In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with award-winning author Rod Carley about The Great Catsby by Hilton, published by Canadian publisher Smart House (September 1, 2026). The Great Catsby by Hilton is the unforgettable and wildly entertaining new YA book by Rod Carley and his cat, Hilton. Yes, you read that right! The Great Catsby by Hilton adds some much-needed whimsy to the world. In these uncertain times, we could all use a few more cats and a little more catnip in our nine lives.

The copyright on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby expired on the first stroke of 2021 and the literary classic entered the public domain.

Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as an indictment of the reckless wealth of post-World War I America. The selfish and careless “fat cats” of The Great Catsby by Hilton similarly ring true.

Part of the charm of the novella is that Hilton, a seven-year-old rescue tabby adopted by Rod, “writes” it. He is the first-person voice of Nick Cattaway who serves as narrator. Reimagining the story through the eyes of a domestic housecat has allowed Hilton to breathe mew life into the story. Hilton also writes the Preface. 

The Great Catsby by Hilton also features twenty full-page colour illustrations in addition to an assortment of black and white drawings by Quebec-based writer-illustrator Juliette Miron (who loves both cats and dogs).

Hilton was abandoned as a kitten. All-Heart Pet Rescue in Powassan, ON, found him in a ditch and nursed him back to health. At the age of six months, he was adopted into a loving home filled with books, pillows and cat-sized windowsills. In addition to writing, Hilton enjoys chicken paté, bird watching, and long afternoon naps. The Great Catsby is his first Catification. 

Rod Carley is the award-winning author of RUFF (2024 national bestseller), GRIN REAPING (2022), KINMOUNT (2020), and A Matter of Will (2017). He’s been long listed for the Leacock Medal for Humour three times and has twice received the Silver Medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards in addition to the Bronze Medal for Humour from Foreword Review INDIES. He was a Finalist for 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Humor, the 2021 Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Prize, the 2023 ReLit Award for Best Short Fiction, and the Northern Lit Award for Fiction. 

His short stories and creative non-fiction have appeared in numerous Canadian literary magazines. He was the Toronto Reference Library’s Spring 2025 Writer in Residence and is a co-founder and curator for the St. Lawrence Writers Festival. He learned to speak Tabby while minoring in Creative Writing at York University. Rod is a proud alumnus of the Humber School for Writers. www.rodcarley.ca 

Hollay Ghadery is an award-winning Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024 and was longlisted for the Toronto Book Award. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, was released with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children’s book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a host on The New Books Network, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Founder of River Street, and the co-chair of the League of Canadian Poets BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. She is also a member of The National Book Critics Circle, The Creative Nonfiction Collective, and The Writers Union of Canada. Hollay was also featured on the cover of issue 10 of The Ampersand Review. Learn more about Hollay here.  

In Pining for You (Simon & Schuster, 2026) the classic Hallmark holiday movie gets turned upside down when a teen leaves her small-town Christmas tree farm in pursuit of the city girl who swept her off her feet in this cheeky and cozy rom-com by Food Network competitor Stef Ferrari. Bennie Bosley has Christmas spirit on lock. Her borderline magical ability to give the perfect gift, encyclopedic knowledge of holiday movies, and skill as a baker working at a literal Christmas tree farm mean she’s the authority on all things merry. So, when Bennie sees sparkles after bumping into the most stunning girl she’s ever seen in her small Connecticut town, her friends are all shocked that Bennie doesn’t seem to realize what this is: real holiday magic at work…and the perfect opportunity for her much-needed first kiss. There’s just one problem: her mystery girl, Eve, lives in Brooklyn and Bennie never got her number or her last name. But showing up unexpectedly to make a big romantic gesture is a classic holiday trope for a reason, right? And her friends aren’t about to miss the fireworks. But what was supposed to be a quick Christmas adventure turns into a scramble across Brooklyn when the biggest snowstorm of the decade hits. Will Bennie and crew be able to track Eve down for a merrily ever after and still make it back for their last Cooper Farm Christmas Eve party, or is their holiday movie moment destined for the cutting room floor?

Our Strange Duet: Inspired by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (Delacorte

Emily Charlotte's second Varsity Novel book Catching Feelings (Margaret

Angelica Cheng's YA rom-com, The Fast Track (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2026) brings readers into the world of F1 racing. Justine Kwong has always dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 champion. There’s just one problem: no female driver has ever done it before. So when she’s offered a coveted chance to race in Formula 3, she leaps at the opportunity. Sure, half the fans think she’s just there to fill a diversity quota, and her teammate—the infuriatingly cute Cameron Evans—mistakes her for an intern, but Justine knows her talent will leave them all in the dust.
But driving well isn’t the only prerequisite to getting noticed, and Justine’s forced to fend for herself in a sea of prejudice, paparazzi, and petty backstabbing. There’s a lot riding on her ability to navigate the complicated trackside hierarchy—like the open F2 seat that could be her ticket to the big leagues.
Except…when Justine and Cameron’s bickering gives way to unexpected chemistry, the boy she’s falling for may be the one person standing in the way of her dreams—because while they may be teammates, they are also each other’s biggest competitor. And with her only shot at glory on the line, this race could break more than just hearts.

