Bookends with Mattea Roach
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Bookends with Mattea Roach
When the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.
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97 episodi
Think Stonehenge rocks? So does Ken Follett
Ken Follett is one of the most successful authors alive today. He’s sold almost 200 million books, and readers have devoured his stories about the Bla...
What is extreme caretaking?
The winner of the 2025 CBC Nonfiction Prize is The Invisible Woman by Laura MacGregor. It's a deeply personal and heartfelt story Laura wrote about he...
R.F. Kuang raises a little hell
After massive hits like The Poppy War, Babel and Yellowface, R.F. Kuang’s new novel takes readers to hell — quite literally. Katabasis follows two gra...
What would it take to become the first Cherokee astronaut?
Statistically, your odds of becoming an astronaut are close to zero. You have to make some pretty extreme sacrifices to reach the stars, and that’s th...
What happens to fiction in times of war?
A snail scientist takes part in a kidnapping scheme to protest the Ukrainian romance industry. That's the story Maria Reva was writing in her debut no...
Why this comics legend is just getting started
Growing up in rural Ontario, Jeff Lemire bought superhero comics at the local minimart. Years later, he’s one of the biggest comic book creators in Ca...
Who was the woman Kafka loved?
Milena Jesenská was a courageous journalist, translator and resister of the Nazi regime. So why do most people only know her as Franz Kafka’s lover? M...
Reliving the soundtrack of the 2000s
Feeling nostalgic for the music of the aughts? You’re not the only one. Holly Brickley’s debut novel, Deep Cuts, follows a music-obsessed writer named...
Why this Pulitzer Prize winner is done with writing books
Tessa Hulls won a Pulitzer Prize for her first book. So why is it also her last? Tessa’s graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts, unravels the stories of three...
Bookends Bonus: Death, sex, money … and podcasting?
Here at Bookends, we never shy away from difficult conversations … and neither does Anna Sale, the host of the popular Slate podcast Death, Sex and Mo...
Bookends Highlights: Why we never shut up about our literary prizes
The CBC Literary Prizes are where Canadian writing stars are made… and this week, we’ll prove it to you. In the first season of Bookends, Mattea Roach...
Bookends Bonus: What do you see in the mirror?
This week, Bookends is revisiting the Mirrors series. It’s a CBC Books special featuring winners of the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards.
...
Bookends Bonus: Redefining what counts as a Canadian literary classic from Commotion
Commotion is where you go for thoughtful and vibrant conversations about all things pop culture. Host Elamin Abdelmahmoud calls on journalists, critic...
Bernardine Evaristo: In conversation with Eleanor Wachtel
This week on Bookends, we revisit Eleanor Wachtel’s conversation with Bernardine Evaristo.
Bernardine is the recipient of the Out...
Bookends Highlights: The language of comics with 5 masters of the craft
Whether it’s battling your girlfriend’s “seven evil exes," reinterpreting childhood memories or celebrating the beauty of becoming a parent, comics an...
Bookends Bonus: Cartoonist and writer Gabrielle Drolet on Q with Tom Power
Five days a week acclaimed interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors and musicians who define pop culture.
3 writers on finding their voices — and the power of personal stories
To wrap up our first season, Bookends is bringing you to the Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton. Tanya Talaga, Morgan Campell and Amal Elsana...
What makes Montreal a transgender city?
For Montreal writer Chris Bergeron, the power of transgender storytelling is revolutionary. Her novel Valid is about a 70-year-old trans woman who is...
Weaving a story of family trauma and celebrating the beauty in survival
For Chyana Marie Sage, being “soft as bones” means accepting that humans are both strong and fragile — and have immense capacity for healing. Her new...
For Indigenous players, ice hockey is a ceremony of its own
Before becoming a writer, Kyle Edwards had dreams of playing hockey … and as an Indigenous player, he grapples with complex feelings about the game an...
Taylor Jenkins Reid is among the stars — on and off the page
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a literary superstar. She’s known for writing epic settings, complex women and love stories that stretch across time and place...
Alison Bechdel on making money and seeing Fun Home in a new light
Nearly 20 years after her breakout memoir, Fun Home, cartoonist Alison Bechdel is still unearthing new truths about her life in that time. The memoir...
David A. Robertson puts stories at the heart of reconciliation
Through his books and public speaking, David A. Robertson has dedicated his career to sharing stories about Indigenous people. His latest book, 52 Way...
An opera singer gives voice to the Grenadian revolution
The 1983 revolution in Grenada was a major moment of the Cold War era ... and writer Zilla Jones grew up hearing stories about its connection to her o...
When young men murder, what can we learn?
There’s no easy answer to that question — and Vijay Khurana’s debut novel, The Passenger Seat, takes a closer look at how complicated it really is. Dr...
Music, sex and finding the soundtrack to queer joy
Growing up in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic left Pete Crighton with a huge fear of sex … and he threw himself into music as a way to cope with hi...
Weightlifting made Casey Johnston stronger — in muscle and mind
For years, Casey Johnston thought fitness was all about shrinking down. She was terrified of weightlifting and what it would do to her body. Now, she’...
Fans asked for another happy ending — Carley Fortune delivered
During the pandemic, journalist Carley Fortune turned to romance writing as an outlet … and her debut novel, Every Summer After, was a life-changing s...
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Bookends Introduces | Understood: Who Broke the Internet
It's not you — the internet really does suck. Novelist, blogger and noted internet commentator Cory Doctorow explains what happened to the internet an...
Ocean Vuong finds beauty in a fast food shift
Long before he became a bestselling writer, Ocean Vuong sold rotisserie chickens at Boston Market. In his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness, he ex...
Writing about catastrophe gives Madeleine Thien courage
As a child, Madeleine Thien loved to sit on her father’s lap as he flipped through the newspaper. Later on, she became fascinated by the newspaper arc...
Fighting for an unlawful love in Uganda
Iryn Tushabe says she loves Uganda “like a problem.” Her debut novel, Everything Is Fine Here, dives into what exactly those words mean. Aine is comin...
NOT CLICKBAIT! She stole her dead twin sister’s identity!?
Inspired by her own experience as a skincare influencer, Liann Zhang’s debut novel, Julie Chan is Dead, is a wild ride into the world of social media....
What if your dreams could land you in jail?
In The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami imagines a world where the government has access to data about people's dreams … and uses it to decide if someone is...
Meet the winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize
You may not be familiar with Dorian McNamara yet … but his story, You (Streetcar at Night), is the winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize. If you’ve...
Why you can’t forget your first love
That all-consuming, dizzying feeling is what acclaimed poet Seán Hewitt captures in his debut novel, Open, Heaven. The book follows a teenager named J...
Why growing up is so hard — and why Canadians are so funny
For some people, young adulthood can feel more like a crash landing than a glorious journey — and Georgia Toews knows that better than anyone. Her new...
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s triumphant return to fiction
Readers have been waiting for a new novel from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for 12 years … and Dream Count delivers a sweeping tale that was well worth th...
Scaachi Koul calls herself a professional ex-wife
After years in the Internet trenches, Scaachi Koul is no stranger to a good fight — but her latest essay collection is all about knowing when to walk...
Yes, tuberculosis is still a thing — John Green tells us why
You might know John Green as the author of bestsellers such as The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, or from the hugely popular Crash Course...