastal forest hawks before returning to graduate school to explore her interests in environmental history. Jennifer is the author of Reclaiming the Don: An Environmental History of Toronto's Don River Valley (University of Toronto Press, 2014) and co-editor of two collections of essays in environmental history. She teaches Canadian environmental history at York University in Toronto. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

In this episode, Wanda John-Kehewin talks about her book Hopeless in Hope. Hopeless in Hope won the 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In her conversation, Wanda talks about the real life experiences that inspired the book. She also talks about how the creative process for the novel differed from the work she's been doing on graphic novels. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Hopeless in Hope: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/hopeless-in-hope/ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Wanda John-Kehewin (she, her, hers) is a Cree writer who uses her work to understand and respond to the near destruction of First Nations cultures, languages, and traditions. When she first arrived in Vancouver on a Greyhound bus, she was a nineteen-year-old carrying her first child, a bag of chips, a bottle of pop, thirty dollars, and a bit of hope. After many years of travelling (well, mostly stumbling) along her healing journey, she shares her personal life experiences with others to shed light on the effects of trauma and how to break free from the “monkeys in the brain.” Now a published poet, fiction author, and film scriptwriter, she writes to stand in her truth and to share that truth openly. She is the author of the Dreams series of graphic novels. Hopeless in Hope is her first novel for young adults. Wanda is the mother of five children, two dogs, two cats, three tiger barbs (fish), and grandmother to one super-cute granddog. She calls Coquitlam home until the summertime, when she treks to the Alberta prairies to visit family and learn more about herself and Cree culture, as well as to continuously think and write about what it means to be Indigenous in today's times. How do we heal from a place of forgiveness? ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

In this episode, Lindsay Wong talks about her book Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality. Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality was a finalists for the 2024 Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. In her conversation, Lindsay talks about why BIPOC writers are using horror to writer their stories. She also talks about the need for well-timed comedy when writing horror. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/tell-me-pleasant-things-about-immortality/ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lindsay Wong is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling memoir The Woo-Woo, which was a finalist for Canada Reads 2019. She has written a YA novel entitled My Summer of Love and Misfortune. Wong holds a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in literary nonfiction from Columbia University. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of Winnipeg. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Katherine Palmer Gordon, Geoffrey Morrison, and Jess Housty share their thoughts and reflections about storytelling. Katherine Palmer Gordon is the author of This Place is Who We Are: Stories of Indigenous Leadership, Resilience, and Connection to Homelands, a finalist for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. Geoffrey Morrison is the author of Falling Hour, a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Jess Housty is the author of Crushed Wild Mint, winner of both the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ To watch the full Storied video On Storytelling: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1004669107 About This Place is Who We Are : https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/this-place-is-who-we-are-stories-of-indigenous-leadership-resilience-and-connection-to-homelands/ About Falling Hour: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/falling-hour/ About Crushed Wild Mint: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/crushed-wild-mint/ ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Katherine Palmer Gordon is the author of eight books of non-fiction, including several BC Bestsellers: The Slocan: Portrait of a Valley, The Garden That You Are, and Made to Measure: A History of Land Surveying in British Columbia, for which she was awarded the 2007 BC Haig-Brown prize. She is also an award-winning freelance journalist and lives on Gabriola Island, BC. Geoffrey D. Morrison is the author of the poetry chapbook Blood-Brain Barrier (Frog Hollow Press, 2019) and co-author, with Matthew Tomkinson, of the experimental short fiction collection Archaic Torso of Gumby (Gordon Hill Press, 2020). He was a finalist in both the poetry and fiction categories of the 2020 Malahat Review Open Season Awards and a nominee for the 2020 Journey Prize. He lives on unceded Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh territory (Vancouver). Jess Housty (‘Cúagilákv) is a parent, writer and grassroots activist with Heiltsuk (Indigenous) and mixed settler ancestry. They serve their community as an herbalist and land-based educator alongside broader work in the non-profit and philanthropic sectors. They are inspired and guided by relationships with the homelands, their extended family and their non-human kin, and they are committed to raising their children in a similar framework of kinship and land love. They reside and thrive in their unceded ancestral territory in the community of Bella Bella, BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Kirsten Pendreigh talks about her book Maybe A Whale. Maybe A Whale was a finalist for the 2024 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. In her conversation with host Megan Cole, Kirsten talks about how nature and the environment has inspired her work. She also talks about the importance of writing children's books that tackle topics like grief and death. