What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

My guest on this episode is Alison McCreesh. Alison is a writer, visual artist, and the creator of the graphic novels Ramshackle: A Yellowknife Story, which won the NorthWords Best Book Award, and Norths: Two Suitcases and a Stroller Around the Circumpolar World. Both books were published by Conundrum Press. Alison’s most recent book is the graphic memoir Degrees of Separation: A Decade North of 60, published by Conundrum earlier this year. Joe Sacco called Degrees of Separation a “tender and loving ode to the people and landscapes of the Far North.” Alison and I talk about mostly eliding her artistic career in her own memoir, the miracle of family-friendly artist residencies, and the new graphic novel project she isn’t entirely sure she’ll ever complete. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Lisa Whittington-Hill. Lisa is a writer whose work has appeared in Longreads, Hazlitt, Catapult, The Walrus, and more. She is the publisher of This Magazine and teaches in the publishing program at Centennial College. Lisa’s most recent two books are The Go-Go's Beauty and the Beat, part of the 33 1/3 series published by Bloomsbury, and the essay collection Girls, Interrupted: How Pop Culture Is Failing Women, published by Véhicule Press. Both books were published in the fall of 2023. Lauren McKeon, author of No More Nice Girls, called Girls, Interrupted “brilliantly considered, meticulously researched, and laugh-out-loud funny.” Lisa and I talk about the gender gap in celebrity redemption arcs, the inadvertent marketing boost Britney Spears gave to Girls, Interrupted, and the magazine about the pets in her neighbourhood she made when she was seven years old. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.  

My guest on this episode is Ali Bryan. Ali is the author six novels, including Roost, which was a One Book Nova Scotia selection, The Figgs and The Hill. Her work has won and been nominated for multiple awards, including the Leacock Prize, the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, the Pushcart Prize, a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award, a Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and the BPAA Trade Fiction Book of the Year. Her most recent books are the novels Coq, shortlisted for the Leacock Award for Humour, and The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships—both published in 2023, by Freehand and Henry Holt, respectively—and the young adult novel Takedown, published earlier this year by DCB Young Readers. Kirkus Reviews called Takedown “visceral and violent yet ultimately hopeful.” Ali and I talk about our mutual dislike of aspirational novels, the current literary trend against ambiguity in literary fiction, and the elements of a successful and enjoyable book launch. (Spoiler: a 90-minute reading is not one of those elements.) This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

My guest on this episode is Hannah Green. Hannah is a writer as well as the poetry editor at the literary journal CV2. Her debut collection, Xanax Cowboy, was published by House of Anansi in 2023 and won the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. In its starred review of the book, Quill & Quire called the book “timely and witty” and said “it leaves nothing off stage, hides nothing.” Hannah and I take about a photo from her book launch that went viral, about writing poetry before and after getting sober, and about the unexpectedly long break from writing she took after finishing Xanax Cowboy. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus. Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.