Kobo in Conversation Podcast: Recent Episodes
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From Rakuten Kobo, your friendly global digital bookseller, comes a series of conversations with authors about their latest books, how they write, and the books and authors that shaped and inspired them. Join host Michael Tamblyn, CEO of Rakuten Kobo, for wide-ranging and revealing discussions about the books and authors we love.
Nathan spoke with Samantha Irby, screenwriter on the TV series and most recently the reboot And Just Like That..., and the author of books including , , as well as the new essay collection . 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".
Michael spoke with Rithu Bhasin, social justice advocate, entrepreneur, and author of , 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.
We spoke with Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of the new novel . 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.
We spoke with Canadian journalist and bestselling romance novelist Carley Fortune, author of the new book . 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.
We spoke with David Grann, author of non-fiction page-turners including and , 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, . It’s about seafaring, nautical battles, castaways on the brink of starvation, but it’s also about the very fabric of society.
Shelley Read is the author of the novel , 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.
We spoke with Zoe Whittall, poet, screenwriter, and novelist. Her new book 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.
We spoke with writer Hua Hsu, author of . 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.
We spoke with Lindsay Wong, author of the memoir , which was a finalist for Canada Reads in 2019, and the YA novel . And she has a marvelously macabre new short story collection, .
We were joined by novelist Cherie Dimaline, author of , its sequel , and the acclaimed literary novel . Her new book is , a work of speculative fiction in which a secretive corporation named VenCo hires a powerful witch to assemble an elite coven—before the recruits are found by an ancient witch hunter.
We're bringing you a conversation from the Kobo Writing Life Podcast, where writers talk about how they're navigating the many publishing options available to authors today. Check out Jackie Lau on the Kobo Writing Life Podcast, with links to Jackie's books and the books discussed in this episode: And here's our Q&A with Jackie on the Kobo blog:
We spoke with author and book designer CS Richardson, whose first novel won the 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best 1st Book. His new book, is a kaleidoscopic novel about a boy’s love affair with art and a man’s struggle with loss. And while we had him on the line, we took the opportunity to talk a bit about his other career as one of Canada’s most celebrate d book designers.
We spoke with Kai Thomas, author of the novel , set in the fictional Canadian town of Dunmore, a place where people fleeing slavery in the southern United States build new lives.
Because you can never hear about too many great books, here's another batch of the best books Kobo staff read in 2022. There's memoir, investigative journalism, fun facts, romance, and more (also moors)!
We asked the staff of Kobo about the best eBooks and audiobooks they read in 2022, and we heard about memoirs, literary masterpieces, page-turning non-fiction, family sagas, mind-opening nature writing, sci-fi love stories across time, and so much more.
We spoke with award-winning science writer Harold McGee, author of the new book , a wondrous and entertaining guide to the smells of food, yes, but also of our surroundings—indoor as well as outdoor, from rotten eggs and wet dogs to coffee and perfume—and offers readers a whiff of the very building blocks of the universe itself.
The final of three interviews we recorded at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre as part of the . With novelists André Forget author of In the City of Pigs, and Naben Ruthnum author of A Hero of Our Time we spoke about their darkly comic novels that play with themes of work, art, and the unreality of even so-called real estate.
The second of three interviews we recorded at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre as part of the . We interviewed novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz, author of several critically acclaimed bestselling novels, but most recently . It's the story of the Oppenheimer family, who are materially very comfortable, and fairly uncomfortable in just about every other way.
Over the next few weeks we'll be sharing recordings of live interviews conducted at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre as part of the . The first of these features international bestselling author Marian Keyes speaking about her pandemic project, , the unexpected (to her) sequel to her breakout 90s bestseller . We spoke with Marian back in 2020 as well:
We were joined by actor, playwright, and novelist Ann-Marie MacDonald, author of the international bestseller to talk about her new novel, , a work of historical fiction about a girl named Charlotte, her father Henry, a painting of Charlotte’s late mother and infant brother—and a secret that lies between them. Hear more from .
We spoke with Chief Robert Joseph, a Hereditary chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation and honourary witness to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission about his new book . In the book and in this episode, Chief Joseph shares an intimate view of his own life while making an impassioned plea to readers to embrace vulnerability, summon the courage to recognize truth and trauma, and take steps towards reconciliation.