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Maybe A Whale : https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/maybe-a-whale/ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kirsten Pendreigh is a children's author and poet from Vancouver, BC. Her books celebrate our early instincts to care for the plants and creatures that share our planet. She is the author of Luna's Green Pet, illustrated by Carmen Mok. Kirsten's poems can be found in Canadian literary magazines and in Best Canadian Poetry 2021. Formerly a CBC and NPR journalist, Kirsten also writes non-fiction for children. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Polly Horvath talks about her book Pine Island Visitors. Pine Island Visitors was a finalist for the 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In her conversation with host Megan Cole, Polly talks about relying on her voice as an author. She also talks about why she writes novels for young readers and how she develops her characters. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Pine Island Visitors: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/pine-island-visitors/ ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Polly Horvath is the author of many books for young people, including The Night Garden, Everything on a Waffle, The Pepins and Their Problems, The Canning Season and The Trolls. Her numerous awards include the Newbery Honor, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor and the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature. She has also been shortlisted for The Deutscher Jugenliteraturpreis, Germany's most prestigious literature award. Horvath grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She lives in Metchosin, British Columbia. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Lindsay Wong (author of Tell Me Pleasant Things About My Immortality), David Norwell (author of A Complex Coast), Lara Jean Okihiro (co-author of Obaasan's Boots), and Andrea Warner (author of Rise Up and Sing!) to reflect on books that have influenced or inspired them. These amazing authors have been part of this years Storied video series. This episode is basically amazing authors recommending great books on topics such as writing about family, combining fact and fiction in novels and short stories, and writing about the environment. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ Storied videos: https://vimeo.com/showcase/11316134 ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Lindsay Wong is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling memoir The Woo-Woo, which was a finalist for Canada Reads 2019. She has written a YA novel entitled My Summer of Love and Misfortune. Wong holds a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in literary nonfiction from Columbia University. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of Winnipeg. David Norwell is an author, illustrator, and world traveller. He holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Victoria, and has worked for six seasons conducting biological and geological surveys In BC, Alberta, and the Yukon. His passion is communicating science in a way that accesses the human heart. David has visited thirty-three countries, sailed across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, trekked over the Himalayas with a kitten, and hitchhiked over two hundred rides. He is dedicated to understanding the human experience and sharing his findings. When not working on books, he is volunteering at schools, studying Buddhism, and practising meditation. Lara Jean Okihiro is a writer, researcher, and educator of mixed Japanese Canadian heritage living in Toronto. Intrigued by the power and magic of stories, she earned a Master's (Goldsmiths College) and a Doctorate (University of Toronto) in English. Living abroad inspired her to learn about her family's experience of internment. Lara writes about dispossession, hoarding, social justice, and carrying the important lessons of the past into the future. Andrea Warner (she/her) writes and talks. A lot. She's the author of Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography and We Oughta Know: How Four Women Ruled the '90s and Changed Canadian Music. She's the co-writer and associate producer of the 2022 documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On and co-hosts the the weekly feminist pop culture podcast Pop This!. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Janis Bridger and Lara Jean Okihiro. Janis and Lara are the authors of Obaasan's Boots, which was a finalist for the 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation, Lara and Janis talk about their relationship and how that evolved through the writing of the book. We also talked about why Canadians don't talk about Japanese internment and the role that books play in humanizing it. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Obaasan's Boots: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/obaasans-boots/ ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Lara Jean Okihiro is a writer, researcher, and educator of mixed Japanese Canadian heritage living in Toronto. Intrigued by the power and magic of stories, she earned a Master's (Goldsmiths College) and a Doctorate (University of Toronto) in English. Living abroad inspired her to learn about her family's experience of internment. Lara writes about dispossession, hoarding, social justice, and carrying the important lessons of the past into the future. Janis Bridger is an educator and writer who has many creative outlets and a love for the outdoors. She lives in Vancouver, Canada, close to where her Japanese Canadian grandparents lived before being interned. Janis earned a diploma in Professional Photography (Langara College), a Bachelor of Education and General Studies (Simon Fraser University) and a Master of Education (University of Alberta), specializing in teacher-librarianship. Social justice, diversity, and kindness are paramount in her life and embedded in her everyday teaching. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, you'll hear from three different authors: Lara Jean Okihiro, Janis Bridger, and Jordan Scott. Lara and Janis wrote the book Obaasan's Boots, and Jordan wrote My Baba's Garden. In the summer, these three authors participated in our Storied video On Writing About Family. These are their reflections on how writing about family can be one of the most complicated things, and how they each approached it in their work. