A few weeks ago I got to chat with award-winning author Mary Lawson, on the phone from her home in the U.K. If you haven’t read her newest, A Town Called Solace, I highly recommend you do! Check out today’s show to learn more about her and the book. Be well, everyone 😀
CFMU
E225 with AMANDA LEDUC
FIRST OF ALL: Please, if you support what I’m doing and what community radio does, consider going to cfmu.ca/fundraising and helping out!
Now: Hey folks! Today we talk with the incredible Amanda Leduc about her (also incredible) new novel The Centaur’s Wife. What we didn’t have time to talk about was the interesting information below!
I would not normally post an (edited for length) press release from a publisher, but as it’s about accessible publishing and how this book makes a difference…I think it’s worth it. Read on, and enjoy the show! (Note: it’s in future tense, but the book came out last month)
“Hamilton author Amanda Leduc’s book The Centaur’s Wife will be published in all accessible and conventional formats simultaneously, thanks to a unique partnership between the author, Penguin Random House Canada and Canada’s two accessible library services, the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) and the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS).
The Centaur’s Wife will be released by Random House Canada on February 16 in standard print and audio, but also in accessible audio, e-text and braille, and will immediately be made available to Canadians with print disabilities through both NNELS and CELA.
“This is Amanda’s second book to be published in conventional and accessible formats simultaneously and represents a significant shift towards creating an equitable reading landscape,” says Laurie Davidson, Executive Director of the Centre for Equitable Library Access. “Amanda’s energy and passion for accessibility, and the commitment of her team at Penguin Random House Canada, made this possible. We hope this collaboration might become a template for other publishers moving forward so we can increase books for those with print disabilities.”
Typically, books are published in conventional formats first and then converted to accessible formats, resulting in a delay between the publication date and the time when the estimated 1 in 10 people with print disabilities in Canada can read these books.”
E224 with BRENT VAN STAALDUINEN
Hey all! Brent’s back!
It’s only been a few months since Hamilton author Brent Van Staalduinen was on the show. His second novel in a row is already in the world. Nothing But Life is a really great YA novel that has the depth to appeal to everyone. Tune in!
Also: at his launch last week Brent asked attendees to support Kids Help Phone. If you want to help, or learn more, go here.
Dig!
E223 with KELLY S. THOMPSON
Hey everyone. I ‘ve been pretty sparse with the personal notes on this blog, haven’t I? Is it really a blog, or just a repository for links to Get Lit? (Answer: the latter, but that’s OK). I will say that I do have news of my own to announce. Vague, distant news, but news nonetheless. I am also working on a new novel…but isn’t everyone?
Today’s guest is Kelly S. Thompson. Her memoir Girls Need Not Apply is a compelling look at her years in the Canadian military. We had a great talk and I hope you enjoy both the book and the show!
Fun fact: if you’re checking it out on release day (Thursday, in this case the 25th of February) Kelly will be hosting the book launch for Hamilton’s Brent Van Staaduinen. Tonight!
E222 with GORD GRISENTHWAITE
Today’s show is a special one for me because G.A. Grisenthwaite (also known as Gord) is a friend. I first met him at the Pelee Island Book House retreat five years ago. Margaret Atwood gave the workshops, and I remember how enthusiastic she was about Gord’s work. Gord is Nłeʔkepmx, a member of the Lytton First Nation, and Home Waltz focuses on an extraordinary weekend in the life of a Nłeʔkepmx teenager in the 1970s.
Full disclosure: I was lucky enough to have done the substantive edit on this novel so I was extra excited to have Gord on the show. Enjoy!
E221 with SUSAN SANFORD BLADES
Hey folks! Today’s guest is Susan Sanford Blades. We had a great chat about her novel, Fake It So Real. Hope you enjoy it too!
E220 with DUSTIN COLE
Hey folks!
Today we speak with Dustin Cole about his debut novel, Notice, available via Nightwood Editions. Enjoy!
E218 with MARK KINGWELL
Hey everyone! Today’s show features U of T professor and author Mark Kingwell. His book On Risk is unintentionally timely (despite the mask on the cover, it wasn’t started in relation to the pandemic) and an interesting meditation on the concept of risk and its distribution. Enjoy!
E217 with JENNA BUTLER
Hey folks! Today’s show features poet and author Jenna Butler. Her book is the kind of book that makes doing Get Lit so enjoyable (oh who am I kidding, they all make it enjoyable) because it’s the kind of book I might not pick up on my own. I didn’t know I was interested in bees until I had to read a book about bees! That book, Revery: A Year Of Bees is an excellent, interesting read. Enjoy the program.
E216 with LORNA CROZIER
Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you managed to eke out a satisfying holiday season.
Kicking off 2021 with a very special interview. I had the chance to talk to Lorna Crozier about her memoir Through The Garden: A Love Story (with Cats). Lorna is a remarkable poet and author, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and from my brief experience, a lovely human being. Through the Garden chronicles her life and life during her late husband Patrick Lane‘s illness and tragic passing (I was lucky enough to speak with him before he passed, you can hear it here).
Hope you enjoy the show.