Hey folks! Today's guest is author Ai Jiang. She's a Nebula winner and a Hugo nominee, which is amazing, but she's also just a great storyteller and a cool, humble person. Check out both her recent works, Linghun and I am AI - and check out our show!

Today on the show, we chat with journalist/columnist/author Elizabeth Renzetti about her collection of essays, What She Said: Conversations About Equality. Listen in!

Autokrator is one of the most original books I've read in a while (also: thought-provoking, exciting, horrifying). That's why I wasn't surprised by how much enjoyed this conversation with author Emily A. Weedon. Check it out!

Hey folks! Today's guest is Avik Jain Chatlani, here to talk about his amazing (and occasionally harrowing) novel, This Country Is No Longer Yours. Enjoy the show.

FOUR HUNDRED, PEOPLE

That’s wild.

As I mentioned on the show last week, I’m looking at winding the show down. The book-a-week reading pace has really interrupted my writing time. Then again, when I say “winding down” I mean…maybe episode 500? Which is about 100 books away?

I imagine after I do that, I’ll start up a new pod, likely about writing, but not likely on a weekly basis.

In the meantime to celebrate 400 we have Shashi Bhat, here to talk about her excellent collection of stories, Death by A Thousand Cuts. I hope you like!

Hey folks! Today we talk with author Nicola Winstanley about her collection of stories, Smoke, New Zealand, and other fun things. Listen in!

Hey folks! Recovering from COVID over here. Good times. I’m OK though.

Today we talk with Sheila James about her novel, Outcaste. Enjoy!

On today’s show we chat with Lynne Golodner about her novel, Woman of Valor. After that, we’re joined by Gerald Arthur Moore, to talk about his collection Flak Jacket. Enjoy the show!

Hey folks! Seems every time I read a Canadian horror book, I’m floored. Last time it was Andrew F. Sullivan‘s The Marigold. Now it’s A.G.A. Wilmot‘s Withered. Big ups to ECW Press, I guess! It hit all my horror sweet spots (creepy spots?). Listen in as we discuss Withered, mental health, and horror stuff.

Today's show is a double-header. We welcome back David Eisenstadt, to talk about his book, Under the Radar: 36 Notable Canadian Jewish Performers. We also talk with J Andersen about his debut collection of stories and poems,  A Nasty Piece of Work Vol. 1. Hope you enjoy the show.

Welcome to this week’s show! We had a great conversation with author Frankie Barnet, talking about their latest, Mood Swings. Listen in.

I’ve probably taken the Bruce Trail for granted, growing up in Hamilton, on the Niagara Escarpment. That might be different now, thanks to Nicola Ross and her book, 40 Days & 40 Hikes. Listen to our conversation this week on the show!

Hey all! Fun interview with author Ben German Ghan, talking about his wildly inventive spec fic novel (if we have to classify it) The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits. Listen in!

This week we chat with author Gwen Tuinman! Had a great conversation about her book Unrest (highly recommend it btw). Hope you’re pre-summer is going well out there.

Hey folks! Had a nice chat with Myriam Lacroix (despite some tech glitches – sorry, Myriam!) about her novel How It Works Out. I mistook it for a short story collection even after I’d read it! Listen and find out why :D

Happy to have my pal Brent Van Staalduinen back on the show for a record sixth time (he’s now tied with Gary Barwin for number of appearances. Do I owe them, like a special jacket or something?). We talk about his latest novel, Unthinkable (which I blurbed!).

Also, we talk about LitLive’s fundraising initiative. Help ’em out right here!

Hey all! Still coming down from a remarkably busy couple of weeks. Hope you're enjoying your spring so far. Today we talk with Danila Botha about her new collection, Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness. Enjoy!

Hey folks! Things were happening last week here in the Hammer. GritLit was huge! I got to run a fun event with fellow Program Advisory Committee member Ann Y.K. Choi, then introduce Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Peter Mansbridge. Friday/Sat/Sun were twice as busy with events, a few too many concerts (Cadence Weapon and Raven? I'm weird) and a birthday party to cap it all off (congrats Liz Worth!) Now I get to...breathe.

This week we speak with Greg Rhyno. His newest, Who By Fire, is the first in the Dame Polara mystery series. Tune in!

Hey all! My friend Jessica Rose joins us this week (check out her new book too by the way) to talk about the GritLit Festival. We're busy non-stop all weekend, so if you're in the area, we hope to see you!