Novelist Hernan Diaz is a professor at Columbia University and the author of , a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize. We spoke with him about a range of topics that inform his new novel , a fractured, multi-layered book about the life and ambitions of the fictional tycoon Andrew Bevel. Hear more from .
Deon Meyer is the author of , the newest installment in his of detective novels set in South Africa. We spoke with Deon as part of the Toronto International Festival of Authors' Mystery & Crime Festival: MOTIVE. Hear more from .
Enjoy this conversation with non-fiction thriller author Ben Mezrich, author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House about his new historical fiction novel The Midnight Ride, which started out as a wildly ambitious project taken up in the early days of the pandemic. We spoke with Ben as part of the Toronto International Festival of Authors' Mystery & Crime Festival: MOTIVE. Hear more from .
We spoke with Cory Silverberg, educator, entrepreneur, researcher, and author of the books What Makes a Baby, , and the new book, . These books are approachable and factual guides to sex and bodies, but also grown-up feelings, experiences, and all kinds of stuff that can be really hard for anyone to talk about. Supported by Fiona Smyth’s vivid and playful illustrations, Cory Silverberg’s writing always finds a humane and plain-spoken way to explain everything from the functioning of reproductive organs to the nuances of consent and everything else anybody could want to know about how to use their body. Hear more from .
Some listeners may recognize the voice of our guest Elamin Abdelmahmoud from the CBC podcasts Party Lines and Pop Chat. He joined us to talk about his new book, in which he writes movingly of his relationship to his personal elsewhere, the Sudanese city of Khartoum from which he came to Kingston, Ontario as a child. He also writes beautifully about his passion for country music and affinity for the American South, and mounts a convincing defense of the much-maligned musical genre known as Nu Metal. In the course of our conversation he snuck into the interviewer's seat, proving just how much he wants to know about everyone's story about their own personal elsewhere—and what their favourite Carly Rae Jepsen song is. Hear more from
We were joined by science writer Riley Black, author of several bestsellers on paleontology including , , and . And if you've read literally anything anywhere about dinosaurs in the last decade, you’ve probably happened upon pieces by her in National Geographic, WIRED, Smithsonian Magazine, and Scientific American. Her new book is . It’s a richly narrated story that starts with the end of the world, and also depicts the beginnings of the world where our mammal forebears would learn to thrive—and it represents a new beginning for the author as well. Here more from
Sheila Heti is a novelist, playwright, and former interviews editor for the literary magazine The Believer. We spoke with her (and her dog Feldman)about her new novel Pure Colour, and how her novels come into being.
We spoke with Britt Wray, broadcaster, science writer, and researcher at the intersection of mental health and climate change. Her new book is Generation Dread, which is a deeply felt and thoroughly-researched study of what it means to wake up every day and live our lives on this warming planet of ours—without succumbing to despair about it all.
Podcast aficionados may recognize our guest Stephanie Foo from her work on This American Life, Snap Judgment, and 99% Invisible, to name just a few of her credits. And now she has written a book called that's both a memoir of growing up in an abusive and neglectful environment and also an explainer on complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), a condition that’s not as well-known as it should be—though its effects could be extremely broad. Hear more from .
NoViolet Bulawayo is the Booker Prize shortlisted author of We Need New Names and the new novel Glory, a fable-like retelling of the two years between the overthrow of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and his death. It's moving, provocative, and surprisingly funny.
We spoke with Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton series of Regency romance novels. She told us about what it was like to see her characters come to life on-screen, and we asked her whether we'll eventually see a cinematic interpretation of a Smythe-Smith musicale. (Originally released February 12, 2021)
We'll be back soon with new episodes of Kobo in Conversation.
Kathryn Schulz is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, and author of the 2010 nonfiction bestseller Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error. Her new book is a memoir, Lost & Found, which chronicles the grief of losing her father as well as the joy of finding love--with some surprising and fascinating lessons about typography, meteorites, and the philosophy of finding along the way.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and 2021 McArthur "Genius" Fellowship recipient. We spoke with him about his newest book A Little Devil In America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance, and we learned about this book's evolution, how he's handling his recent run of successes, and which books he's been re-reading since childhood.
What happens when you ask around a global digital bookselling company about the best books its staff read in the past year? You get more books than can be squeezed into a single episode. Enjoy more of the best books we read in 2021!
Our friends at the Kobo Writing Life podcast spoke with romance writer Chloe Liese, author of The Mistletoe Motive.
Writing duo Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham are better known to fans as James S. A. Corey, author of The Expanse, the epic science fiction series that has just concluded with Leviathan Falls. We spoke with them about the surprising seed of the 9-volume series and what they learned from working on The Expanse TV show, which is also drawing to a close.
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a theoretical physicist and the author of The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred. In that book she not only explains in layperson's terms the phenomena she observes as a scientist, but also how she observes science as a social and fundamentally human activity, with all the messiness that entails. We spoke with her about many things, including her East LA upbringing, and how she sees herself and people like her among the generations of humans watching the stars.
Janelle Shane writes the AI Weirdness, where she delights readers with broken outcomes of the latest developments in artificial intelligence, ranging from computer-generated recipes like horseradish brownies, to pickup lines like, "You look like a thing, and I love you." She's also the author of the book named after that irresistible line. We spoke with her about the uses and abuses of artificial intelligence, and we learned why it's unlikely anybody's going to read a wholly AI-written novel anytime soon.
Edward Rutherfurd is the author of epic works of historical fiction including London, Russka, The Dublin Saga, and the new novel China . We spoke with him about how he finds the right scale for his enormous books and when one of the many projects he has simmering is ready to be fleshed out into a manuscript of many hundreds of pages. And he shared with us his perspective on how he confronts the challenge of getting inside the minds of characters who would have lived centuries ago and half a world away.
In this special episode of Kobo In Conversation Michael spoke with Shari Lapena, the Canadian queen of domestic suspense, as part of the with an audience watching online and asking questions. Listen to hear about Lapena's award-nominated false start as a novelist, where she got the idea for her new book, , and why, unlike other mystery writers, why she doesn't work with a "murder wall." Hear more from .
Phenderson Djèlí Clark's books take readers into places in history that feel familiar, but have spun off of the timeline we exist on. In Ring Shout we meet a militia fighting in Georgia against the Ku Klux Klan, which has invited actual demons into its hooded ranks with the help of the magical cinema of D. W. Griffith. But he's also written about a steampunk version of early 20th century Cairo in the Dead Djinn Universe, and an alternate history of New Orleans during the US Civil War in The Black God's Drums. We spoke with him about writing (and overwriting), his mythologically-rich upbringing, and how he (an academic historian in his day job) picks points in history to tweak in his novels and novellas.
We're back with a new season of Kobo in Conversation! First up, Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus series of Scottish crime novels, joins us to talk about his new novel, which he wrote with assistance from, and in tribute to his literary hero the late William McIlvanney. He spoke about how life under covid lockdown unlocked a wave of writing productivity, and which books helped him get his reading mojo back.
As we draw Season 4 of Kobo in Conversation to a close, we bring you a conversation with theoretical cosmologist Katie Mack on a wholly different kind of ending. Listeners may recall host Michael Tamblyn's praise for The End of Everything in our year-end Staff Picks episode (side B), where he found that during 2020, it helped to have a sense of time and space and the forces acting on every particle throughout the universe. Michael spoke with Katie about the 5 theoretical ways the universe will end, and we learned why for her the study of astrophysics is preferably a "social" science.
Torrey Peters' debut novel Detransition, Baby wasn't supposed to be a novel. She'd self-published a pair of novellas and was planning on doing the same for this book -- until it outgrew her plans for it. She spoke with us about her writing career, how she navigates expectations of representation, and why Detransition, Baby is perfectly suited to a mainstream publisher who doesn't specialize in reaching transgender readers. Plus, she told us about the surprising direction she's going in with her next novel.
Paleontologist Steve Brusatte joined us to talk about his new book for young readers, The Age of Dinosaurs as well as his 2018 book for adults, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs. We learned about his passion for giving readers a sense of dinosaurs as living, breathing animals, and what his hopes are for the future of paleontology.
