What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books – Détails, épisodes et analyse

My guest on this very Toronto-centric episode is Shawn Micallef. Shawn is an author whose books include Full Frontal TO, The Trouble With Brunch, and Frontier City. He’s a weekly columnist at the Toronto Star, and a senior editor and co-founder of Spacing magazine. His most recent book is a fully updated version of Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto, originally published by Coach House Books in 2010. The updated version was published in 2024, also by Coach House. Author Douglas Coupland called Stroll "a smart and intimate guide to the city that makes you feel like an insider from start to finish."

Shawn and I talk about his decision to finally abandon his Twitter account, which had been a big part of how he explored cities, about how updating Stroll turned out to be a more onerous task than he’d originally thought, and about how writing a weekly newspaper column and becoming a parent has a funny way of delaying big new book projects.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Eden Boudreau. Eden is an author whose work has appeared in the Globe & Mail, Flare, Today’s Parent, and elsewhere. She is the host and creator of the podcast Dear Lonely Writer, which was aimed at destigmatizing mental health struggles during the writing process. Eden’s most recent book is her debut, Crying Wolf: A Memoir, published by Book*hug Press in 2023 and shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. Author Erin Pepler called Crying Wolf “a vivid, searingly honest account of violence against women and the aftermath of an assault.”

Eden and I talk about the difficult decision to pause her author podcast (which I had the honour of being a guest on), about her initial reluctance to include some darker truths about herself in her memoir, and why she’s grateful she became a published writer a little later in life than she’d originally hoped.  

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Sheung-King. Sheung-King’s debut novel, You Are Eating an Orange. You Are Naked, was published by Book*Hug Press in 2021, and was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and the Amazon Canada First Novel Award. It was longlisted for Canada Reads and named one of the best book debuts by the Globe and Mail. His most recent book is the novel Batshit Seven, published by Penguin Canada in 2024. That book was named a book of the year by the Globe and Mail and by the CBC, and was the winner of the Writers' Trust Atwood Gibson Fiction Prize. The Toronto Star called Batshit Seven “a highly unusual, highly effective examination of both contemporary society and the quest for identity.”

Sheung-King and I talk about his state of mind the morning after winning the Atwood-Gibson prize, about some of the best writing advice he ever got, and about living in both Canada and China, and always feeling like a returnee no matter which country he is in.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, I speak with Farzana Doctor about her first poetry collection You Still Look the Same, published by Freehand Books in 2022*. We talk about the how she learned to market herself, how publishing a collection of poetry was a surprisingly relaxing experience (at least compared to publishing her four previous novels), and how the messes of her forties have broadened her ambitions as a writer.

Listen for a chance to win a copy of You Still Look the Same, courtesy of Freehand Books.

* In the introduction, I say 2021 by mistake.

Farzana Doctor: farzanadoctor.com

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Contact Nathan Whitlock at nathanwhitlock.ca/contact

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Shashi Bhat. Shashi the author of the novels The Most Precious Substance on Earth, a finalist for the Governor General's Award, and The Family Took Shape, a finalist for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. Her fiction has won the Writers’ Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize and been shortlisted for a National Magazine Award and the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. She is the editor-in-chief of EVENT magazine and teaches creative writing at Douglas College. Shashi’s most recent book is the story collection Death by a Thousand Cuts, published by McClelland & Stewart in 2024. That book was longlisted for the  Giller Prize and was named a book of the year by the Globe and Mail, Apple Canada, and the CBC. Author Liz Harmer said about the book that “Shashi Bhat writes scenes of contemporary life with such wit and aplomb you almost don’t realize they’ve also broken your heart.”

Shashi and I talk about how her writing style has grown both darker and more overtly humorous, the pressures she has felt about the kinds of stories that she, as a woman from a South Asian family, was supposed to write, and about her enduring love for short fiction.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Derek McCormack. Derek is the author of more than a dozen books, including Dark Rides, The Haunted Hillbilly, and The Well-Dressed Wound. He has written frequently about fashion and art for places like Artforum and The Believer, and was a regular fashion writer for the National Post. His most recent book is Judy Blame’s Obituary: Writings on Fashion and Death, a collection of his fashion writing published in 2022 by Pilot Press. The Heavy Feather Review called Judy Blame’s Obituary “a furious haberdashery of [McCormack’s] own shining and ghostly obsessions. When writing about fashion, McCormack is writing about his life.”

Derek and I talk about his complicated literary reputation, about writers needing to fight against their natural desire for attention and acceptance, and, not uncoincidentally, about publishing a novel with a title I am too boring and polite to say out loud on a podcast.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is francesca ekwuyasi. francesca is a writer, artist, and filmmaker whose first book, the novel Butter Honey Pig Bread, was published in 2020 by Arsenal Pulp. That book won the Writers' Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers; was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, and a Lambda Literary Award, and was longlisted for the Giller Prize. In 2021, it was a runner-up on the CBC's Canada Reads competition. Her most recent book is Curious Sounds: A Dialogue in Three Movements, a collaboration with celebrity chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and visual and recording artist Roger Mooking. That book was published in 2023, also by Arsenal Pulp. Publishers Weekly said about Curious Sounds that “there's a sense of a mind spilled onto the page, with sharp insights scattered throughout. The results are both odd and enchanting.”

francesca and I talk about how having her first book on Canada Reads was directly responsible for her second, about how writers should let themselves explore whatever theme or territory has them in its grip, and about how, having written her first novel all over the place and on whatever materials were handy, she has finally discovered the joy of writing at an actual desk.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Leigh Nash. Leigh has worked as the publisher at House of Anansi Press and Invisible Publishing, and is now the co-publisher at Assembly Press, a brand-new independent literary press. She also helps run the PEP Rally Reading Series out of Books & Company in Picton and co-founded The Emergency Response Unit, a chapbook press. Her most recent book was also her debut: the collection Goodbye, Ukulele, published by Mansfield Press in 2010. The scholarly journal Canadian Literature said Leigh “has an eye for unsettling images” and praised Goodbye, Ukulele as “a compelling read.”

Leigh and I talk about the founding of Assembly Press, about her ongoing love for her debut collection, and about how the world of books has changed in the quarter-century since its publication.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally uploaded in June 2023. It is a conversation with Andrew Pyper, who died just a few days ago at the age of 56. Andrew was the author of more than a dozen books, including The Homecoming, The Residence, and many others. In our conversation, Andrew talks about the odd career he has created for himself as a writer with one foot in the literary world and one in the worlds of horror and suspense and thrillers. We also talk about Andrew’s connection to the late Steve Heighton. I have not re-edited the conversation itself, except to lop off the original intro and outro.

Andrew’s family has posted a link where people can donate to Trees Canada in his name: https://justgiving.com/campaign/andrewpyper

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Martha Baillie. Martha is the author of multiple works of fiction, including the novel The Incident Report, published by Coach House Books in 2009 and longlisted for the Giller Prize. Darkest Miriam, a feature film based on that novel, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this year and had its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, where it won the DGC Best Director prize. Her most recent book is the memoir There Is No Blue, which was published in 2023, yet again by Coach House, and recently won the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize For Nonfiction. The Guardian called the book “tough, tender, and compelling."

Martha and I talk about her continuing post-award high, about strangers sharing with her their stories of mental health struggles, and about the oddity—but also delight!—of relatively late-career success.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.