Advertise on podcast: Bookends with Mattea Roach

Amanda Peters’ debut novel, The Berry Pickers, was a massive hit about a young Indigenous girl who goes missing as her family picks blueberries in Maine. Now Amanda is back with The Birthing Tree, a moving novel about family secrets, midwifery and reclaiming traditional Indigenous birth practices. The novel follows Aliet, a Mi’kmaq woman who must return to her family home in rural Nova Scotia after her grandmother dies. Aliet has spent years away from the community and traditions she once loved … but how long can she outrun the family secrets that haunt her? And how does it all come back to the very tree that she was born under? This week, Amanda joins Mattea Roach to talk about her interest in midwifery, the nuances of being white-passing and highlighting the beauty of Nova Scotia in the novel. Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Michelle Good is reclaiming her mother's name  Meet hockey’s greatest (fictional) goon   Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Bonnie Garmus says she came to poetry “kicking and screaming,” but her new novel is about why we need it more than ever. Peck & Peck follows a young man named Batter Gray who starts working at a prestigious poetry magazine. Batter is consumed by poetry, but it’s not an easy path to take in a world obsessed with profits … not to mention the complicated private affairs of his new colleagues. You might know Bonnie from her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. It was a major hit novel and TV series. But did you know it took her 98 rejections to get there? This week, Bonnie tells Mattea Roach about what kept her writing during that time, her interest in twins and why she loves the impractical.   Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Why you shouldn’t go gentle into that good night Life of Pi author Yann Martel on the wars in your everyday  Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Jenna Timmons-Oikawa is the winner of the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize. Her piece, Wawa Indian, was inspired by the discovery that her mother was taken in the Sixties Scoop. This was a government practice in Canada from the 1960s to 1980s that removed Indigenous children from their homes and placed them in foster homes or put them up for adoption with predominantly white families. In today's episode, the Ottawa-based writer speaks with Mattea Roach about themes of stolen heritage, reclamation and renewal that she explores in her winning story. You can read Jenna's story here.  Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Communication gets complicated across different languages, time zones and generations. FaceTime and translation apps can only help so much. That's the personal challenge R. F. Kuang drew on in her latest novel Taipei Story. It's about Lily, a Chinese American college student who spends the summer in a language program in Taipei, hoping to connect with her culture and family. But as things unravel, Lily starts to realize that true belonging goes deeper than language and words. This week, R. F. Kuang joins Mattea Roach in front of a live audience for a deeply personal conversation about her own Taipei story, connecting with her grandparents… and why so many white guys want to learn Mandarin. Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Girlbossing on an oil rig A novel inspired by the death of a tree How bad was your worst friendship breakup? Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

The new novel from Marlon James is based on a rumour … but it’s no rumour that Marlon’s book is one of the year's hottest titles. The Disappearers is an epic Jamaican novel that centres on a group of gay men who were brutally attacked in Kingston in the late 1980s. The story follows the men in the aftermath of the attack, as they seek connection, new identities, understanding and revenge. Marlon calls The Disappearers his most personal book yet, and it draws on his time as a young queer man in Jamaica and his own experiences with invisibility. This week, Marlon tells Mattea Roach about why he doesn’t shy away from writing about violence  and why he once called himself a “disappearer.”  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Douglas Stuart was a fashion exec — now he designs stories  In the Caribbean, secret lives come at a cost   Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Canadian writer Anne Carson is the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. For today’s podcast, we’re diving into the archives and revisiting one of Anne’s conversations with Eleanor Wachtel on Writers & Company. Anne Carson is celebrated for poems and essays that defy the boundaries of genre. She frequently blends ancient Greek myth with modern stories of love, grief and desire. Anne spoke with Eleanor in 2011 about her book Nox — which means night. Combining poetry, letters, photographs and sketches, the book is an elegy to her brother … and a moving reflection on family and absence.      If you want to hear more from the archives of Writers & Company, the show’s entire catalogue is available on Simon Fraser University’s Digitized Collections website: https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/writers-company Check out Bookends on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Anita Rau Badami’s new novel, Asha in Her Garden, is her first in over a decade … and it all started with the striking image of a dying tree. On her seventieth birthday, Asha Mohan’s beloved backyard maple tree is cut down. As she watches it disappear, Asha begins to look differently at the life she’s spent years building. From her move to Canada from India, to the trials of raising her children to an act of violence that changed the family forever, Asha’s garden becomes a space for her to reflect on how she built her family and where she can go now. This week, Anita joins Mattea Roach to talk about the real tree that inspired the book, the maze of memory and a character called “The Hag.”  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Why writing a novel is like riding a horse  What does dystopia look like in the suburbs?   Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Imagine the pressure of being the only woman working on an offshore oil rig. That was the reality for Y.M. Abdel-Magied … and she turned her years in the field into a thrilling novel about oil, power and survival on the water. At Sea follows Zainab, a toolpusher who is tasked with leading an all-male drilling crew on an oil rig off the coast of Australia. As Zainab navigates the complicated power dynamics of her role, she begins to uncover signs of catastrophe that could devastate the ocean around her and threaten the lives of everyone on the rig. This week, Y.M. joins Mattea Roach to talk about her experience working on rigs, writing a nuanced story about oil and how everything started with her love of racecar driving.  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: A raunchy workplace satire ... about deradicalizing ISIS brides?  Would a tradwife influencer survive in 1855?   Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

