Here are some of the guests you'll hear on The Next Chapter in the Summer:

Saturday July 4: Margaret Atwood
Monday July 6: Miriam Toews, Joseph Boyden

Saturday July 11: John Ralston Saul, Richard Wagamese
Monday July 13: Patrick Lane, plus "How Fiction Helps the Brain"

Saturday July 18: Lynn Crosbie, plus "Heartbreaking Moments in Can-Lit"
Monday July 20: Malcolm Gladwell, M.G. Vassanji

Saturday July 25: Farley Mowat, Gordon Pinsent
Monday July 27: Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, plus Prairie Lit

Saturday August 1: Neil Bissoondath, Charlie Pachter, & Lawrence Hill
Monday August 3: Russell Wangersky, Leila Nadir

Saturday August 8: Pat Capponi, Sasenarine Persaud
Monday August 10: Jose Latour, Lisa Gabriele

Saturday August 15: Meg Federico, plus "How Poetry Can Change Your Life"
Monday August 17: Don Cherry, Michel Tremblay

Saturday August 22: Randall Maggs, Adam Sol
Monday August 24: Debbie Travis, Abigail Carter

Saturday August 29: Anne Giardini, Aritha van Herk
Monday August 31: David Bergen, plus Carol Shields tribute

Saturday September 5: Mavis Gallant

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Shelagh speaks with Lisa Moore about February, a novel set in the aftermath of the Ocean Ranger oil-rig tragedy off the coast of Newfoundland.

Also, Mike Heffernan speaks about his nonfiction book Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster.

In the second part of the show, Next Chapter producer Tom Howell reports back to Shelagh on the experience of reading Canadian poetry all season long, and the three Canadian nominees for this year's Griffin Prize talk about their work and ideas: that's A.F. Moritz, Jeramy Dodds, and Kevin Connolly.

Plus the Mystery Books panel recommends great summer reads (see separate blog entry).

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We only had water to drink, but at least we drank it out of wine-glasses. Here's what A.F. Moritz, Jeramy Dodds, and Kevin Connolly had to say to me upon being pestered with questions about what I ought to think about various bits of their poems:

{the party - 30 mins}

{the chat with Shelagh - 15 mins}

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

J.D. Singh's recommendations

The Dark Horse, Craig Johnson, Viking
Finding Nouf, Zoe Ferraris, Houghton Mifflin
The Genius, Jesse Kellerman, Jove

Margaret Cannon's recommendations

Nemesis, Jo Nesbo, Vintage Canada
A Quiet Flame, Philip Kerr, Putnam
Cecilian Vespers, Anne Emery, ECW press

P.K. Rangachari's reccomendations

Old City Hall, Robert Rotenberg, Touchstone, Simon and Schuster
Mystery Man, Bateman, Headline Publishing Group
Beyond Suspicion, Tanguy Viel, translated from French, by Linda Coverdale, The New Press

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ken Setterington's recommendations

Half World, Hiromi Goto, Puffin
Home Free, Sharon Jennings, Second Story Press
Boo Hoo Bird, Jeremy Tankard, Scholastic
Back, Norah McClintock, Orca

Michele Landsberg's recommendations

Gullstruck Island, Frances Hardinge, MacMillan
The Uninvited, Tim Wynne Jones, Candlewick
The House in the Night, Susan Marie Swanson, Beth Krommes, Houghton Mifflin
Genesis, Bernard Beckett, Longacre Press

{unedited footage}

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's the audio, minus some of the music broadcasted in the radio version:

Who and What:
Daria Salamon is the author of The Prairie Bridesmaid || The song we play on the broadcast version is Jill Barber's "Hard Line" from her album, For All Time || Melanie Watt writes the Scaredy Squirrel series. ||

Itah Sadu recommends: Wendy Braithwaite (aka Motion)'s 40 Dayz || Edwige Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory || Nathan McCall's Makes Me Wanna Holler || Shani Mootoo's Valmiki's Daughter.

Marie Wadden reports from the launch of Where Genesis Begins, by Tom Dawe and Gerry Squires. || Lorna Jackson reviews Rowboat in a Hurricane by Julie Angus and Expedition to the Edge by Lynn Martel.

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The poet Karen Solie was just here at the Next Chapter headquarters. Her conversation with Shelagh will air during our second season, which begins in September. You, however, can hear it right now!

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How coal ruled the lives of Nova Scotians, and what the fall of that industry reminds us about today's economic news. We also hear Depressing Moments in Canadian Literature, and debate the Great Depression novel, As For Me and My House. A panel of money experts picks the best books to read if you want to understand the big economic picture.

Who and what:

Depressing Moment Number One is the poem "In Addition" by Milton Acorn || John Demont's book is called Coal Black Heart || The song is "The Ballad of Springhill" sung by The Men of the Deeps, and written by Peggy Seeger with Ewan MacCall || Emily Schultz describes a redundant character in the first draft of her new novel, Heaven is Small.

Deborah Yedlin recommends The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman and also Why Your World Is About to Get A Whole Lot Smaller by Jeff Rubin. Fazil Mihlar recommends Risk by Dan Gardner and sort-of recommends John Maynard Keynes' A General Theory of Employment Interest and Money.

Depressing Moment #3477 is Sinclair Ross' As For Me and My House, described by Jamie Dopp of the University of Victoria. Joel Yanofsky recommends you don't read it. Lorna Crozier says, on the contrary, do read it. Her book of poetry based on Mrs. Bentley is called A Saving Grace.

We received this comment from Ron Robins, taking issue with the money experts:

The book reviewers totally missed-out on the books that really deal with the real problem today: debt. Simply stated numerous authorities indicate that consumers and businesses are hitting a debt wall -- and that many major governments are close to it as well. They will hit it in the next year or two. Society has simply built-up too much debt relative to income and GDP! Keynes never really addressed this issue, so your reviewers were way-off base.

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shelagh interviews Adrienne Clarkson about her story of extraordinary Norman Bethune, and Robert Arthur Alexie about his story of some extraordinary blue people encountering white people.

Who and what:

Adrienne Clarkson's book is Norman Bethune, part of Penguin's Extraordinary Canadians series; columnist Todd Babiak is a writer in Edmonton; Robert Arthur Alexie wrote Porcupines and China Dolls; and NQ Arbuckle (featured on the broadcast version only) frontman is Neville Quinlon, singer of "Part of Poem by Alden Nowlan called Ypres: 1915".

Posted by Tom Howell at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)