Hey folks! Spent last week on a self-imposed retreat. That means I rented an Airbnb in the city and holed up to get two full days of writing done, a thing that absolutely does not happen if I’m left to my own devices at home. You know, day job, housework, etc…kind of gets in the way. Happy to say it was successful. Was the writing good? Lord, no. But it’s a first draft, so at this point, it doesn’t matter.

This week we talk to PEI resident Steven Mayoff about his novel, The Island Gospel According To Samson Grief. Hope you enjoy!

I had the unexpected pleasure of talking with Charles Azulay last week. I met Charles when I was about fourteen (and he was even younger), doing children’s theatre. We went on to do a production of Anything Goes and Hair at McMaster University. Pretty sure he sang “Three Five Zero Zero.” Yes, I was a pretty big musical theatre nerd! But not as much as Charles, who went on to do it professionally for decades. Anyway, I hadn’t seen Charles in over 30 years, so this reunion was an absolute delight.

Charles’ memoir Uncoloured tells some of those tales but also talks about his life growing up as a black child in a white family and the struggled he faced as a youth. Check it out!

Hey folks! This week we speak with author Emily Pohl-Weary about her novel How To Be Found. Had a great conversation and I hope you enjoy listening.

Hey folks! 

Once again, I got to spend a little time with Tom Wilson is his Hamilton home. I’ve known Tom since around 1990, and have seen him (and written about him) plenty since then. It’s been fascinating to watch his artistic endeavors expand and to follow his story (as laid out in his bestseller, Beautiful Scars).

We talk about all kinds of things today but ostensibly this interview is about Mohawk Warriors, Hunters and Chiefs: The Art of Tom Wilson. Tune in!

Hey folks! Had a great chat with Sarah Henstra, author of The Lost Tarot. Tune in!

Also: Oct 11 is my deadline for my novel’s first crappy draft to be completed. Wish me luck.

Hey folks! Today’s show features Chris Kuriata, fellow Palimpsest author. Sacrifice of the Sisters Lot is a weird, wild ride (meant as a compliment!). Hope you enjoy.

Hey folks! It’s fundraising time here at CFMU. So, just a quick note: I don’t get paid a dime to do any of this. Even if I tried to monetize it, let’s face it, this is pretty niche. So! If you appreciate the show, or want to support local radio / community broadcasting, please consider going to cfmu.ca/fundraising and helping out.

Today’s show features Raymond Beauchemin. I had the pleasure of chatting with him in the CFMU studios. We discuss his collection of novellas, The Emptiest Quarter. Check it out!

Hey everyone! Back once again with David Neil Lee, to talk about the third in his creepy Lovecraftian YA trilogy! Thoroughly enjoyed The Great Outer Dark. If any of those previously-applied adjectives interest you (or if you read the first two) you won’t be disappointed.

Hey all! The universe is a mean-spirited little kid right now, throwing fistfuls of gravel (it doesn’t hurt, but it’s just the sheer volume that’s troublesome). A few minor health things, a bit of work stress, etc., etc. Hope your lives are going well and that, when the little jerk starts throwing gravel, you can brush it off and keep moving forward .

Today we talk to Michelle Syba. It was great to meet her and talk about her collection, End Times. Hope you like our conversation.

Hey folks! Had the pleasure of meeting Paige Maylott in the 93.3 CFMU studios this past week. We discuss her excellent memoir, My Body is Distant. Check it out.

Hey folks! This week we talk to two different poets and writers. First up is Domenico Capilongo, here to talk about 1972. After that, Roshan James is here to discuss her collection Pink Moon. Enjoy!

Hey everyone. Hope your January has been excellent. Today’s guest is Tiffany Morris, joining me to talk about her book Green Fuse Burning. Enjoy!

Thrilled to have Kliph Nesteroff back on the show this week. I’ve known Kliph for about fifteen years (not well; we just barely meet the requirements to be called “acquaintances”) and I’ve followed his writing career with enthusiasm. Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars is another winner. He’s a fun interview and has plenty to say. 

Hi folks! Today we’re back with author and critic Jeff Bursey. We talk about a few things including his most recent books of criticism and fiction. Tune in!

Hey all! Welcome to the new year. I hope 2024 is amazing for each of you (whatever that means for you!). I have a few plans and hopes over here myself...

As for today's show, forward we go! Today's guest is my friend Steacy Easton, a critic, author, visual artist, academic and all-around fascinating person. We talk about two of their books, which are wildly different from one another. First, Why Tammy Wynette Matters, which is about exactly that. Then, Daddy Lessons, which is about many, many things (imo no one quote sums it up so check all the quotes out here).

Enjoy!

Today we talk with the Director of the Toronto International Festival of Authors, Roland Gulliver. The festival runs Sept 19 – 29. As an added bonus we chat with author Anuja Varghese about the LitLive reading series here in Hamilton. Enjoy the show.

One of our favourite return guests, uh, returns again! The excellent Gary Barwin is with us as the last interview of 2023. We talk about all kinds of things, but mostly his latest collection Imagining Imagining: Essays on Language, Identity and Infinity. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

GET LIT today with Hamilton poet and author Ben Robinson! We talk about his new work, The Book of Benjamin.

Hey folks! A special show for me today. My publisher passed along a submission a couple years back, asking if I was interested in editing the work. Over time, the book became known as The Blood of Five Rivers, and I can't recommend it enough. How do I end up working with such great authors?

Anyhow, Arjun Bedi joins to me to talk about the book, "an intergenerational tale of fathers and sons, migration and integration, and the lasting impacts of legacy." It's also emotional, experimental and sometimes funny as hell. Listen in, then go read the book :D

Hey all! Happy to welcome David Bergen back to the program again. We talk about his great novel, Away From The Dead. Now I’m off to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary in Cuba. Be back next week!

Hey all! Keeping it in the mystery/crime vein for a second week in a row. We talk with Melodie Campbell about her novel, The Merry Widow Murders. Make sure you tune in.

Hey folks! Got to speak to Scott Thornley during Supercrawl this year, and here we get to go a bit more in-depth about his recent novel, Middlemen. Check it out if ya can.

If you’re a fan of my book (or not!) River, Diverted, follow me on Instagram and check out my saved stories – the “River” tour of Nagano, Japan. It was a lotta fun. Now I’m almost over jet lag and ready with a new show!

G.A. (Gord) Grisenthwaite and I have been friends since 2016 and I’ve been lucky to work with him not once, but twice. Last time, we talked about the novel Home Waltz, which I edited. Same goes for his new collection of short stories, Tales For Late Night Bonfires. It’s pretty amazing. Check it out.

Waubgeshig Rice is back on the show! We talk about Moon of the Turning Leaves, the sequel to his successful Moon of the Crusted Snow. Was a fun conversation, hope you enjoy!

The last time I spoke with Canadian poetry legend Lorna Crozier, it was the middle of the pandemic. She was mourning the loss of her husband Patrick Lane, and I had some things going on as well; needless to say it got a bit emotional (though I didn't air that part). It was amazing to get to talk to her again, especially because this time it was about poetry: her new collection After That. Listen in if you can.

Hey folks! This one's for the locals (or the folks willing to travel). Two great events coming up. This weekend, we have the Author's Tent at Supercrawl (Sept 13 - 15). Noelle Allen joins us to flesh out some of the details. Then we have Bailey Duff from the Telling Tales Festival, talking about their exciting event, focusing on lit for kids (Sept 21 & 22). Listen in! :D

I first met Sean Michaels as a member of the grand jury for the Polaris Music Prize. He very modestly told me he was "working on a book." That book, of course, was the Giller-winning Us Conductors. I got to speak to him about that book, and again when he released The Wagers (we did an event together and it recorded it to be two episodes). Sean's newest, Do You Remember Being Born, is fantastic. Hope you enjoy our conversation.

Hope you’re all doing well out there. Had a blast putting together today’s show, which features author Alicia Elliott. Her debut novel, And Then She Fell: A Novel is amazing and occasionally horrifying. Highly recommended. If you enjoy, you can hear her talk about her collection of essays, A Mind Spread Out On The Ground, over here on E127.

Hey folks! In order to get as many folks on as I can I’ve done another double episode. Two great books of poetry this week. We speak with Emily Osborne (Safety Razor) and Jake Byrne (Celebrate Pride With Lockheed Martin). Hope you enjoy ’em both.

Hey all! On today's show we talk with Eden Boudreau about her powerful memoir, Crying Wolf. Content warning for sexual violence, just so you know.