PODCAST · arts
Books & Ideas Audio
by Vancouver Writers Fest
Exhilarating conversations and ideas from the world’s greatest storytellers and luminaries. From the esteemed vaults of the Vancouver Writers Fest, located in beautiful British Columbia.
Episodes
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Carley Fortune: Our Perfect Storm
For years, #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune was told that international readers weren’t interested in books with rural, authentic Canadian settings. And ever since she published her first novel in 2022, her meteoric success has told a different story. The Ontarian author joined...
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Indigenous Voices: A Steady Brightness of Being
Stephanie Sinclair, co-editor of A Steady Brightness of Being and publisher of McClelland & Stewart, hosts a panel conversation with award-winning contributors to the book from across Turtle Island: David A. Robertson, Kyle Edwards and Niigaan Sinclair. This first-of-its-kind anthology is a...
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George Saunders in Conversation
Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, and one of Time’s one hundred most influential people in the world, George Saunders writes books that are both irreverent and momentous—and utterly unique. He joined us to discuss his latest bestselling novel, Vigil, with acclaimed author Alix...
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Arundhati Roy in Conversation with Naomi Klein
Arundhati Roy’s first novel, The God of Small Things, won the Booker Prize and made her an international household name. She has gone on to publish multiple acclaimed books—including The Ministry of Utmost Happiness—and to challenge injustices around the world as a prominent political and...
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Dionne Brand in Conversation with Kimberly Bain
Dionne Brand’s first major book of nonfiction in more than 20 years—Salvage: Readings from the Wreck—offers a bracing look at the intersections of reading and life, and of what remains in the wreck of empire. In conversation with Kimberly Bain, she shares how she learned to read the literature of...
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Malcolm Gladwell in Conversation with Ian Hanomansing
Malcolm Gladwell’s first book, The Tipping Point, changed the way we think and talk about the dissemination of ideas. Twenty-five years after its publication—and many New York Times-bestselling books later—Gladwell reframes the lessons of his groundbreaking debut for our confounding new era, in...
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Robert Macfarlane: Is A River Alive?
At the heart of Robert Macfarlane's Is a River Alive? is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings, who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. Around the world, rivers are dying from pollution, drought and damming. But a...
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Tanya Talaga: The Knowing
We all owe a great deal of gratitude—not just admiration—to award-winning, Anishinaabe author and journalist Tanya Talaga, whose work (such as Seven Fallen Feathers and All Our Relations) has transformed Canadians’ understanding of the systemic injustices faced by Indigenous peoples across the...
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Chinatown: Past and Future
Acclaimed authors Christina Wong and Daniel Innes, Henry Tsang, and Fae Myenne Ng joined us at the 2023 Vancouver Writers Fest for a discussion with Kevin Chong all about Chinatown—both what it means as a concept, and its various physical neighbourhoods in Vancouver, Toronto, and around the…
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Timothy Caulfield: The Certainty Illusion
Telling what’s real from what’s fake should be easy. In today’s world, that’s far from the case. Bestselling author and Canada Research Chair Timothy Caulfield joined the Vancouver Writers Fest to speak with Marsha Lederman about his new book, The Certainty Illusion—along with misinformation…
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Canisia Lubrin and Dionne Brand in Conversation
Code Noir, the debut fiction work from acclaimed, award-winning poet, editor, and writer Canisia Lubrin was named a best book of 2024 by CBC and The Globe and Mail. Departing from the “Code Noir” historic decrees in 17th century France which defined the conditions of slavery in the French…
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Honouring Murray Sinclair: With Tanya Talaga and Shelagh Rogers
To honour the life and work of Murray Sinclair—trail-blazing Anishinaabe lawyer and senator, the first Indigenous judge appointed in Manitoba, and Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—hear a conversation between Shelagh Rogers and Tanya Talaga at the 2024 Vancouver…
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Ali Velshi and Ian Hanomansing in Conversation
Ali Velshi—Chief Correspondent for MSNBC, a weekly economics contributor to NPR, and host of his own news show, “Velshi”—joins us to discuss his new book Small Acts of Courage, a captivating family history that illustrates how small actions can have an outsized political impact. He speaks with…
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Andrey Kurkov: Diary of an Invasion
The Vancouver Writers Fest and Upstart & Crow Literary Arts Studio welcomed Ukraine’s most celebrated writer, Andrey Kurkov, to discuss his work with international correspondent for The Globe and Mail, Nathan VanderKlippe. Kurkov will be back at the Vancouver Writers Fest with his International...