In Amy B. Scher's The Unexpected Afterlife of Salon Rose (Tiny Ghost Press, 2026) college hopeful Salon Rose arrives to the Nowhere in Between, a way-station between life and death, only to learn she’s been murdered.

Returning to the life she had before is not an option, but before Salon can move on, she is determined to discover who was responsible for her death.

With the help of her new friends––all recently deceased-–and maybe even a fresh crush, Salon must learn to let go if she has any hope of getting out of there. Even if it means confronting some hard to swallow truths.

​A darkly funny, touching, suspenseful, and relatable story about moving on, forgiving ourselves, and finding hope in the future.

In E.G. Young's debut novel A (Dead) Thing Like Me (Holiday House, 2026), a teenage ghost in love with life becomes bound to the house of the grieving artist who summoned her via Ouija board in this darkly funny YA paranormal. One hot dog with banana peppers. That's all Hot Dog wants. An invisible teenage ghost, she haunts a food cart outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Until one night, she's accidentally summoned via Ouija board to a house party in Florida . . . where finally finally finally, people can see her. All the party guests scatter, except for Logan: the cool artist girl who doesn't just see Hot Dog, she actually wants to talk to her. Logan, who isn't scared of Hot Dog's stitched mouth or chattering dress. Logan, who's grieving her own dead BFF--and called Hot Dog by mistake. Hot Dog wants to prove it's not a mistake. She can be Logan's new best friend. She can go to Logan's Halloween party. She can eat snacks, have sleepovers, and hang out. She can definitely smile without scaring people. Exactly like a real, human girl. There's one problem: Hog Dog's not a real, living human girl, and something in Logan's sprawling house knows it. It scratches like rats in the walls. It opens a secret door in Logan's attic. It wants to drag Hot Dog into the nothingness where dead things go. And unless Hot Dog can confront the dark truth of how she died, it will unmake Logan too. Gorgeously strange and stunningly written, this YA paranormal masterfully melds camp and creep into a beyond-the-grave coming-of-age.

J.J. Crayhill's Raleigh and the Pirates (Raconteur Press, 2026) is the launch of The Adventures of Midshipman Raleigh — a science fiction adventure series built on the bones of the great naval tales, transplanted to the lawless frontier of space. Anthony is small, undertrained, and deeply motivated, which turns out to be a dangerous combination — for everyone involved.

Midshipman Anthony Raleigh wasn't supposed to be the hero. He was barely supposed to be on the bridge.

When a pirate warship drops out of hiding to ambush the cargo freighter Pegasus, Captain Smith has one mission for his youngest crew member: take the shuttle, run, and bring help. Simple enough — except the pirates got there first.

With the shuttle sabotaged and the crew captured at gunpoint, Anthony is alone, unarmed, and hunted through corridors, air ducts, and — when things get truly desperate — across the outside of the ship in a malfunctioning spacesuit.

He has three things going for him: an AI named Fuse who enforces regulations with terrifying consistency; a security key the pirates will do anything to obtain; and a grudge against pirates that burns considerably hotter than fear.

That is going to have to be enough.

When he gets his hands on a classified space fighter hidden inside the Pegasus' sealed cargo pod, the pirates are going to find out exactly what a midshipman with something to prove looks like when he decides he has had enough.

And when the pirate captain makes one final play — a shocking claim about Anthony's supposedly dead father — the stakes shift from saving a ship to something far more personal.

Black Point (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2026) is an insular small town steeped in Norse traditions, a teen’s developing romance with a newcomer becomes fraught as dark secrets from the past rise to the surface in this gorgeously atmospheric mystery by New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline West. Lucia Sorenson holds on hard to the things she loves. Her tiny Wisconsin hometown clings to the bluffs above the Mississippi River, threatened by weather, time, and the creep of climate change. Her mother is pushing her to go away to college and see the world beyond their small town, but Lucia is determined to stay and to keep her grandfather’s Viking museum going. When the Black Point Hotel, a 150-year-old landmark that’s been empty for decades, is bought by an outsider, tongues start wagging. Lucia meets the new owner’s teenage nephew, Max, and as they grow closer, she discovers there’s something thrilling about getting to know someone who hasn’t known her all her life—and maybe something more. Then Max discovers some ominous things about Black Point hidden away in the hotel—stories of ghosts and mysterious disappearances. Lucia refuses to believe that her town is hiding a sinister past. But the river is rising, and more secrets are washing to the surface. Soon, Lucia will have to choose between the home she thought she knew and uncovering the dark truths hidden underneath.

 As I Dream of You (First Second, 2026) illustrated by LeUyen Pham and written by Jennifer Lee. Falling in love is supposed to hurt. That’s what Franny and Sam, two cynical teenagers raised on tales of heartbreak and loss, have come to understand. Yet when they fall for each other, they find the reality of love is something else entirely: it’s electrifying, all-encompassing, and easy. Theirs is a love that can conquer anything...perhaps even death. But Franny and Sam’s quest to stay together—no matter the cost—soon blurs the line between reality and fantasy, and their shared dream threatens to turn into a nightmare.

In this episode, Pham talks about illustrating graphic novels and picture books as well as working as an artist.