Writing the Coast: BC & Yukon Book Prizes podcast

Writing the Coast: BC and Yukon Book Prizes Podcast

Arts EN ↓ 240 episodes

Welcome to Writing the Coast! This is the weekly podcast where we chat with the authors and illustrators of the books who make up the shortlist of the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. On the episodes you'll hear host and podcast coordinator Megan Cole chat with the folks who are creating some of BC and Yukon's best books. We'll also check in with the literary community in our region. For more information about the BC and Yukon Book Prizes visit: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/

Author

Writing the Coast: BC & Yukon Book Prizes podcast

Episodes

S2 Episode 1: Michael Christie talks about writing an environmental novel you didn't plan 23.05.2020 27:57

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Michael Christie about his book Greenwood. In their conversation Michael talks about how he stumbled upon the unique structure for the book, how the idea for the novel came to him, and what it means to write the environmental novel you never set out to write to begin with. ABOUT MICHAEL CHRISTIE: MICHAEL CHRISTIE is the author of the no...

Episode 12: Harley Rustad talks about the characters behind one of Canada's famous trees 07.03.2020 32:21

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Megan Cole talks to Harley Rustad about his book Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada's Last Great Trees, which was nominated for the 2019 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. Harley shares what it was like when he first saw Big Lonely Doug as well as what it was like to work with one of the integral characters to the story, Dennis Cronin, who saved one of...

Community Voices Ep 01: Jess Johns Talks Growing Room 2020 25.02.2020 26:09

ABOUT THIS EPISODE Jess Johns, Executive Director of Growing Room Festival 2020, talks about the origins of the festival and it's current iteration. ABOUT JESS JOHNS Jessica Johns is a nehiyaw aunty and a member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 territory of Northern Alberta. She is the managing editor of Room magazine and a co-organizer of the Indigenous Brilliance reading series, a collab...

Episode 11: Cale Atkinson Talks about his love of ghosts which led him to Sir Simon 22.02.2020 29:18

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Cale Atkinson about his children's book Sir Simon: Super Scarer. In addition to hearing about where the inspiration for Sir Simon came from, they also discuss the challenges of writing a moral in a children's book and who Cale writes for when he's approaching a new picture book ABOUT CALE ATKINSON: Cale Atkinson is an illustrator and an...

Episode 10: Onjana Yawnghwe talks about how language shapes identity and whose stories we tell 08.02.2020 25:40

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Onjana Yawnghwe about her book of poetry The Small Way. The book includes themes around science and space, as well as narratives and story. Onjana and Megan talk about how the words we use to define ourselves shape our identity and reconciling whose stories we have permission to tell. ABOUT ONJANA YAWNGHWE: Onjana Yawnghwe was born in T...

Episode Nine: Kathy Page talks about complicated empathy and creating characters that challenge us 25.01.2020 30:31

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Kathy Page about her book Dear Evelyn, whose protagonist meet before World War II and fall and love as Harry goes off to fight. Their marriage endures the war but as Kathy and Megan discuss it's the damage left by Evelyn's parents' relationship and struggles with mental health (which wasn't talked about at the time) that took at toll an...

Episode Eight: Darrel McLeod talks about the healing power of storytelling and nature 11.01.2020 30:39

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Darrel J. McLeod's breathtaking memoir Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age received a lot of acclaim when it was published in 2018, including the 2018 Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction. In this episode of Writing the Coast, Megan talks to Darrel about his beautiful book. Their conversation included a look at how Darrel came to putting his stories on the page, the healing hi...

Minisode one: Tara Borin on what makes the literary community in the Yukon special 04.01.2020 20:09

ABOUT THIS MINISODE: In this special minisode, Megan chats with Tara Borin. Tara is a poet, and is the first member of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes board from the Yukon. And now that the prizes has shifted to more formally recognizing the work being created in the Yukon, Megan thought it was high time we checked in to see what's so special about the Yukon. Tara and Megan talk about the Dawson City...

Episode Seven: Eve Lazarus talks about giving voices to the victims who don't get a voice 28.12.2019 35:40

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Megan chats with award-winning author Eve Lazarus. Eve starts the conversation off with a reading from her book Murder by Milkshake. She takes us to the top of the iconic Bowmac sign with one of the most captivating moments of the "astonishing true story" of Esther Castellani by her husband Rene in the 1960s. True crime has quickly become one of the most popular...

Episode six: Alex Leslie talks about writing as an uninvited visitor 14.12.2019 40:01

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Megan chats with Alex Leslie, the author of We All Need to Eat: Short Stories that was nominated for the 2019 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In addition to hearing Alex read from her newly released book of poetry Vancouver for Beginners, Megan and Alex talk about writing about place and what it means to write about home and the place you grew up in as an uninvited...

Episode Five: Monique Gray Smith talks about how she found healing in her new book. 30.11.2019 26:18

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Megan chats with award-winning author Monique Gray Smith about her two most recent books Lucy and Lola, which is part of The Journey Forward, a compilation of two novellas co-written with Richard Van Camp, and her new novel for adult readers Tilly and the Crazy Eights. In addition to talking about Monique's beautiful books the pair also discusses the wrote of wr...

Episode Four: Laisha Rosnau talks bringing past secrets into the present through writing. 16.11.2019 39:43

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Megan is joined by a special co-host Charlotte Gill. Together they ask poet and fiction writer Laisha Rosnau about her book of poetry Our Familiar Hunger, and her new novel Little Fortress. They talk about writing women's stories and particularly immigrant women's stories, and Laisha reads from Our Familiar Hunger and Little Fortress. ABOUT LAISHA ROSNAU: Lindsa...

Episode Three: Lindsay Wong talks about the unifying effect of dysfunctional families 02.11.2019 23:58

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Megan chats with Lindsay Wong, the author of The Woo Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug-Raids, Demons, And My Crazy Chinese Family. In this conversation they discuss writing about mental health, family and Lindsay's new teen novel. ABOUT LINDSAY WONG: Lindsay Wong holds a BFA in Creative Writing from The University of British Columbia and a MFA in Literary Non...

Episode Two: Shazia Hafiz Ramji talks family, addiction and being vulnerble. 21.10.2019 27:36

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Megan chats with poet Shazia Hafiz Ramji. Shazia reads from her book of poetry Port of Being which was nominated for the Dorothy Livesay Prize. Shazia also talks about her family learning about some of her truths through her book and her writing, and how that shaped their relationship now. Megan and Shazia also discuss the novel that Shazia is currently working...

Episode One: featuring Megan Cole, Sean Cranbury, and Jane Davidson 07.08.2019 41:57

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode Sean and Megan test the equipment and introduce themselves and their vision for the future of the podcast. Sean checks in with Jane Davidson, the producer of the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, on their amazing program this year. ABOUT THE HOSTS: Sean Cranbury is the Executive Director of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. He's the Founder and co-host of...