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Wade Davis: Beneath the Surface of Things
Travel into the heart of humanity with one of the foremost thinkers of our time. Wade Davis’s awe-inspiring career includes being the renowned author of 24 books, Professor of Anthropology, Member of the Order of Canada, and former Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He…
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Michelle Good: Truth Telling
Michelle Good has moved and inspired millions of people with Five Little Indians, the Canada Reads-winning novel that tells the story of a group of residential school survivors coming to terms with their past and finding a way forward. She joined us at the Vancouver Writers Fest on October 21st,...
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Celeste Ng: Our Missing Hearts
Where does one start when listing the accolades and praise for Celeste Ng’s deeply felt, intelligent body of work? Little Fires Everywhere sold millions of copies worldwide and was adapted to a highly acclaimed series on Hulu. Of her latest, Our Missing Hearts, Stephen King shared that “it’s...
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The Poetry Bash
Our annual Poetry Bash is a gateway to discovering exceptional poets from across the globe. In this release from our 2023 flagship Festival, hear readings from Victoria Adukwei Bulley (Quiet), Lorna Crozier (After That), Patrick Friesen (Reckoning), Susan Musgrave (Exculpatory Lilies) Michael V....
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Sheila Heti: Alphabetical Diaries
Acclaimed Canadian writer Sheila Heti speaks with Molly Cross-Blanchard in this conversation from our 2024 Incite series, presented in partnership with the Vancouver Public Library. Her latest book, Alphabetical Diaries, collects lines from a decade's worth of her journals—rearranged in...
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Zadie Smith in Conversation with Madeleine Thien
Widely recognized as one of the finest and most influential authors writing in English today, Zadie Smith speaks about her acclaimed latest novel, The Fraud, with her internationally-renowned Canadian contemporary, Madeleine Thien. This event was presented in 2023 in partnership with UBC School…
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Naomi Klein: Doppelganger
Naomi Klein’s new book, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, delves into what she calls the Mirror World—our destabilized present rife with doubles and confusion, where far-right movements playact solidarity with the working class, AI-generated content blurs the line between genuine and...
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Margaret Atwood in Conversation
The legendary Margaret Atwood joined award-winning author Ian Williams to discuss Old Babes in the Wood, her extraordinary new collection of short fiction, as part of our May Bestsellers Series. A cornerstone of Canada’s literary canon, Atwood is the author of over fifty books. Presented in...
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Pierre Jarawan in Conversation with Eleanor Wachtel
After 33 years as the acclaimed host of CBC Radio’s Writers & Company, Eleanor Wachtel retired this year. Celebrate her long career by revisiting her interview with Lebanese-German author Pierre Jarawan, who joined us at the 2022 Festival to discuss Song for the Missing, named one of 24 must-read...
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Yellowface: R. F. Kuang
Rebecca F. Kuang shot to #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list with her previous novels Babel and the Poppy War Trilogy. She joined the Vancouver Writers Fest, Massy Books, and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs with her new literary thriller, Yellowface—a timely and cutting satire that...
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On Freedom: Maggie Nelson
Those who are first introduced to Maggie Nelson soon notice her name throughout their literary and social worlds. The award-winning writer, scholar, poet, and critic is one of the most prolific and influential Western thinkers today. She’s the author of the National Book Critics Circle Award...
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Writing in America Today
These three American writers are at the top of their game, their works each addressing timeless and timely themes of individuality, freedom, justice, equality. Megha Majumdar’s electrifying debut, A Burning, follows three characters seeking to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame...
