My guest on this episode is Chelene Knight. Chelene is the author of the collection Braided Skin, the memoir Dear Current Occupant, which won the Vancouver Book Award, the novel Junie, which also won the Vancouver Book Award, and the self-help memoir Let It Go. Chelene’s most recent book is Safekeeping: A Writer’s Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love, published by House of Anansi in early 2025. Author Kai Thomas called it “current, comprehensive, and full of care.”

Chelene and I talk about the expectations she had about the life of a writer when she published her first book, about how she has learned to be intentional in her decision-making and not chase ever opportunity that comes her way as a writer, and about the ideas that may end up driving her next book, a potential novel.

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 Jason Logan. Jason is an artist, graphic designer, and ink maker, and the founder of the Toronto Ink Company. He is the author of the books If We Ever Break Up, This Is My Book, iGeneration, Festus, and Make Ink: A Forager's Guide to Natural Inkmaking. He is the subject of the 2022 documentary The Colour of Ink, which premiered at that year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Jason’s most recent book is How to Be a Color Wizard: Forage and Experiment with Natural Art Making, published by MIT Kids Books in 2024. Kirkus Reviews called the book “practical, imaginative, magical fun.”

Jason and I talk about the missing letter U in the title of his most recent book, about learnig to write books after one early draft actually put his wife to sleep, and about how he has embraced the recognition that comes with being the central subject of a feature documentary.

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 Glenn Dixon. Glenn is an author and former educator whose work has appeared in National Geographic, the New York Post, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and Psychology Today. His books include the travel memoirs Tripping the World Fantastic, Pilgrim in the Palace of Words, and Juliet’s Answer, which was a national bestseller and has been published in twelve countries. His most recent book is the novel Bootleg Stardust, published by Simon & Schuster in 2021. Author and broadcaster Grant Lawrence called the book “a totally wild ride through the opulent and trashy world of 70s rock and roll.”

Glenn and I talk about releasing his first novel at the tail end of COVID lockdown, about recording original music for that novel with equipment previously used by, among others, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, and about the weird naming debate he recently had with the editors of his next novel, which features a sentient vacuum cleaner.

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.