Get Lit

What can I say about Gary Barwin? Amazing author and poet, entertaining reader, fellow Hamiltonian, and the first-ever guest on GET LIT! Gary’s newest novel, Nothing The Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy, is something else (in the best possible way). Read it, and check out our conversation about it on today’s episode.

Hey all! We’re back to poetry today and chatting with Rebecca Salazar. Her new collection is sulphurtongue, and it’s superb. Was going to squeeze two interviews into one show, but once Rebecca and I got talking, it was too interesting to cut short. Check it out.

Just added! My first interview with Sean Michaels, before he'd even won the Giller, I believe. Us Conductors is still one of my favourite books of the last several years. Enjoy.

Alexandra Morton is a scientist, author and activist living on the coast of B.C. Not On My Watch is a disturbing look at salmon fisheries and what they do to the environment (and, by extension, it's about just how much our governments favor dollars over...I dunno, life, I guess). Angering, but in a good way? Hope you enjoy today's show.

Hey folks! Kliph Nesteroff is our guest this week. Kliph has done campus radio, worked for the CBC, been a stand-up comedian, and even published a remarkable blog about comedy history.

Kliph was born in B.C. (where I first met him) but now lives in L.A. His first book, The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy, has done exceptionally well and is a fabulous read. So is his latest, We Had A Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans and Comedy.

As a white settler, Kliph isn't super keen on speaking for indigenous folks. In the book he handles this extremely well, but on the publicity circuit, he hasn't always been comfortable. To that end, I've included a second interview with comedian Jon Roberts, who appears in the book. We talk about his career, Kliph's book, and more. Hope you enjoy!

Hey all! So many reasons to listen to today’s show! The incredible Eden Robinson is here to talk about the final book in her Tricker trilogy, Return of the Trickster. I had a lot of fun the last time we spoke, and we laughed even more this time. Tune in!

So, first off, some news about me for a change. My novel RIVER, DIVERTED has been scheduled for fall 2022 thanks to the good peoples (read: Aimee) at Palimpsest Press! Super excited and can't wait to share more info as it comes.

Today we have our annual catch-up with Jennifer Gillies from the GritLit Readers & Writers' Festival. We talk about this year's fest, coming up April 15 - 18. Remember, it's all digital this year, so if something appeals to you, you don't have to be in the Hamilton area to get there :D

It was my great pleasure to have Krista Foss on the program this week. Krista’s a wonderful author and one of the first lovely folks I ever met on the Hamilton lit scene. Krista’s new novel Half Life is great. Hope you enjoy our conversation.

There are so many great books by Hamiltonians this spring. It’s kind of unbelievable (or should I say, I totally believe it? I don’t know). One of my favourites is Kill the Mall by Pasha Malla. It’s a very unique, highly unusual and even more highly entertaining work. Pasha joins me today to discuss!

A few weeks ago I got to chat with award-winning author Mary Lawson, on the phone from her home in the U.K. If you haven't read her newest, A Town Called Solace, I highly recommend you do! Check out today's show to learn more about her and the book. Be well, everyone :D