ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this episode host Megan Cole talks to Aaron Chapman about his book Vancouver After Dark: The Wild History of a City's Nightlife, which won the 2020 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In this conversation Aaron talks about the characters that created, played and enjoyed Vancouver's Nightlife, how he became a historian and how glory days become a moving target.

ABOUT AARON CHAPMAN:

Aaron Chapman is a writer, historian, and musician with a special interest in Vancouver’s entertainment history. He is the author of The Last Gang in Town, the story of Vancouver’s Clark Park Gang; Liquor, Lust, and the Law, the story of Vancouver’s Penthouse Nightclub, now available in a second edition; and Live at the Commodore, a history of the Commodore Ballroom that won the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award (BC Book Prizes) in 2015. He lives in Vancouver.

ABOUT MEGAN COLE:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this episode host Megan Cole talks to Julie Flett about her book Birdsong, which was nominated for the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Prize. Julie also won the 2020 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. In this conversation Julie talks about how her career started, the way she approached intergenerational relationships in Birdsong, and how she tackles tough subjects in her work.

ABOUT JULIE FLETT:

Julie Flett is a Cree-Metis author, illustrator, and artist. She has received many awards including the 2017 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature for her work on When We Were Alone by David Robertson (High Water Press), the 2016 American Indian Library Association Award for Best Picture Book for Little You by Richard Van Camp (Orca Books), and she is the three-time recipient of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Award for Owls See Clearly at Night; A Michif Alphabet, by Julie Flett, Dolphin SOS, by Roy Miki and Slavia Miki (Tradewind Books), and My Heart Fills with Happiness, by Monique Gray Smith (Orca Books).

Her own Wild Berries (Simply Read Books) was featured in The New York Times and included among Kirkus’s Best Children’s Books of 2013. Wild Berries was also chosen as Canada’s First Nation Communities Read title selection for 2014–2015.

ABOUT MEGAN COLE:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

About this episode:

In this episode host Megan Cole talks to Steven Price about his book Lampedusa, which won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In this conversation Steven discusses The Leopard which served as inspiration for Lampedusa and how he wrote about the writing practice.

About Steven Price:

Steven Price is the author of three novels, Lampedusa (2019), By Gaslight (2016), longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and Into That Darkness (2011). Also an acclaimed poet, he has written two award-winning poetry books, Anatomy of Keys (2006), winner of the Gerald Lampert Award, and Omens in the Year of the Ox (2012), winner of the ReLit Award. He lives in Victoria, B.C.

About Megan Cole:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

About this episode:

In this episode host Megan Cole talks to Nancy Vo about her book The Ranger, which is a finalist for the Christie Harris Children's Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. Nancy discusses the techniques used to create her breathtaking illustrations, and how she found inspiration in Patrick deWitt's Sisters Brothers and movies by the Coen Brothers.

About Nancy Vo :

Nancy Vo is an illustrator and picture book maker. She lives in the Great White North (aka Canada) with her husband and children. Nancy's children like to draw pictures of her with pinker teeth and longer eyelashes than she actually has.

About Megan Cole:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

About this episode:

In this episode, Megan Cole talks to Sonnet L’Abbé about her book of poetry Sonnet's Shakespeare, which is a finalist for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. In this conversation Sonnet discusses her relationship with the bard and how language shapes identity.

About Sonnet L’Abbé :

Sonnet L’Abbé is the author of two previous collections of poetry, A Strange Relief and Killarnoe, and, most recently, the chapbook Anima Canadensis. In 2000, she won the Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award for most promising writer under 35. In 2014, she was the guest editor of Best Canadian Poetry in English. Her work has been internationally published and anthologized. L’Abbé lives on Vancouver Island and is a professor of creative writing at Vancouver Island University.

About Megan Cole:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, Megan Cole talks Nazanine Hozar, who wrote Aria. Aria is a finalist for the 2020 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In this conversation Megan and Nazanine talk about the cause and effect of relationships, how Nazanine persevered through the 10 years it took her to write the novel and the way the relationships of mothers and daughters had in the story.

ABOUT NAZANINE HOZAR:

NAZANINE HOZAR was born in Tehran, Iran, and lives in British Columbia, Canada. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published in the Vancouver Observer and Prairie Fire magazine. Aria is her first novel.

