Bookends with Mattea Roach

When Amy Lin’s husband died suddenly, even the simplest parts of daily life became a struggle — but through it all, she took refuge in writing. Amy’s debut memoir, Here After, is a searing portrait of grief and a tribute to the love she shared with her husband. Amy joins Mattea to talk about the intensity of grief, the widowhood effect and confronting the death of a loved one.

Rumaan Alam’s latest novel, Entitlement, is about a young woman hired to help an aging billionaire give away his fortune — and it asks a lot of questions about the cash-driven world we live in. Rumaan joins Mattea Roach to talk about wealth, morality and how much money a billion dollars really is.

Rachel is a teacher from Toronto. Her students didn’t even know she was a writer — until she won the 2024 CBC Poetry prize. Her poem, Palimpsest County, is inspired by Ontario landscapes and speaks to colonialism, climate change, and how our responsibility to protect the natural world is a key part of reconciliation. Rachel talks to Mattea Roach about approaching reconciliation as a non-Indigenous person and how her job inspired her winning poem. The CBC Poetry Prize is one of three literary prizes that CBC Books offers for aspiring Canadian writers. The CBC Nonfiction Prize is open right now. You could win $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and have your work published by CBC. Head to CBCBooks.ca for all the details.

Judith Butler is one of the foremost gender and political theorists of the 21st century — an academic celebrity. Their latest book, Who’s Afraid of Gender?, explores gender in today’s polarized world and how the word itself is being used to incite political passions. Judith joins Mattea Roach to tackle the book’s titular question and discuss their influential body of work.

The profound impact of romantic loss doesn’t always get taken seriously, but Zoe Whittall is here to tell you that she gets it. The Canadian author talks to Mattea Roach about her latest book, No Credit River, and why she’s sharing her experiences with queer breakups, anxiety, and miscarriage.

If you could ask your favourite author one question, what would it be? If that author is Adrian Tomine, your question might be answered in his latest book, Q&A. The cartoonist talks to Mattea Roach about what he’s learned from his readers and why you might want to think twice about becoming a professional cartoonist.

This episode features highlights from interviews with Teresa Wong, Casey McQuiston, Eric Chacour, Jenny Heijun Wills, and Matt Haig. Music featured in this episode: "Rainy Days and Mondays" written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, performed by Carpenters, from the 1971 self-titled album Carpenters, produced by Jack Daugherty.

This week on Bookends, we revisit Eleanor Wachtel's conversation with Samantha Harvey, the winner of the 2024 Booker Prize. They spoke on Writers & Company in 2015 about Samantha's novel Dear Thief, which was inspired by a Leonard Cohen song. Samantha also explores her interest in themes of aging, why she writes about the unfamiliar, and infusing her work with philosophical questions.

Bryan talks to Mattea about the legacy of the hit comic book series, the inspiration behind some of his most iconic characters, and his nostalgia for Toronto in the early aughts.

The bestselling Maid mystery series has a new festive novella, and Nita Prose joins Mattea Roach onstage for the first Bookends live show.

Charles Burns's latest graphic novel, Final Cut, revolves around a group of teens in the 1970s and draws on his favourite sci-fi and horror movies. Charles joins Mattea Roach to talk about his evolution as an artist and how Final Cut was inspired by his own youth.

The Canadian author's new novel, All You Can Kill, opens with the narrator floating through the sky and landing in an erotic wellness retreat --- and it only gets stranger from there. Pasha speaks with Mattea Roach about the nuances of writing about identity and the joy of a story with no rules.

The Canadian graphic novelist talks with Mattea Roach about life with their late partner, who had an assisted death, and using art to confront grief in Something, Not Nothing

Nalo Hopkinson’s latest work, Blackheart Man, is a dynamic sci-fi story that took 15 years to complete. The novel takes readers to the fantastical land of Chynchin, which was inspired by Afro-Caribbean histories and traditions. Nalo joins Mattea Roach to discuss the folktale-inspired world her characters live in, and the process of crafting a utopian novel while battling financial insecurity and chronic illness.

The novel Peggy fictionalizes the life of art collector Peggy Guggenheim and is Rebecca Godfrey's final project. Rebecca worked on Peggy for ten years before she died from lung cancer, leaving behind an unfinished manuscript and notes. Her close friend, writer Leslie Jamison, stepped in to fulfill Rebecca’s wishes and complete the book. Leslie talks to Mattea Roach about bringing Peggy's story to life and honouring her friend's legacy.

In the graphic memoir All Our Ordinary Stories, Teresa Wong uses spare black-and-white illustrations and thought-provoking prose to unpack how intergenerational trauma and resilience can shape our identities. Teresa and Mattea Roach discuss the art of cartooning and the intricate, often challenging journey of piecing together family history.

When Paula Hawkins dropped her pen name and switched from writing romantic comedies to thrillers, she wrote The Girl on the Train. Now she has a new book called The Blue Hour. It follows a reclusive painter named Vanessa Chapman and reflects on themes of power and legacy. Paula and Mattea Roach talk about the motivations and inspiration behind the women at the centre of her stories.

In Anne Fleming's new novel, Curiosities, an amateur historian becomes fascinated by the lives of two girls from 1600s England. But as she pieces their stories together, the very nature of truth itself comes into question. Curiosities is a finalist for the 2024 Giller Prize. Anne and Mattea Roach discuss the pull of the 17th century and the exploration of gender and identity at the heart of the novel.

When Montreal author Eric Chacour wrote his first book, he didn't expect it to become a huge hit in France. Translated from French to English by Pablo Strauss, What I Know About You is a novel set in Cairo and Montreal, exploring sexuality as well as family secrets and pressures. It's nominated for this year's Giller Prize and Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. Eric and Mattea Roach discuss the inspiration behind his debut novel.

In Rachel Kushner’s latest novel, Creation Lake, an undercover agent is tasked with sabotaging a group of young activists in rural France. Rachel joins Mattea Roach to talk about blending a spy premise with meditations on life’s big questions, putting an anti-hero at the centre of her story and why writing this novel was a transcendent experience. Creation Lake is a finalist for the 2024 Booker Prize.