Kobo in Conversation

On stage in downtown Toronto, Nathan interviewed authors Kevin Powers and Ausma Zehanat Khan about their latest novels, which introduce us to people working in the criminal justice system to solve violent crimes with far-reaching geopolitical causes—informed by each author's own unique perspective and expertise.

Live at MOTIVE: Global Issues on the Page

In this episode recorded in-person in Kobo's new office in downtown Toronto, Nathan spoke with novelist Tom Rachman, author of books including The Imperfectionists and The Italian Teacher. It's our first in-person episode of Kobo in Conversation since 2020—and that's why it sounds a little different from the episodes we've been making over Zoom over the past few years.

The Imposters is a novel about a novelist, but a novelist unlike most you'll meet in fiction. Dora Frenhofer was once successful and well-known, but that was some time ago; we meet her in old age, as she feels some cognitive decline that probably stands out a little more to a person who trades on feats of imagination and memory—and though she'd be the first to declare that the world doesn't need another Dora Frenhofer book, she's pushing herself to finish this one final novel.

Tom Rachman on inhabiting the roles of others in The Imposters

Nathan spoke with Samantha Irby, screenwriter on the TV series Shrill and most recently the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That..., and the author of books including We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, Wow, No Thank You, as well as the new essay collection Quietly Hostile. They chatted about joining a TV writers' room as a superfan and why she hasn't (yet) written a book called "Garbage Time" or "Trench Mouth".

Getting surreal with Samantha Irby

Michael spoke with Rithu Bhasin, social justice advocate, entrepreneur, and author of We've Got This: Unlocking the Beauty of Belonging, a book about building a culture where everyone feels welcome to show up with their whole self. And it's also a very personal book, in which she shares her own difficult journey towards a sense of belonging.

Ritu Bhasin, on the good, the bad, and belonging

We spoke with Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of the new novel The Three of Us. It's a story about three people: a husband and wife, and the wife's friend, who is definitely not the husband's friend. It's a wickedly funny book told through three voices in tension with one another, and possibly also objective reality.

Ore Agbaje-Williams on writing a character who says it all out loud

We spoke with Canadian journalist and bestselling romance novelist Carley Fortune, author of the new book Meet Me at the Lake. It's a summer love story about Fern Brookbanks, who's forced to grieve the sudden death of her mother while trying to run her family's lakeside resort, alongside the manager who happens to be her ex. Unbeknownst to her, Fern's mom had hired a consultant just before she died; and unfortunately it turns out to be Will Baxter, the guy who stole Fern's young heart years ago and then vanished from her life, but never her thoughts.

Carley Fortune on summer love and second chances

We spoke with David Grann, author of non-fiction page-turners including The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon and Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, to say nothing of his many incredible articles about crime and adventure that he's written over the past twenty years for The New Yorker. And he has a new book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. It's about seafaring, nautical battles, castaways on the brink of starvation, but it's also about the very fabric of society.

David Grann on the brutal truths revealed in The Wager

Shelley Read is the author of the novel Go as a River, a story set in the 1940s on a peach farm in a Colorado town called Iola. She spoke with us about finding the voices of her quiet characters through her deep knowledge of the history and geography of the region.

Shelley Read on bringing life to quiet characters

We spoke with Zoe Whittall, poet, screenwriter, and novelist. Her new book The Fake is a novel about a liar named Cammie and two people who fall under her spell—and then have to pick up the pieces of their lives when they fall out of it.

Zoe Whittall on the truth about liars

We spoke with writer Hua Hsu, author of Stay True: A Memoir. It's a heartfelt, thoughtful book about family, friendship, and figuring out who you are—and was widely lauded as one of the best non-fiction books of 2022.

Hua Hsu on the strange characters of memoir