Kobo in Conversation

Oct 29 2024 133 ep. 42 mins 9

Kobo in Conversation Podcast artwork

In-depth conversations with authors about their books—how and why they write, the books and authors they admire, and so much more. Plus, occasional takes on what's going on in the business of books. And year-end round-ups of reading recommendations from the staff of Rakuten Kobo, the global digital bookseller. Episodes run ~45 minutes. Hosted by Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj.

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Joining Richard Powers on the Playground

Oct 29 2024 51 mins

Host Nathan Maharaj spoke with novelist Richard Powers. Many readers will know him from his 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Overstory, or perhaps The Echo Maker, which won the 2006 National Book Award. His newest novel is Playground, a story about four characters joined in different ways—marriage, friendship, a kind of celebrity—but sharing nonetheless an interest in the

Booktalking - NaNoWriMo's line in the sand, Robo-narration side hustles, a penguin glow-up(?), and more

Oct 15 2024 59 mins

In our second installment in this new series, hosts Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj sat down to go over some of the latest goings-on since summer in the business of books. Topics covered in this episode: Is AI a no-go for NaNoWriMo? Audible announces AI narration—as a side hustle for human narrators B&N needs more shovels (to deal with AI) Bestselling nonfiction author Steven

katherena vermette on crafting a real story out of fakery

Oct 01 2024 45 mins

Host Nathan Maharaj spoke with writer katherena vermette, author of the award-winning 2016 novel The Break, the graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo, as well as a number of poetry collections and books for children. Her latest novel is real ones. It’s the story of a pair of sisters, lyn and June, whose mother’s claims to Indigenous identity come under more scrutiny than they

Jamaluddin Aram on leaving space for the reader to work

Sep 17 2024 44 mins

Host Nathan Maharaj spoke with writer and filmmaker Jamaluddin Aram, winner of the 2024 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Literary fiction for his novel Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday. It’s a tapestry of stories about different people—shopkeepers, tradespeople, doctors, children, and their parents—while in the background, often very deep in the background

Amanda Peters on the art of thought-provoking storytelling

Sep 03 2024 42 mins

Host Nathan Maharaj spoke with Amanda Peters, author of the 2023 novel The Berry Pickers, a book about a 4-year-old girl who goes missing while her family is visiting Maine for the summer to pick blueberries. It’s a book that won both the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Crime Writers of Canada’s first novel award, among many other accolades. Her new book

Keziah Weir's literary influences are no mystery to her

Aug 20 2024 32 mins

Michael Tamblyn spoke with Keziah Weir, winner of the 2024 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in the category of Mystery for her novel, The Mythmakers. It’s the story of Sal, a writer who’s hit a very rough patch in every aspect of her life. But then she discovers a short story written by an author she met some time ago—about her and her and that moment of meeting. She learns that th

Rainbow Rowell wants to write about "messy" characters

Aug 06 2024 44 mins

Host Nathan Maharaj spoke with fiction and comics writer Rainbow Rowell, author of the novels Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, as well as the 2017 revival of Marvel’s Runaways comic book series, the current run of She-Hulk, and many other books and stories. Her newest book is Slow Dance, the story of a couple of grown-ups who’ve been friends since they were kids, but didn’t manage

Live at MOTIVE: Thrills from Start to Finish

Jul 23 2024 57 mins

At Toronto's Harbourfront Centre, Nathan interviewed Ian Hamilton, author of the Ava Lee series, and Steve Urszenyi, author of Perfect Shot. Ian's latest book The Fury of Beijing is (possibly) the last in the series, while Steve's book kicks off the Special Agent Alexandra Martel series. Live at MOTIVE: Thrills from Start to Finish

Spending time with Maurice Vellekoop

Jul 09 2024 35 mins

Michael spoke with artist, illustrator, and fashion designer, Maurice Vellekoop. Over a career spanning four decades, Vellekoop's work has been published in magazines including The New Yorker, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Fashion, and Cosmopolitan, and he’s the author and illustrator of the books, The World of Gloria Badcock: A Comic for Adults, A Nut at the Opera, and Maurice Vellekoop

Kobo in Conversation - Booktalking

Jun 25 2024 59 mins

We're sweeping up the glitter after awarding the 10th annual Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize to a trio of brilliant authors just a few days ago (more on that to come). We'll be back in your feed with more author interviews soon. In the meantime... When Kobo in Conversation hosts Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj aren't reading books and interviewing authors for this show, they