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The Poetry Bash
Entrancing, surprising, and memorable: The Poetry Bash gathers some of our favourite poets from across the globe. This recording from our 2022 flagship Festival features Claudia Castro Luna (Cipota under the Moon) sharing an ode to the Salvadoran immigrant experience in the United States; Andrew...
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Run Towards the Danger with Sarah Polley
Canadian writer, director, and actor Sarah Polley joined the Vancouver Writers Fest in celebration of her evocative release, Run Towards the Danger. A complex and exquisite collection of essays, the book captures keystone moments in Polley’s life, as well as the “fallibility of memory, the...
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Writing History: Nadifa Mohamed and Nathan Harris
Two of the biggest names in literary historical fiction discuss race, humanity, and writing sweeping stories based on true events. Nadifa Mohamed’s The Fortune Men, based on the real story of a young Somali sailor accused of a crime he did not commit, was a finalist for the Booker Prize. Nathan...
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Ian Rankin in Conversation with Charles Demers
The long wait is over: John Rebus, detective inspector and the central protagonist of Edgar Award and Diamond Dagger recipient Ian Rankin’s acclaimed series, is back in A Heart Full of Headstones. In this 24th book in the now televised series, Rankin brings new intrigue and suspense to the dark…
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Her Image on the Mirror: A Tribute to Mavis Gallant
In a television interview for CBC in the mid-60s, Mavis Gallant spoke of her love for mirrors—as objects, and as symbols. She refers to them often in her 120 short stories, almost all of which were published over a fifty year span in The New Yorker. Her legacy was even the inspiration behind Wes...
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Try Not to Be Strange: Michael Hingston
Between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean lies the tiny island of Redonda. Uninhabitable by humans, Redonda is home instead to a variety of wildlife—including untold generations of seabirds that produce the island’s prized source of fertilizer. Though it might not seem like much, this...
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Namwayut: Chief Robert Joseph
We all share a common humanity. No matter how long or difficult the path ahead, we are all one. Chief Robert Joseph, globally recognized peacebuilder and Hereditary Chief of the Gwawaenuk People, joined the Vancouver Writers Fest in September to share his first book, Namwayut. In it, he traces…
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Binge: Douglas Coupland in Conversation
“If you love Doug’s fiction, this collection is like rain on the desert,” says the publisher of Douglas Coupland’s first work of fiction since 2013, Binge. And certainly, for the millions of readers for whom Coupland’s existentialism, profundity, and hilarity was generation-defining, this is a...
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Spotlight on the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts
This year, the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts holds its 40th annual festival from August 11–14, at the Rockwood Centre in Sechelt, BC. We sat down for a Q+A with Jane Davidson, Artistic and Executive Director of the Festival. Jane shares what makes this year's festival special, and...
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2022 Festival Reading List Special
We’ve just recently released our 2022 Festival Reading List, filled with over 115 exceptional books and authors that will be joining the Vancouver Writers Fest from October 17–23. In this special episode of the Books & Ideas Audio podcast, Artistic Director Leslie Hurtig introduces the Reading...
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Hook, Line, and Sinker
If only there was a word for that sense of anticipation and delight that comes with opening the cover of a new thriller, knowing you’ll be spellbound for the next 300 pages. How do thriller writers create such suspense? Three different writers of mystery, thriller, and horror speak to how they...
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The Threads of Family and Resilience
Te-Ping Chen’s debut fiction, Land of Big Numbers: Stories, is lauded by NPR as “as brilliant an instance of a journalist’s keen eye manifesting in luminous fiction as one can find.” Through piercing realism and tongue-in-cheek magic realism, it shares journeys of Chinese communities, their...
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Susan Orlean in Conversation with Mark Medley
Each time Susan Orlean graces the Writers Fest with a visit, audiences are reminded why she is called “a national treasure” by The Washington Post. The New Yorker staff writer, and author of The Library Book joined us to celebrate her latest work—a collection of musings, meditations, and in-depth...