ABOUT MEGAN COLE:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, Megan Cole talks Eldon Yellowhorn, who co-wrote What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal. What the Eagle Sees is nominated for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Eldon talks about his background in archeology and how his own history of rebellion and renewal is reflected in the pages of his book.

ABOUT ELDON YELLOWHORN:

Dr. Eldon Yellowhorn is a member of the Piikani Nation. He holds undergraduate degrees in geography and archaeology, an MA in archaeology from Simon Fraser University and a PhD in anthropology from McGill University. His published works have appeared in the Canadian Journal of Archaeology, Native Studies Review and Plains Anthropologist. He has written three books for adults and currently, he is a professor at Simon Fraser University where he teaches Indigenous Studies.

ABOUT MEGAN COLE:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, Megan Cole talks to Chelene Knight, CEO and founder of Breathing Space Creative Studio. In this conversation Chelene talks about what author care is and why it's so important. She also talks about the new partnership between the BC and Yukon Book Prizes and Breathing Space Creative Studio.

ABOUT CHELENE KNIGHT:

Chelene Knight is the author of the Braided Skin and the memoir Dear Current Occupant, winner of the 2018 Vancouver Book Award, and long-listed for the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature. Her essays have appeared in multiple Canadian and American literary journals, plus the Globe and Mail, the Walrus, and the Toronto Star. Her work is anthologized in Making Room, Love Me True, Sustenance, The Summer Book, and Black Writers Matter, winner of the 2020 Saskatchewan Book Award.

The Toronto Star called Knight, “one of the storytellers we need most right now.” Knight was the previous managing editor at Room magazine, and the previous festival director for the Growing Room Festival in Vancouver. She is now CEO of her own literary studio, Breathing Space Creative and she works as an associate literary agent with Transatlantic Agency. Chelene often gives talks about home, belonging and belief, inclusivity, and community building through authentic storytelling. Chelene teaches part time at the University of Toronto.

ABOUT MEGAN COLE:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, Megan Cole talks to Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas about his book Carpe Fin: A Haida Manga, which is nominated for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In this conversation Megan and Michael talk about the role community and relationships play in his writing and how he plays with the gutters of graphic books.

ABOUT MICHAEL NICOLL YAHGULANASS:

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas challenges native stereotypes through illustrative story telling. The stories of the trickster Raven, as told by Yahgulanaas, are what most people would call comics, and they are fun, humorous and sometimes rude. Yahgulanaas takes traditional Haida stories and turns them into manga (Japanese-style comics). He has dropped the traditional rectangular boxes and voice balloons associated with the North American comics of Marvel and DC. Instead, he has developed a flowing style that uses a bold line stretched almost to the breaking point – a motif strongly associated with Haida art – to link the images in the narrative.

ABOUT MEGAN COLE:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

The BC and Yukon Podcast, tentatively titled *Writing the Coast*, is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, Megan Cole talks to Briony Penn about her book A Year on the Wild Side: A West Coast Naturalist's Almanac, which is nominated for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. In their conversation they talk about the power of collaboration, the struggles of activism and getting inspiration from Groucho Marx.

ABOUT BRIONY PENN:

Briony Penn is an award-winning writer of creative non-fiction books as well as a contributor to many anthologies and chapter books. She has been a feature writer and columnist for decades, with over five hundred articles on environmental issues and natural history in newspapers, magazines, government publications, online news sources and peer-reviewed journals. She has also written numerous environmental guides and educational handbooks for teachers in British Columbia. Her first book with RMB, The Real Thing: The Natural History of Ian McTaggart Cowan, was the winner of the 2015 BC Book Prize. Her work with Cecil Paul will continue with the publication of a comprehensive and collaborative biography, Following the Good River: Stories from the Magic Canoe of Cecil Paul, which will be published by RMB in the autumn of 2019. Briony lives on Salt Spring Island, BC.

ABOUT MEGAN COLE:

Megan Cole the Director of Audience Development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based in Powell River, British Columbia. She also works at the Powell River Public Library as the teen services coordinator where she gets to combine her love for books and writing with a love for her community. Megan has worked as a freelance journalist and is working on a memoir which tackles themes of gender and mental health. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen.

The BC and Yukon Podcast, tentatively titled *Writing the Coast*, is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.