Bookends with Mattea Roach

Five days a week acclaimed interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors and musicians who define pop culture.  In this episode, Tom chats with the cartoonist and writer Gabrielle Drolet. A few years ago, Gabrielle developed a condition that made her unable to use her hands. It kept getting worse over time, and as Gabrielle searched for a diagnosis, she also had to find ne...

To wrap up our first season, Bookends is bringing you to the Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton. Tanya Talaga, Morgan Campell and Amal Elsana Alh'jooj may be memoir writers from different walks of life — but a common thread in their work is how they continually use their voices to negotiate challenging conversations. They recently joined Mattea Roach on stage for a live panel, where they s...

For Montreal writer Chris Bergeron, the power of transgender storytelling is revolutionary. Her novel Valid is about a 70-year-old trans woman who is forced back into the closet to survive in a dystopian Montreal. Valid , translated from French by Natalia Hero, was chosen for this year’s One eRead Canada campaign. Chris sat down with Mattea Roach at a live virtual event in April. They spoke about...

For Chyana Marie Sage, being “soft as bones” means accepting that humans are both strong and fragile — and have immense capacity for healing. Her new memoir, Soft As Bones , is her quest to better understand the childhood trauma that scarred her family. It's also a tapestry of poetry, history, Cree language, traditional ceremony and folklore — and delves into her experiences and those of her famil...

Before becoming a writer, Kyle Edwards had dreams of playing hockey … and as an Indigenous player, he grapples with complex feelings about the game and its place in Canadian culture. He explores this in his debut novel, Small Ceremonies . The story follows the Tigers, a hockey team made up of Indigenous teens from Winnipeg. The teens are coming of age in the rink — and the dynamics on the ice ofte...

Taylor Jenkins Reid is a literary superstar. She’s known for writing epic settings, complex women and love stories that stretch across time and place — you might know her from novels such as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones and the Six . Her new novel, Atmosphere , is a space thriller that captures all of her signatures. It’s about outer space, falling in love and being a woman at...

Nearly 20 years after her breakout memoir, Fun Home , cartoonist Alison Bechdel is still unearthing new truths about her life in that time. The memoir and its Broadway adaptation changed Alison’s life and brought a degree of success she was unaccustomed to. She explores these themes in her latest work, a comic novel called Spent . It’s about a cartoonist's complicated relationship with money and c...

Through his books and public speaking, David A. Robertson has dedicated his career to sharing stories about Indigenous people. His latest book, 52 Ways to Reconcile , is a guide for all of us to take action when it comes to reconciliation — and shows how small acts can have a big impact. Like all of David's work, the book tackles hard truths with a gentle touch and a profound sense of hope. David...

The 1983 revolution in Grenada was a major moment of the Cold War era ... and writer Zilla Jones grew up hearing stories about its connection to her own family. She transports readers back to that time in her debut novel, The World So Wide . It follows a Canadian opera singer named Felicity who is caught up in the military coup and placed under house arrest. What unfolds next is a saga that spans...

There’s no easy answer to that question — and Vijay Khurana’s debut novel, The Passenger Seat , takes a closer look at how complicated it really is. Drawing on aspects of a real string of murders that took place in British Columbia in 2019, the story follows two high school boys as they set off on a road trip that turns violent. It examines male friendships and masculinity with nuance and complexi...

Growing up in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic left Pete Crighton with a huge fear of sex … and he threw himself into music as a way to cope with his anxieties. Decades later, he realized that he needed to face his fears and live his queer life to the fullest. Pete writes about this journey in his new memoir, The Vinyl Diaries , where he uses his favourite songs, albums and artists as the backdr...

For years, Casey Johnston thought fitness was all about shrinking down. She was terrified of weightlifting and what it would do to her body. Now, she’s a writer and fitness advocate with a massive following of fellow lifters. Her latest book, A Physical Education , tells the story of how stepping into the weight room changed her life — body, mind and heart. Speaking with Mattea Roach, she shares h...

During the pandemic, journalist Carley Fortune turned to romance writing as an outlet … and her debut novel, Every Summer After, was a life-changing success. The nostalgic summer love story was a massive hit, launching her into the world of book lists, devoted fans and screen rights. This spring Carley is back with One Golden Summer, the much-anticipated sequel to her debut novel. Carley joins Mat...