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Caribbean Masterpieces With Myriam Chancy and Cherie Jones
Cherie Jones and Myriam Chancy have both written powerful, dynamic, disturbing novels about upheaval and injustice in the Caribbean. Jones, a Barbadian writer, took the world by storm with the publication of her debut novel How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House: an ambitious, layered novel in...
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Lauren Groff in Conversation with John Freeman
Of all the attributes Lauren Groff possesses, range is surely one of them. Her “all-conquering” 2015 novel, Fates and Furies, was a literary masterpiece about a modern day marriage, creativity, and perception. Florida brought storms, snakes, and sinkholes to lurk at the edges of everyday life in...
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Omar El Akkad in Conversation with Mark Medley
Omar El Akkad won the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel What Strange Paradise, a devastating yet beautiful story of two children against the backdrop of the refugee crisis, and the dehumanization of those who must flee home. The jury wrote: "Amid all the anger and confusion surrounding…
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Saga Boy: Antonio Michael Downing in Conversation with Barbara Chirinos
Antonio Michael Downing was raised by his indomitable grandmother in the lush rainforest of southern Trinidad, but—at age 11—is uprooted to Canada when she dies. He is sent to live with his stern, evangelical Aunt Joan in Wabigoon, a tiny northern Ontario community where he is one of only a few...
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China Unbound: Joanna Chiu in Conversation with Doug Saunders
As the world’s second-largest economy, China is extending its influence across the globe with the complicity of democratic nations. Internationally recognized reporter Joanna Chiu has spent a decade tracking China’s propulsive rise, from the political aspects of the multi-billion-dollar “New Silk...
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Jordan Abel in Conversation with Tanya Talaga
Griffin Poetry Prize winner Jordan Abel’s Nishga is a groundbreaking, deeply personal, and devastating autobiographical meditation that attempts to address the complicated legacies of Canada’s residential school system and contemporary Indigenous existence. It is necessary reading; an astounding...
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The Winter Book Club with Ethan Hawke
Our Winter Book Club event featured award-winning actor and screenwriter Ethan Hawke for his novel, A Bright Ray of Darkness, moderated by Festival author and longtime podcast host Jen Sookfong Lee. As an accomplished actor, screenwriter, director and author, Ethan Hawke has commanded audiences…
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Chimes of Freedom: Yaa Gyasi & Colson Whitehead
From the archives of the Vancouver Writers Fest: The memory of captivity is burned deep into the psyche of America, so it is no surprise that novelists continue to revisit the impact of slavery. Born in Ghana and raised in Alabama, Yaa Gyasi imagines how the force of slavery ricocheted through...
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Writing Country (2015) with Roxane Gay, Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Marlon James and Viet Thanh Nguyen
Originally recorded on October 23, 2015, Writing Country is a remarkable conversation with authors Roxane Gay, Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Marlon James and Viet Thanh Nguyen at the start of their illustrious careers. In conversation with Jared Bland, former Arts and Books editor for The Globe and Mail…
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Leanne Betasamosake Simpson in Conversation with Dionne Brand
A renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and artist, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson has been lauded by many as one of the most compelling writers of her generation, as demonstrated by Islands of Decolonial Love, This Accident of Being Lost, Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back and As We Have…
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Walter Mosley in Conversation with Jael Richardson
Writing Is What I Do: Walter Mosley’s work includes 43 critically acclaimed books, translated into 23 languages, and countless essays in prestigious magazines, not to mention influence over some of the biggest shows on our screens. One of the most celebrated writers in America today, he has been...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Books & Ideas Audio have?
Books & Ideas Audio currently has 60 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Books & Ideas Audio about?
Exhilarating conversations and ideas from the world’s greatest storytellers and luminaries. From the esteemed vaults of the Vancouver Writers Fest, located in beautiful British Columbia.
How often does Books & Ideas Audio release new episodes?
Books & Ideas Audio has 60 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Books & Ideas Audio?
You can listen to Books & Ideas Audio on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Books & Ideas Audio?
Books & Ideas Audio is created and hosted by Vancouver Writers Fest.
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