Helen Oyeyemi, author of Gingerbread and the playful new novel Peaces, spoke with us about the importance to her writing process of taking long book-free breaks, and how serving on juries for literary prizes has made her certain that she'll never win a major award.
Dr. Suzanne Simard, author of Finding the Mother Tree, spoke with us about the astonishing science of how trees communicate with one another. And she gave us a view into the hard work, dirty hands, and heartbreak of a life spent living in and studying forests.
Natalie Zina Walschots spoke with us about her novel Hench, the day-to-day work of supervillainy, and why fanfic is her marker of success as a writer.
With the publication of his first book in 2000, Malcolm Gladwell pioneered and proceeded to dominate a whole genre of non-fiction where concepts explored in academic research were made presentable to a mass audience. But to write his latest book The Bomber Mafia, he approached his craft in a new way.
In this final episode of Season 3 of Kobo in Conversation, we spoke with Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton series of Regency romance novels. She told us about what it was like to see her characters come to life on-screen, and we asked her whether we'll eventually see a cinematic interpretation of a Smythe-Smith musicale.
In Gutter Child, Jael Richardson creates a dystopian world where disadvantage for some is written into law. In this wide-ranging conversation we spoke with her about this new novel, as well as the past and future of her writing career, and we learned how she conceives of her roles as a broadcaster and literary festival director who can bring a lot of attention to books and authors.
In her novel Little Threats, Emily Schultz transports readers to the summer of 1993, when a terrible crime was committed -- and possibly also a miscarriage of justice. We spoke with Emily about her deeply personal inspiration for this story of crime and punishment, how she sees the style of this book in connection to her other books, and why she set out not to write just another crime novel about a dead girl.
We spoke with actor Joanne Vannicola about their memoir, All We Knew But Couldn't Say, and learned how they turned painful memories of their upbringing into a story of growth and self-discovery.
Journalist and novelist Linden MacIntyre joined us to talk about his new audiobook, The Wake: The Deadly Legacy of a Newfoundland Tsunami.
We spoke with poet and scholar Billy-Ray about his new book, A History of My Brief Body, a poetic, intellectual work of theory, essay, and memoir. He explained how he builds on the work of others in his own writing and what drives his mission to locate joy at the centre of Indigenous stories.
As epic as Staff Picks roundup was last week, we just couldn’t stop once we got started.
In 2020, even the most avid readers struggled to find the time and focus amid new routines to immerse themselves in the comfort of books. Fortunately, some of us at Kobo found a way through and got to spend time reading great things -- and we’re happy to share them with you.
Our friends at the Kobo Writing Life podcast spoke with romance writer Talia Hibbert, author of Wrapped Up in You.
Marian Keyes joined us to talk about Grown-Ups, her new book about money, family, love, and the pressure to meet the expectations of others, even the ones we love.
We spoke with Vicki Laveau-Harvie, author of The Erratics, about why she doesn't see her book as a misery memoir, the proper place for catharsis, and why we're unlikely to ever find her on Twitter.
Toronto journalist Eternity Martis spoke with us about her memoir, They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up.
In Tobly McSmith's Stay Gold, a young adult novel about a transgender boy named Pony, he tells the story of a character who embraces the truth of his gender identity in his teens, much earlier than the author did himself. In our conversation we learn that he was creating a world that might have been and offering comfort to the next trans guy growing up in central Texas.
Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, joined us to talk about his new book, Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis. In this wide-ranging discussion Jared speaks about the COVID-19 crisis, as well as authoritarianism, and the need for nations to have the humility to see their errors -- and hopefully learn from them.
We're back, safely ensconced with microphones and broadband internet, bringing you a new season of conversations with authors about books! To kick things off, we spoke with Eden Robinson, author of the Trickster trilogy.
To end our second season, we spoke with Timothy Caulfield, public health expert and the author of The Science of Celebrity... Or, is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything. Hear more from and subscribe to be sure to hear all that we've got coming in Season 3.
We spoke with neuroscientist, musician, and author Daniel Levitin about his latest book, Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives. Hear more from .