It's not you — the internet really does suck. Novelist, blogger and noted internet commentator Cory Doctorow explains what happened to the internet and why you're tormented by ads, bots, algorithms, AI slop and so many pop-ups. Spoiler alert: it wasn't an accident. In Understood: Who Broke the Internet, Doctorow gets into the decisions made by powerful people that got us here, and most importantly...

Long before he became a bestselling writer, Ocean Vuong sold rotisserie chickens at Boston Market. In his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness , he explores the meaning that can be found in the daily grind of a fast food restaurant. The book follows a young addict named Hai as he unexpectedly becomes caretaker to an elderly woman and makes unlikely connections at the fast-food restaurant where he...

As a child, Madeleine Thien loved to sit on her father’s lap as he flipped through the newspaper. Later on, she became fascinated by the newspaper archives at the Vancouver Public Library. Her exploration of history and storytelling continues with novels such as Do Not Say We Have Nothing . Now she's back with her long-awaited new novel, The Book of Records . The book questions the very nature of...

Iryn Tushabe says she loves Uganda “like a problem.” Her debut novel, Everything Is Fine Here , dives into what exactly those words mean. Aine is coming of age at a boarding school in Uganda … and her world is turned upside down when she learns that her beloved older sister is gay. She’s happy to see her sister in love, but disapproving parents and a hostile culture complicate her ideas of love an...

Inspired by her own experience as a skincare influencer, Liann Zhang’s debut novel, Julie Chan is Dead , is a wild ride into the world of social media. Julie Chan’s estranged twin sister Chloe is a famous mega-influencer … while Julie leads a less glamorous life. When Chloe mysteriously dies, Julie makes a split-second decision to take over her life. She’s suddenly thrust into the world of luxury...

In The Dream Hotel , Laila Lalami imagines a world where the government has access to data about people's dreams … and uses it to decide if someone is likely to commit a crime. When Laila's protagonist, Sara, is flagged as high risk, she’s sent to a retention centre and subjected to constant surveillance. Laila talks to Mattea Roach about her interest in dreams, the dangers of invisible data colle...

You may not be familiar with Dorian McNamara yet … but his story, You (Streetcar at Night) , is the winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize. If you’ve spent time in Toronto, you’ll know its trademark red streetcars. Dorian grew up on those streetcars, which is why he chose one as the backdrop for his story of a young transgender person reflecting on their first relationship. Dorian and Mattea Roa...

That all-consuming, dizzying feeling is what acclaimed poet Seán Hewitt captures in his debut novel, Open, Heaven. The book follows a teenager named James, whose first love is made complicated by his own sexuality and the realities of the rural English village where he lives. Seán joins Mattea to talk about the difference between love and desire, the role of nature in his work and why Ireland is s...

For some people, young adulthood can feel more like a crash landing than a glorious journey — and Georgia Toews knows that better than anyone. Her new novel, Nobody Asked For This , is about Virginia, a young comedian. Alongside the usual messiness of growing up and chasing comedy stardom, Virginia is grappling with the loss of her mother, discord in her closest personal relationships and navigati...

Readers have been waiting for a new novel from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for 12 years … and Dream Count delivers a sweeping tale that was well worth the wait. In the novel, Chimamanda weaves together the perspectives of four women moving between Nigeria, Guinea and the United States. In this Canadian broadcast exclusive, she joins Mattea Roach to talk about her longing to be known, grappling with t...

After years in the Internet trenches, Scaachi Koul is no stranger to a good fight — but her latest essay collection is all about knowing when to walk away. In Sucker Punch, Scaachi examines her recent divorce with her signature ruthless humour, picking apart what the end of her marriage made her realize about her self-worth, upbringing and love of conflict. Scaachi joins Mattea to talk about divor...

You might know John Green as the author of bestsellers such as The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska , or from the hugely popular Crash Course and Vlogbrothers Youtube channels. John’s latest obsession is tuberculosis, the deadliest disease in the world — and he writes all about it in his book, Everything is Tuberculosis . John and Mattea Roach dive into the wild history of the disease, wh...