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ View the full Storied: On Writing About Family: https://vimeo.com/showcase/11316134?share=copy ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Lara Jean Okihiro is a writer, researcher, and educator of mixed Japanese Canadian heritage living in Toronto. Intrigued by the power and magic of stories, she earned a Master's (Goldsmiths College) and a Doctorate (University of Toronto) in English. Living abroad inspired her to learn about her family's experience of internment. Lara writes about dispossession, hoarding, social justice, and carrying the important lessons of the past into the future. Janis Bridger is an educator and writer who has many creative outlets and a love for the outdoors. She lives in Vancouver, Canada, close to where her Japanese Canadian grandparents lived before being interned. Janis earned a diploma in Professional Photography (Langara College), a Bachelor of Education and General Studies (Simon Fraser University) and a Master of Education (University of Alberta), specializing in teacher-librarianship. Social justice, diversity, and kindness are paramount in her life and embedded in her everyday teaching. Jordan Scott is a poet whose work includes Silt, Blert, DECOMP, and Night & Ox. Blert, which explores the poetics of stuttering, is the subject of two National Film Board of Canada projects, Flub and Utter: a poetic memoir of the mouth and STUTTER. Scott was the recipient of the 2018 Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize for his contributions to Canadian poetry. He is the author of I Talk Like a River, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. He lives in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island with his wife and two sons. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to David Norwell. David wrote and illustrated A Complex Coast: A Kayak Journey from Vancouver Island to Alaska, which was a finalist for the 2024 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In their conversation, David talks about the push and pull of starting the kayak trip. He also talks about loneliness, and the role of awe and wonder. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About A Complex Coast: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/a-complex-coast/ ABOUT DAVID NORWELL: David Norwell is an author, illustrator, and world traveller. He holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Victoria, and has worked for six seasons conducting biological and geological surveys In BC, Alberta, and the Yukon. His passion is communicating science in a way that accesses the human heart. David has visited thirty-three countries, sailed across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, trekked over the Himalayas with a kitten, and hitchhiked over two hundred rides. He is dedicated to understanding the human experience and sharing his findings. When not working on books, he is volunteering at schools, studying Buddhism, and practising meditation. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Jordan Scott. Jordan co-created My Baba's Garden with illustrator Sydney Smith, which is a won the 2024 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation, Jordan talks about collaborating with Sydney Smith, he also talks about how the book opened up opportunities to share stories of his Baba with his kids. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About My Baba's Garden: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/my-babas-garden/ ABOUT JORDAN SCOTT: Jordan Scott is a poet whose work includes Silt, Blert, DECOMP, and Night & Ox. Blert, which explores the poetics of stuttering, is the subject of two National Film Board of Canada projects, Flub and Utter: a poetic memoir of the mouth and STUTTER. Scott was the recipient of the 2018 Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize for his contributions to Canadian poetry. He is the author of I Talk Like a River, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. He lives in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island with his wife and two sons. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Hazel Jane Plante. Hazel is the author of Any Other City, which is a finalist for the 2024 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation, talks about how music and art inspired the book, and how she's opening herself up to the next creative project. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Any Other City: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/any-other-city/ ABOUT Hazel Jane Plante: Hazel Jane Plante is a librarian, cat photographer, and writer. Her debut novel Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) (Metonymy Press, 2019) won a Lambda Literary Award and was a finalist for both a Publishing Triangle Award and a BC and Yukon Book Prize. She releases music under the name lo-fi lioness. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Chelsea Wakelyn. Chelsea is the author of What Remains of Elsie Jane, which is a finalist for the 2024 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation, Chelsea talks about who Elsie Jane is, and writing autofiction. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About What Remains of Elsie Jane: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/what-remains-of-elsie-jane/ ABOUT CHELSEA WAKELYN: Chelsea Wakelyn is a writer, musician, and mother to two lovely, eccentric humans. She lives on Vancouver Island. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Dominique Bernier-Cormier. Dominique is the author of Entre Rive and Shore, which is a finalist for the 2024 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. In their conversation, Dominique talks about using the spine of the book in the structure of some of the poems, he also talks about the way his father became a character in the book. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Entre Rive and Shore: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/entre-rive-and-shore/ ABOUT DOMINIQUE BERNIER-CORMIER: Dominique Bernier-Cormier is a Québécois/Acadian poet and translator. His first book, Correspondent, was longlisted for the Raymond Souster Award. He lives in Vancouver, where he writes and teaches in both English and French. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Jess Housty. Jess is the author of Crushed Wild Mint, which is a finalist for the 2024 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and the 2024 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In their conversation, Jess talks about prayer and poetry, they also talks about their role as an herbalist and how that inspires them creatively. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Crushed Wild Mint: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/crushed-wild-mint/ ABOUT JESS HOUSTY: Jess Housty (‘Cúagilákv) is a parent, writer and grassroots activist with Heiltsuk (Indigenous) and mixed settler ancestry. They serve their community as an herbalist and land-based educator alongside broader work in the non-profit and philanthropic sectors. They are inspired and guided by relationships with the homelands, their extended family and their non-human kin, and they are committed to raising their children in a similar framework of kinship and land love. They reside and thrive in their unceded ancestral territory in the community of Bella Bella, BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, we revisit our interview from 2019 with Darrel McLeod. Darrel passed away this week and his loss is being felt by the writing and reading community across Canada. Darrel's books were captivating and vulnerable letting people into his life and stories. Darrel McLeod was the author of Mamaskatch, Peyakow, and A Season in Chezgh'un. A Season in Chezgh'un is a finalist for the 2024 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. ABOUT DARREL McLEOD: Darrel J. McLeod is Cree from Treaty-8 territory in Northern Alberta. Before deciding to pursue writing, he worked as an educator, chief negotiator of land claims for the federal government and executive director of education and international affairs with the Assembly of First Nations. He holds degrees in French literature and education from the University of British Columbia. He is the author of two memoirs: the award-winning Mamaskatch (2018; winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction; shortlisted for many other major prizes; translated into French and German editions), followed by Peyakow (2021) which was also shortlisted for several literary prizes. He currently lives in Sooke, BC, and divides his time between writing and singing in a jazz band. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST:Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Katherine Palmer Gordon. Katherine is the author of This Place Is Who We Are: Stories of Indigenous Leadership, Resilience, and Connection to Homelands, which is a finalist for the 2024 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In their conversation, Katherine talks about the importance of reciprocity, and the need for respect and acknowledgement of Indigenous science. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About This Place Is Who We Are: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/this-place-is-who-we-are-stories-of-indigenous-leadership-resilience-and-connection-to-homelands/ ABOUT KATHERINE PALMER GORDON: Katherine Palmer Gordon is the author of eight books of non-fiction, including several BC Bestsellers: The Slocan: Portrait of a Valley, The Garden That You Are, and Made to Measure: A History of Land Surveying in British Columbia, for which she was awarded the 2007 BC Haig-Brown prize. She is also an award-winning freelance journalist and lives on Gabriola Island, BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Cathy Stonehouse. Cathy is the author of Dream House, which is a finalist for the 2024 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. In their conversation Cathy talks about the complexity of writing about home, she also talks about how her visual art practice inspires her literary art. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Dream House: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/dream-house/ Link to video of Cathy Stonehouse reading at Planet Earth Poetry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OqAKQFGW6U ABOUT CATHY STONEHOUSE: Cathy Stonehouse (she/they) is a poet, writer, teacher and visual artist. As a young adult, Cathy migrated from Northern England, where she was born, to Vancouver, BC—the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, where she still lives. She is the author of a novel, The Causes (Pedlar Press, 2019), a collection of short fiction, Something About the Animal (Biblioasis, 2011) and three collections of poetry, Dream House (Nightwood Editions, 2023), Grace Shiver (Inanna Publications, 2011) and The Words I Know (Press Gang, 1994). She also co-edited the anthology Double Lives: Writing and Motherhood (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008), with Fiona Tinwei Lam and Shannon Cowan. She is a previous editor of EVENT magazine and currently teaches creative writing and interdisciplinary expressive arts at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Geoffrey Morrison. Geoffrey is the author of Falling Hour, which is a finalist for the 2024 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation Geoffrey talks about how he taught himself to write a novel, and the authors that inspired him to write Falling Hour. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Falling Hour: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/falling-hour/ ABOUT GEOFFREY MORRISON: Geoffrey D. Morrison is the author of the poetry chapbook Blood-Brain Barrier (Frog Hollow Press, 2019) and co-author, with Matthew Tomkinson, of the experimental short fiction collection Archaic Torso of Gumby (Gordon Hill Press, 2020). He was a finalist in both the poetry and fiction categories of the 2020 Malahat Review Open Season Awards and a nominee for the 2020 Journey Prize. He lives on unceded Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh territory (Vancouver). ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Colleen Brown. Colleen is the author of if you lay down in a field, she will find you there, which is a finalist for the 2024 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. In their conversation Colleen writes about how her visual art practice led to her book, and how writing changed her ideas of memoir and truth. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About if you lay down in a field, she will find you there: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/if-you-lie-down-in-a-field-she-will-find-you-there/ ABOUT COLLEEN BROWN: Colleen Brown is known primarily as a sculptor. If you lie down in a field, she will find you there, is her first book. Colleen created visual artworks related to the book when she was the Artist in Residence at the Ranger Station Gallery. She holds a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver and an MFA from Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. She has participated in recent exhibitions and events at Western Gallery, Bellingham; Shelfed, Vancouver; Hedreen Gallery, Seattle; Airbnb, Seattle; and The Apartment, Vancouver. Brown is the recipient of a 2016 Portfolio Prize. She lives in Vancouver, BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Francine McCabe. Francine is the author of Fleece & Fibre: Textile Producers of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, which is a finalist for the 2024 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In their conversation Francine talks about how she started working and making art with fibre, and how her passion project became a book. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Fleece & Fibre: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/fleece-and-fibre/ ABOUT FRANCINE McCABE: Francine McCabe is a mixed-blood Anishinaabe writer, fibre artist, and organic master gardener from Batchewana First Nation, living on the unceded traditional territory of the Stz'uminus First Nation with her partner and two sons. She holds a degree in Creative Writing from Vancouver Island University. She is an active member of the Vancouver Island Fibreshed network and has recently joined the Guild of Canadian Weavers. She is the past recipient of the Mary Garland Coleman Prize in Lyrical Poetry and was awarded the 2014 Pat Bevan Scholarship for Creative Writing. Her writing has appeared in Portal Magazine, CV Collective, and FOLKLIFE. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Darrel McLeod. Darrel is the author of A Season in Chezgh'un, which is a finalist for the 2024 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation Darrel talks about how writing fiction changed his writing practice, and how he began developing his novel's character, James. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About A Season in Chezgh'un: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/sonnets-from-a-cell/ ABOUT DARREL MCLEOD: Darrel J. McLeod is Cree from Treaty-8 territory in Northern Alberta. Before deciding to pursue writing, he worked as an educator, chief negotiator of land claims for the federal government and executive director of education and international affairs with the Assembly of First Nations. He holds degrees in French literature and education from the University of British Columbia. He is the author of two memoirs: the award-winning Mamaskatch (2018; winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction; shortlisted for many other major prizes; translated into French and German editions), followed by Peyakow (2021) which was also shortlisted for several literary prizes. He currently lives in Sooke, BC, and divides his time between writing and singing in a jazz band. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Bradley Peters. Bradley is the author of Sonnets from a Cell, which is a finalist for the 2024 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. In their conversation Bradley talks about how the sonnet was the perfect form to write about prison. He also talks about how he was introduced to poetry. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Sonnets from a Cell: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/sonnets-from-a-cell/ ABOUT BRADLEY PETERS: Bradley Peters is a poet, actor, and carpenter from Mission, BC. His poetry has been published in numerous literary magazines, has been shortlisted for The Fiddlehead‘s Ralph Gustafson Award, has twice been the runner-up for Subterrain‘s Lush Triumphant Award, and in 2019 placed first in Grain Magazine‘s Short Grain contest. Sonnets from a Cell is his first book. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Andrea Warner. Andrea is the author of Rise Up and Sing! Power, Protest, and Activism in Music, which is a finalist for the 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Andrea talks about what inspired her to become a music writer, how her book Rise Up and Sing! started, and why kids (and their parents) need this book now. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Rise Up and Sing!: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/rise-up-and-sing-power-protest-and-activism-in-music/ ABOUT ANDREA WARNER: Andrea Warner (she/her) writes and talks. A lot. She's the author of Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography and We Oughta Know: How Four Women Ruled the '90s and Changed Canadian Music. She's the co-writer and associate producer of the 2022 documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On and co-hosts the the weekly feminist pop culture podcast Pop This!. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Julie Lawson. Julie is the author of Out of the Dark, which is a finalist for the 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Julie talks why we need historical fiction to understand the present. She also talks about how she rights on instinct and impulse, not plans and outlines. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Out of the Dark: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/out-of-the-dark/ ABOUT JULIE LAWSON: Julie Lawson is the award-winning author of many books for young people. Her three novels for Dear Canada have been acclaimed by readers of all ages. No Safe Harbour, also about the Halifax Explosion, won the Hackmatack Award. Julie has a personal connection with the tragic event and writing this novel allowed Julie to delve into the history behind many of the stories she'd heard as a child. Julie lives in Victoria, BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Henry Tsang. Henry is the author of White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver, which is a finalist for the 2024 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In their conversation Henry talks the 360 Riot Walk that led to the book. He also talks about the role of naming, gentrification, and revitalization. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About White Riot: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/white-riot/ ABOUT HENRY TSANG: Henry Tsang is an artist who explores the spatial politics of history, language, community, food, and cultural translation in relationship to place. His artworks take the form of gallery exhibitions, 360-degree video walking tours, curated dinners, and public art. Henry teaches at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Brandon Reid. Brandon is the author of Beautiful Beautiful, which is a finalist for the 2024 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation Brandon talks about the narrator in his book Redbird Anon, and how this narrator provides a unique point of view. He also talks about the influence of family stories on his novel. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Beautiful Beautiful: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/beautiful-beautiful/ ABOUT BRANDON REID: Brandon Reid holds a B.Ed. from UBC with a specialization in Indigenous education, and a journalism diploma from Langara College. His work has been published in the Barely South Review, the Richmond Review and The Province. He is a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, with a mix of Indigenous and English ancestry. He resides in Richmond, BC, where he works as a TTOC. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, playing music and listening to comedy podcasts. His debut novel, Beautiful Beautiful, was published with Nightwood Editions in fall 2023. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Emelia Symington-Fedy. Emelia is the author of Skid Dogs, which is a finalist for the 2024 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. In their conversation Emelia talks about the event the led to revisiting her childhood and teen years in her book. She also talked about the values and challenges of consent in writing. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Skid Dogs: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/skid-dogs/ ABOUT EMELIA SYMINGTON-FEDY: Emelia Symington-Fedy grew up in Armstrong, BC. She has worked as an essayist, storyteller and documentary producer for CBC Radio and is the co-artistic director of The Chop Theatre. She is the creator of the popular blog and radio show that became an audiobook, Trying to Be Good: The Healing Powers of Lying, Cheating, Stealing, and Drugs (Author's Republic, 2017). After living an urban life for many years, Symington-Fedy and her family are now enjoying life back in Armstrong, on their rural property near a lake. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to E.G. Alaraj. Evangelene is the author of When Stars Arise, which was a finalist for the 2024 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Evangelene talks about how her own kids bedtime routine inspired her first book. She also talks about how her own creative childhood inspired her. 2024 BC and Yukon Book Prizes shortlists: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/winners-finalists/#2024 Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About When Stars Arise: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/when-stars-arise/ ABOUT E.G. Alaraj: E.G. Alaraj grew up in the magical place that every child knows, where ideas look like pictures drawn from crayons, paint or ink and sound like stories from long ago and far away. The youngest of six girls in a homeschool family, she spent her childhood with her nose in storybooks, art books, music books, notebooks and trouble—especially trouble. In fact, she thinks trouble and imagination are best friends. E.G. lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Jackie Hoffart. Jackie is the admin and events coordinator at Massy Arts Society. In their conversation, Jackie talks about why they wanted to work with Massy Arts Society, and what some of their favourite memories of working with Massy have been. They also talk about how important community is to the society. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Massy Arts Society: https://massyarts.com/ Massy Voices video archive: https://massyarts.com/category/voices/ ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Kyeren Regehr. Kyeren is a poet and artistic director of Planet Earth Poetry. In their conversation, Kyeren talks about some of her favourite memories from the audience and as the artistic director of Planet Earth Poetry, she also shares some of the vast array of events and programs run about Planet Earth Poetry. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Planet Earth Poetry: https://planetearthpoetry.com/ Planet Earth Poetry livestream archive: https://www.youtube.com/@planetearthpoetry5525 ABOUT KYEREN REGEHR: Kyeren Regehr's collection Cult Life, was a finalist for the 2021 ReLit Awards and The Victoria Butler Book Prize; Disassembling A Dancer won the Raven Chapbooks contest. Since 2008, her poetry has been published in dozens of literary periodicals and anthologies in Canada, Australia, and the USA, and thrice longlisted for the CBC Poetry Awards. Kyeren holds a BFA and MFA in Writing and served as an editor on the poetry board of Canada's iconic literary periodical, The Malahat Review. Kyeren is the Artistic Director of Planet Earth Poetry, one of Canada's longest running reading series, now in its 28th season. She lives and writes with gratitude on the unceded lands of the W̱SÁNEĆ people. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Hope Lauterbach. Hope is the founder and creative director of Unbound Reading Series. In their conversation, Hope talks about creating a space that honours and creates community around black storytelling, and writing. She also talks about what inspired the Unbound Reading Series. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Unbound Reading Series: https://hopeadrift.ca/unbound/ Unbound Reading Series Instagram: https://hopeadrift.ca/unbound/ ABOUT HOPE LAUTERBACH: Hope Lauterbach is a Zambian Canadian writer and poet, a 2021 graduate of The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University and founder of Unbound, a reading series and growing collective that celebrates Black writers. Her work has been commissioned for the Fraser Valley Literary Festival, and appears in Contemporary Verse 2, emerge 21: The Writer's Studio anthology, and Pearls. Hope currently resides in that place between sleep and awake. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Susan Sanford Blades. Susan is the author of Fake It So Real, a past finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and the organizer and host of the Wild Prose Reading Series. In their conversation, Susan talks about how a need for community following the pandemic lockdowns inspired the Wild Prose Reading Series. She also talks about her hopes for the future of the series. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About The Wild Prose Reading Series: https://www.susansanfordblades.com/wild-prose-reading-series About Fake It So Real: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/fake-it-so-real/ ABOUT SUSAN SANFORD BLADES: Susan Sanford Blades lives on the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking people, the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations (Victoria, Canada). Her debut novel, Fake It So Real, won the 2021 ReLit Award in the novel category and was a finalist for the 2021 BC and Yukon Book Prizes' Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Journey Prize Reader: The Best of Canada's New Writers and has been published in literary magazines across Canada as well as in the United States and Ireland. Her fiction has most recently been published in Gulf Coast, The Malahat Review and The Masters Review. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Jesse Donaldson and Erika Dyck. Jesse and Erika are the authors of The Acid Room: Psychedelic Trials and Tribulations of Hollywood Hospital, which was a finalist for the 2023 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In their conversation Jesse and Erika talks about how they ended up working together on The Acid Room, the characters in the book, and Pink Floyd. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About The Acid Room: Psychedelic Trials and Tribulations of Hollywood Hospital: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/the-acid-room/ ABOUT JESSE DONALDSON: Jesse Donaldson is an author and journalist whose work has appeared in VICE, The Tyee, The Calgary Herald, the WestEnder, the Vancouver Courier, and many other places. His first book, This Day In Vancouver, was a finalist for the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award (BC Book Prizes). He is also the author of the first two volumes in the 49.2 Series, Land of Destiny: A History of Vancouver Real Estate, and Fool's Gold: The Life and Legacy of Vancouver's Town Fool. He lives in Vancouver. ABOUT ERIKA DYCK: Erika Dyck is a Professor and a Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice at the University of Saskatchewan. She is the author of Psychedelic Psychiatry (2008); Facing Eugenics (2013); co-author of Managing Madness (2017), and co-editor of Psychedelic Prophets (2018). ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Otoniya J. Okot Bitek. Otoniya's book A is for Acholi won the 2023 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. In their conversation Otoniya talks about how she became fascinated by maps and cartography, where she finds magic in writing, and she talks about mullet poems. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About A is for Acholi: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/a-is-for-acholi/ ABOUT OTONIYA J. OKOT BITEK: Otoniya J. Okot Bitek is a poet and scholar. Her collection of poetry, 100 Days (University of Alberta, 2016), was nominated for several writing prizes including the 2017 BC Book Prize, the 2017 Pat Lowther Award, the 2017 Alberta Book Awards and the 2017 Canadian Authors Award for Poetry. It won the 2017 IndieFab Book of the Year Award for poetry and the 2017 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. From the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021, Otoniya had the privilege of being the Ellen and Warren Tallman Writer-in-Residence and one of the SFU Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows. She has recently moved to Kingston, Ontario, to live on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe people. Otoniya is an Assistant Professor at Queen's University, Kingston. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Jesse Finkelstein. Jesse is the co-founder and co-chief executive officerof Page Two Books. Page Two published Namwayut: We Are All One: A Pathway to Reconciliation by Chief Robert Joseph which won the 2023 Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award. In their conversation Jesse talks about how she became involved in the BC publishing community, what sets Page Two apart, and what excites her about the future of publishing. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Namwayut: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/namwayut/ About Page Two: https://pagetwo.com/ ABOUT JESSE FINKELSTEIN: Jesse Finkelstein has spent her entire career in books. Prior to co-founding Page Two, Jesse held several management roles at publishing houses, including that of COO of D&M Publishers and associate publisher at Raincoast Books. She holds a master's degree in publishing from Simon Fraser University and is adjunct professor in publishing at the university. She serves on the board of Creative BC, an organization devoted to supporting the growth of cultural industries. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Monique Gray Smith. Monique's book I Hope was a finalist for the 2023 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In their conversation Monique talks about the author-illustrator relationship, and why she wanted to write a book about hope for young readers. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About I Hope: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/i-hope-nipakoseyimon/ ABOUT MONIQUE GRAY SMITH: Monique Gray Smith is a proud mom of teenage twins, an award-winning, best-selling author and sought after consultant. Monique's most recent novel, Tilly and the Crazy Eights was long listed for Canada Reads 2021. Monique has 9 books ranging for readers across the life span. Children's books include My Heart Fills with Happiness, You Hold Me Up, When We Are Kind, Lucy and Lola and I Hope. Young Adult and Adult books include Speaking our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, and recently released, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults. Monique's books are used to share wisdom, knowledge, hope and the important teaching that love is medicine. Monique is Cree, Lakota and Scottish and has been sober and involved in her healing journey for over 32 years. She is well known for her storytelling, spirit of generosity and focus on resilience. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Billy-Ray Belcourt. Billy-Ray's novel A Minor Chorus won the 2023 the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation Billy-Ray talks about how he approached the challenges of the novel form, and where he finds joy in writing. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About A Minor Chorus: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/a-minor-chorus/ ABOUT BILLY-RAY BELCOURT: Billy-Ray Belcourt (he/him) is a writer from the Driftpile Cree Nation. He won the 2018 Griffin Poetry Prize for his debut collection, This Wound Is a World, which was also a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award. His bestselling memoir, A History of My Brief Body, won the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and the Governor General's Literary Award. A recipient of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and an Indspire Award, Belcourt is Assistant Professor of Indigenous Creative Writing at UBC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Rachel Hartman. Rachel's book In the Serpent's Wake won the 2023 the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Rachel talks about how she ended up writing from multiple points of view for In the Serpent's Wake, and how writing fantasy allows her to break the norms of the "real world." Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About In the Serpent's Wake: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/in-the-serpents-wake/ ABOUT RACHEL HARTMAN: Rachel was born in Kentucky, but has lived a variety of places including Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, England, and Japan. She has a BA in Comparative Literature, although she insists it should have been a BS because her undergraduate thesis was called “Paradox and Parody in Don Quixote and the satires of Lucian.” She eschewed graduate school in favor of drawing comic books. She now lives in Vancouver, BC, with her family, their whippet, and a talking frog and salamander. Rachel Hartman is the recipient of the 2013 William C. Morris YA Debut Award which honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Tsering Yangzom Lama. Tsering's book We Measure The Earth With Our Bodies was a finalist for the 2023 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the 2023 Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. In their conversation Tsering talks about how she deals with doubt and writing, and she talks about why she avoids answering questions about writing about home. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About We Measure The Earth With Our Bodies: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/we-measure-the-earth-with-our-bodies/ ABOUT TSERING YANGZOM LAMA: Tsering Yangzom Lama holds a BA in creative writing and international relations from the University of British Columbia, and an MFA from Columbia University. Born and raised in Nepal, Tsering has lived in Toronto, New York City, and Vancouver, where she now resides. We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies is her first novel. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Gary Wyatt. Gary's book Echoes of the Supernatural: The Graphic Art of Robert Davidson was a finalist for the 2023 Bill Duthie Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Robert talks about how he met Robert Davidson, and the role Robert has had in indigenous art. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Echoes of the Supernatural: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/echoes-of-the-supernatural/ ABOUT GARY WYATT: Gary Wyatt represented master-level Northwest Coast, Inuit, and Maori artists for thirty-five years, including Robert Davidson from the late 1980s to 2020. He was curator of Northwest Coast Art for the Inuit Gallery of Vancouver for eight years, and co-founded the Spirit Wrestler Gallery in 1995. He has curated many ground-breaking exhibitions of contemporary Northwest Coast art, lectured extensively on the art form internationally, and authored several catalogues and books, including Susan Point: Works on Paper (2014), Seekers and Travellers: Contemporary Art of the Pacific Northwest Coast (2012), and Mythic Beings: Spirit Art of the Northwest Coast (1999). ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Susan Juby. Susan's book Me Three was a finalist for the 2023 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Susan talks about how she approaches book banning, and how the #metoo movement inspired her book. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/ About Me Three: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/me-three/ ABOUT SUSAN JUBY: Susan Juby is the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of eight acclaimed novels for teenagers. Her debut novel, Alice, I Think (the first of the Alice MacLeod trilogy) was made into a successful television series. The Truth Commission was the winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Award, and was shortlisted for several other awards and named to several “Best of” lists. She is also the author of a memoir, Nice Recovery, and the adult comic novels The Woefield Poetry Collective and The Republic of Dirt. Susan Juby lives in Nanaimo, BC, Canada. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.