How far would you be willing to go to salvage a friendship? Maybe you just need a small break ... or how about a couples therapist? Téa Mutonji’s new novel, My Person, follows longtime friends Tania and Margot. The two have been friends since childhood, but after living together for a year, Tania realizes she's not sure if she even likes Margot anymore. But leaving is not just as simple as saying goodbye, and a messy, complicated, will-they-won’t-they friendship breakup ensues. This week, Téa joins Mattea Roach to talk about her 2 a.m. writing habits, the push and pull of long-lasting friendships and when it might be time to break up with your best friend.  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Can our friendships age with us?  NOT CLICKBAIT! She stole her dead twin sister’s identity!?  Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

When Michelle Good’s mother was in her 20s, she changed her name from Martha Eliza to Elizabeth to sound less Indigenous. Michelle’s new novel, Eliza Sunshine, is rooted intimately in her mother’s life … and gives her mother her name back. The novel weaves Eliza’s experiences and Michelle’s family history into a deeply personal story following three generations of Cree women. It’s also informed by Michelle’s experience as a community advocate, lawyer and storyteller … and her mission of keeping Indigenous stories alive. This week, Michelle joins Mattea Roach to talk about why hope is something that moves you forward and the family legacy that inspires this point of view.  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: How long could you lie about who you are? What would it take to become the first Cherokee astronaut?  Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

The criminal underworld of 1980s New York City. The last heist of a mostly-retired crook. A city battling for its future. Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy reaches its conclusion with his latest novel, Cool Machine. It follows Ray Carney, a former criminal who's gone mostly straight in his middle age … until he becomes entangled with a legendary criminal mastermind and is yanked back into a world he thought he left behind. The city has a life and a will of its own, and there’s nobody better to explore it than Colson, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and lifelong New Yorker. This week, Colson joins Mattea Roach to talk about why he wrote a heist novel, creating a criminal code and if he’ll ever leave New York. Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Should you be afraid of the wolf hour? Why Tayari Jones fights for her stories Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

You might think that your boss is evil … but what if they were an actual supervillain? Natalie Zina Walschots brings that idea to life in her novels Hench and Villain. The series follows Anna, an auditor who does office work for the dark side. After being severely injured by a superhero, Anna is out for revenge … but it turns out that the difference between heroes and villains isn’t as clear cut as you might think. So what happens when spreadsheets and supervillains collide? And is it unethical to date your villain boss? This week, Natalie joins Mattea Roach to talk about combining office culture and comic books, why we love the bad guys and why hero stories are the new fairy tales.  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Taylor Jenkins Reid is among the stars — on and off the pageJustice for Murder Bimbo!  Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

The phrase "unprecedented times” was repeated over and over again during the pandemic … and Malavika Kannan’s debut novel, Unprecedented Times, dives into university life during that period. The story follows Rishi, an Indian American student who’s ready to start fresh at Stanford after her strict Florida upbringing. She has big plans to shed her old skin and finally meet people just like her, but that journey is cut short by the arrival of COVID-19. As Rishi and her peers struggle with disillusionment, political unrest and good old university drama, she starts to think more closely about her story and the shared experience that’s shaping her generation.  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Here’s what you have wrong about teen moms Would a tradwife influencer survive in 1855? Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

How many of your friends are over 30 years older than you? When Marc Bendavid was 12, he met a teacher that changed his life. His debut novel, The Sapling, is about their generation-defying bond … and living in those memories in the wake of her death. So how can a meaningful friendship between a 12 year-old and a 44 year-old defy what we think about the gap between generations? And how does someone live and change through our memories of them? This week, Marc joins Mattea Roach to talk about the real teacher that inspired the book, the beauty of aging and what you can gain from connecting with people older and younger than you.  Liked this conversation? Keep listening: Can our friendships age with us?  Ocean Vuong finds beauty in a fast food shift   Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Imagine you walk into your bedroom one day … and there’s a horse going on a rampage. Better yet, it’s a horse from a childhood story that has haunted you ever since you first heard it. Who’s the first person you call? In Ali Smith’s new novel, Glyph, estranged sisters Petra and Patch are brought back together when a story from their childhood comes to life in an incredible way. But what makes a ghost story real? And what can it tell us about the world we live in now? This week, Ali joins Mattea Roach to talk about her connection to horses, the power and wonder of words and whether or not she believes in ghosts. Liked this conversation? Keep listening: For Jeanette Winterson, stories are essential to survival How do we restore our sense of wonder in media?  Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks