All Episodes
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 in total
WLU Writer in Residence NASSER HUSSAIN on his work's playfully seriousness
Join host Tanis MacDonald this week on Watershed Writers when she talks to Nasser Hussain — Wilfrid Laurier University's 2024 Edna Staebler Writer in Residence — about...
Kitchener poet CHRIS BANKS on the speed of life and humour as an author's tool
Tanis MacDonald is joined by the celebrated and prolific Kitchener poet Chris Banks to discuss the speed of life in the 21st Century, writing metaphors for anxiety, an...
Hamilton writer ANUJA VARGHESE on her Governor General's Award winning collection "Chrysalis"
Host Tanis MacDonald brings us Anuja Varghese, winner of this year’s Governor General’s Award for Fiction to discuss her genre-bending use of gothic elements in the fa...
Waterloo writer CARRIE SNYDER on real-life fiction
Tanis MacDonald spends an hour talking with author and mentor Carrie Snyder on her career writing through real-life FRICTION — and how her writing is informed by her b...
Paris, Ontario author ALISON FISHBURN on purity culture and fellowship
Tanis MacDonald sits down with Alison Fishburn to talk about purity culture, writing about class and finding fellowship as an author, and her award-winning performance...
UW prof and author SARAH TOLMIE on medieval lit and writing novellas
Tanis MacDonald hosts Sarah Tolmie to laugh about medieval literature, learn about Sarah’s astonishing novella-writing process, and to discover the meaning of… WEIRD F...
Waterloo author CAROL DUNCAN on writing the historical fantastic
Carol Duncan talks to us about writing short stories inflected with Caribbean history and culture, and about her research roots when writing the historical fantastic. ...
TO & FRO: Season 4 Sneak Peek and Retrospective
We kick off our fourth season with the ‘To and Fro’ episode. We’ll take a look back at writers we’ve interviewed, a sneak peek at who we’ll be talking to this fall, an...
JESSICA VITALIS on writing big issues for young people and her forthcoming book "The Coyote Queen"
Tanis speaks with novelist Jessica Vitalis about her work for middle-grade readers treating big issues like life, death, empathy, and social justice in The Rabbit’s Gi...
DAVID WALTNER TOEWS on backyard birds and his book "A Conspriacy of Chickens"
This week on Watershed Writers, we talk with writer and epidemiologist David Waltner-Toews about the fun and frustrations of raising backyard birds, and his new book, ...
Historian and author PEGGY PLET on weaving black stories into local and global history
This week, Tanis learns from Waterloo Region author and historian Peggy Plet about her work weaving the stories of Black settlers back into the fabric of both local an...
CLARENCE CACHAGEE and SETH RATZLAFF talk "North Wind Man", finding their voice, and local allyship
In this episode of Watershed Writers, Tanis talks with co-authors Clarence Cachagee and Seth Ratzlaff about finding a voice, reconnecting with one's culture, and allys...
Music journalist CORAL ANDREWS on her new memoir about legendary Kitchener club "The Back Door"
In this episode, Tanis MacDonald talks with local dj and music journalist, Coral Andrews about her memoir about The Back Door — Kitchener’s legendary underground bar a...
LAURIE D. GRAHAM discusses the poetry of place and displacement
Join Tanis and her guest Laurie D. Graham as they discuss Laurie's latest work, 'Fast Commute' and her approach to the poetry of place and displacement with respect an...
DONNA MORRISSEY on how fiction informs memoir
Tanis MacDonald's guest is celebrated Canadian novelist Donna Morrissey, discussing her tenure as this year's Writer In Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University. Find o...
Kitchener's BENJAMIN LEFEBVRE discusses coming out subversions in his novel "In the Key of Dale"
This week on Watershed Writers, novelist Benjamin Lefebvre sits down with interviewer Tanis MacDonald to discuss writing Young Adult Fiction and subverting the usual c...
KIMIA ESLAH on writing fiction to serve social justice and her novel "Sister Seen, Sister Heard"
This episode features Iranian-Canadian novelist Kimia Eslah talking with interviewer Tanis MacDonald about her aims in writing fiction to serve social justice and comb...
Local poet and novelist PAMELA MORDECAI on writing fiction and the power of vernacular
This episode features Jamaican-Canadian poet, novelist, and children's writer Pamela Mordecai talking with Tanis MacDonald about her long career in writing, and about ...
Kitchener author PAMELA MULLOY discusses her book "As Little As Nothing", why she writes about war, and her new non-fiction project
In this clip from Watershed Writer's podcast, host Tanis MacDonald talks with Pamela Mulloy about the genesis of her book "As Little as Nothing", why war is an interes...
Full Episode: Novelist PAMELA MULLOY on Historical Fiction from interesting times
This episode features novelist Pamela Mulloy and the challenges of writing historical fiction about uncertain times, as well as Tanis MacDonald and Frances Roberts Rei...
Madhur Anand: Poet, scientist, memoirist... Governor General's Award winner
We talk with poet, scientist, and memoirist Madhur Anand about living by rivers, about blending art and science in writing, and about her recent Governor General’s Awa...
Emily Urquhart: On MEMOIR AND MYTH in "The Age of Creativity"
We talk with nonfiction writer Emily Urquhart about her new book, The Age of Creativity: Art, Memory, My Father, and Me, featuring her father, abstract expressionist p...
Luke Hathaway: From Waterloo Region roots to INTERNATIONAL REACH
We talk with writer and editor Luke Hathaway about love and radical transformation, about the Waterloo Region roots and the international reach of his latest book, Yea...
Janet Rogers: Coming home to Six Nations and writing the PERSONAL AND POLITICAL
We sit down with Tuscarora writer, performer, and publisher Janet Rogers to discuss what it has meant for her to come home to Six Nations of the Grand River after deca...
Yvonne Blomer: Writing poetry for our LOCAL WATERSHEDS
We meet Yvonne Blomer, the editor of the Caitlin Press volume Sweet Water: Poetry for the Watersheds and speak with poets who are writing about and for their local wat...
Tasneem Jamal: The POWER OF FICTION to fill the cracks in history
We speak with Tasneem Jamal about her novel, Where The Air is Sweet, about a family who move to Kitchener following Idi Amin’s expulsion of Asian-Ugandans, about the p...
Mike Chaulk & Sarah Tolmie: Two local writers, TWO GREAT BOOKS
We talk with Mike Chaulk about his book Night Lunch, in which he crews on a ferry and freight vessel up the Labrador Coast. Also on the show, Sarah Tolmie introduces u...
Textile Magazine: DIVERSITY AND MENTORSHIP in local writing and community-focused art
We talk with writers and editors of Textile, a literary magazine that showcases the diversity of the Grand River region, and works to mentor emerging writers in the cr...
Janice Jo Lee: Discussing POETRY AS SONG & the art of writing a one-person musical
We talk with the multi-talented Janice Jo Lee about what it takes to write and star in a one-person musical, her tips for writing poetry as song, and her advocacy work...