Writing the Coast: BC and Yukon Book Prizes Podcast

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Haley Healey and Kimiko Fraser. Their book Her Courage Rises: 50 Trailblazing Women of British Columbia and Yukon is a finalist for the 2023 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation, Haley and Kimiko talk about collaborating, and the challenges of writing and illustrating women of the past when research was spa...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Megan Fennya Jones. Jones's book The Program is a finalist for the 2023 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. In their conversation, Jones talks about how important and inspiring her editor Dorothy Lasky was to her writing and her book, and how she approaches writing about personal experiences. Visit BC and Yukon Book Prizes: https://bcyukonboo...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Lyndsie Bourgon. Lyndsie's book Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America's Woods is a finalist for the 2023 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. In their conversation, Lyndsie talks about the thorough research and interviews she did for this complicated stories, and how that investment of time added necessary depth and nuance to the...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Sheryda Warrener. Sheryda's book Test Piece is a finalist for the 2023 BC and Yukon Book Prizes. In their conversation, Sheryda talks about noticing and asking questions, and talks about how she came to write ekphrastic poems. Sherdya will be part of an upcoming virtual event for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. Find the info here: https:/...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to return guest, Danny Ramadan. Danny's novel The Foghorn Echoes is a finalist for the 2023 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation Danny talks about how he approaches structure, and gives tips on writing good sex scenes, and why there are so many bad sex scenes. On the episode Danny mentions the book Cleanness by Garth Greenwell...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, you'll hear the recording from the BC and Yukon Book Prizes January Storied: Editing 101 featuring mini lectures from Shaena Lambert, Cadence Mandybura and Danielle Geller. Shaena talks about substantive editing, Cadence about copy editing, and Danielle about the writer's experience. ABOUT THE PRESENTERS: Rebecca is an award-winning writer and filmmaker living...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Rebecca Wood Barrett. Rebecca is the artistic and executive director of the Whistler Writers Society. In their conversation Rebecca talks about her journey to being involved with the writing community, and what she's looking forward to for the 2023 Whistler Writers Festival. ABOUT REBECCA WOOD BARRETT: Rebecca is an award-winning writer...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Michelle Cyca. Michelle is a journalist and book critic. In their conversation, Michelle talks about how she can't get enough of the Gilmore Girls, and what she's excited about when it comes to BC books. ABOUT MICHELLE CYCA: Michelle Cyca is a writer, editor and book enthusiast living on unceded territories of the Musqueam Band, and the...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Prem Gill, CEO of Creative BC. In their conversation Prem talks about her love of cookbooks, and how Creative BC supports book publishers and the creative sectors in the province. 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 t...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Ingrid Love, the executive director of the Elephant Mountain Literary Festival. In their conversation Ingrid talks about her life long love of books, and describes the personality she's hoping to cultivate for the Elephant Mountain Literary Festival. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Mary-Ann Yazedjian. Mary-Ann is the special projects manager at Book Warehouse and Black Bond books. In their conversation Mary-Ann talks about the books that transformed her, and how Amazon is devaluing books. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a wri...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Iona Whishaw. Iona is the author of A Lethal Lesson. A Lethal Lesson was a finalist for the 2022 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In their conversation Iona talks about the real life person who inspired her character Lane Winslow. She also talks about how the Kootenays became the setting for her murder mystery series. ABOUT IONA W...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Matea Kulić. Matea Kulić is the Executive Director of the Association of Book Publishers of BC. In their conversation Matea talks about what the Association does, and what she's excited for in 2023. ABOUT MATEA KULIC: Matea Kulić is the current Executive Director of the Association of Book Publishers of BC and formerly the Editorial Dir...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Shane Goth. Shane wrote The Midnight Club, which was illustrated by Yong Ling Kang. The Midnight Club was a finalist for the 2022 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Shane talks about how he founded The Midnight Club and how reading picture books with kids can be an amazing experience of collec...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Angela Ahn. Angela's book Peter Lee's Notes from the Field was a finalist for the 2022 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Angela talks about her journey to writing and publishing Peter Lee's Notes from the Field, and introducing ideas and emotions like shame into a middle grade novel. ABOUT ANGELA AHN: An...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Fiona Tinwei Lam. Fiona is the City of Vancouver's 6th Poet Laureate. In their conversation Fiona talks about her legacy project as Poet Laureate, writing about place, and why she's drawn to working on anthologies. ABOUT FIONA TINWEI LAM: Fiona Tinwei Lam is the author of Intimate Distances (finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Prize...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Grahame Russell. Grahame edited Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala with Catherine Nolin. Testimonio was a finalist for the 2022 Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. In their conversation Grahame talks about his NGO Rights Action, and about why Testimonio shouldn't be a provocative book. ABOUT GRA...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Alix Ohlin. Alix's book We Want What We Want was a finalist for the 2022 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In their conversation Alix talks about how she put her collection together, and how female "diades" came up as a theme in the book. ABOUT ALIX OHLIN: Alix Ohlin’s novel Dual Citizens, like her novel Inside, was a finalist for the Scotiab...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Ian Williams. Ian's book Disorientation: Being Black in the World was a finalist for the 2022 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. In their conversation Ian talks about the word "disorientation" and how he used it in the book, he also reflects on polarization and conversation. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ian Williams was born in Trinidad and raised in...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Barry Gough. Barry's book Possessing Meares Island: A Historian's Journey into the Past of Clayoquot Sound was a finalist for the 2022 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In their conversation, Barry talks about the title of the book and how "possession" plays into the history of Meares Island and it's retelling. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. B...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Karen Duffek and Jordan Wilson. Karen and Jordan co-created Where the Power Is with the late Bill McLennan. Where the Power Is: Indigenous Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art was a finalist for the 2022 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In their conversation, Karen and Jordan talk about their collaborator Bill McLennan and his legacy....

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Susan McClelland. Susan co-wrote Boy from Buchenwald with Robbie Waisman. Boy from Buchenwald is the winner of the 2022 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation, Susan talks the challenges of working with memory and what draws her to projects like Boy from Buchenwald. ABOUT SUSAN McCLELLAND: Susan McClelland’s...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Tara Borin. Tara is the winner of the 2022 Borealis Prize: The Commissioner of Yukon Award for Literary Contribution. Tara's book The Pit was published in 2021 by Nightwood Editions. In their conversation, Tara talks about what the Borealis Prize has meant to the Yukon literary community, and what inspires the work they're doing. ABOUT...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Harsha Walia. Her book Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism is the winner of the 2022 Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. In their conversation, Harsha talks about language and how the language we use has impacted how we see borders and immigration. ABOUT HARSHA WALIA: Harsha Walia is a...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Elly MacKay and Kallie George. Their book The Secret Fawn is a finalist for the 2022 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation, Elly and Kallie talk about how they met and became friends, and how they try to capture wonder for their readers, and their own kids. ABOUT KALLIE GEORGE AND ELLY MACKAY: Ka...