We spoke with thriller writer (and former newspaper columnist and humourist) Linwood Barclay about the myth of writer's block and the discipline required to rein in his comic gifts.
Hello, fellow reader. We thought that right now, when we're all getting less human contact than ever, it would be a good time to get as personal as we can with you, our listeners. So for the next little while, we'll be popping bonus episodes into this feed where you'll hear from our staff of readers and booksellers, and they're going to tell you all about a book they recommend.
Screenwriter and novelist Lori Lansens sat down with us to talk about her latest book This Little Light and how hard it was to write a dystopian novel in 2019 and how to play "spiritual double-dutch".
Lauren McKeon, author of No More Nice Girls and Kobo Emerging Writer Prize nominee for her 2018 book F-Bomb spoke with us about where feminism is now, the meaning of success in a rigged game, and what to do with the energy of anger.
We spoke with Jesse Thistle, Métis-Cree scholar and author, about his moving, poetic memoir, From the Ashes.
Investigative journalist Robyn Doolittle came by to speak with us about fairness, ethics, and the law in the realm of sexual consent and how attitudes have shifted since #MeToo. Content warning: this episode discusses sexual assault. Though there's nothing explicitly violent mentioned, this episode may not be suitable for all listeners.
British crime novelist Ann Cleeves discusses why she's drawn to small places yet itches to change scenery, why reading literature in translation is key to never being surprised, and how libraries prop up whole sectors of the economy.
Julie Evelyn Joyce tells us about the inspiration behind her debut novel, Steeped In Love, and what it was like to win the 2019 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Romance.
In this special live episode, poet joins host maxine bailey on stage to talk about his memoir, How We Fight For Our Lives.
Kobo CEO, Michael Tamblyn, speaks with the Canadian broadcast personality and writer Ziya Tong about her debut nonfiction book, The Reality Bubble
Kobo CEO, Michael Tamblyn, speaks with the American writer Jonathan Safran Foer about his newest book, We Are The Weather.
In this special episode of Kobo in Conversation, Kobo staff share their top book recommendations for the holiday season.
In this episode, Michael is joined by Zalika Reid-Benta, as they discuss her debut novel, eye-opening books, and navigating different backgrounds. Zalika also treats us by reading an excerpt from her book.
Andreas Souvaliotis, founder of Carrot Rewards, joins Michael to discuss his life, lessons, and the books that shaped both him and his recent memoir.
In this episode, Michael is joined by Karen McManus (and another special guest). The three discuss her latest novel, her love of The Hunger Games and other favourite reads.
In this episode, Michael is joined by Andrew Solomon, as they discuss his latest book, Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change, as well as his 2012 best-seller, Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity.
In this episode, Michael is joined by Dr. Julia Shaw and they discuss her latest novel, humanity's dark side, and some of her favourite reads.
In 2015, when French readers were asked to name their favourite author, Marc Levy tied with Victor Hugo. Today he talks with Michael about his most recent work, the value of dreaming, and the importance of curiosity.
The winner of the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writers Prize for Mystery and Crime Fiction for her debut novel The Lost Ones talks with Michael about her lifelong love of books, her creative drive, and how trying to break into the world of screenwriting led to her writing her first book.
Craig Davidson is a literary shapeshifter, with several novels in multiple genres. He speaks with Michael about writing for children, his family's reaction to his horror writing, and his first work of nonfiction, the CBC Canada Reads 2018 nominee Precious Cargo: My Year of Driving the Kids on School Bus 3077.
The winner of the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Nonfiction and creative brain behind Instagram's @hatecopy talks with Michael about the power of aunties in our lives, her love of superheroes, and how hating copywriting led to becoming an artist in the age of the internet.
Our guest is an award-winning journalist and the author of American War, winner of the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Literary Fiction and a CBC Canada Reads 2018 nominee. Learn how Omar's experiences in the field informed his debut novel about a second US Civil War.
Michael speaks with the author of Forgiveness: A Gift from My Grandparents, winner of CBC Canada Reads 2018, about empathy, loss, and how his family let light shine in after one of the darkest chapters in Canadian history.
In this special episode of Kobo in Conversation, Kobo staff share their top recommendations for the holiday season.