Would you steal? Would you kill? In Megha Majumdar’s new novel, A Guardian and a Thief, a mother prepares to escape a city in the midst of climate collapse. She’ll do anything for her family … and she’s driven to desperation when their immigration documents are stolen just days before they're set to leave. But is the thief a monster? Or is he merely trying to help his own family? With survival on the line, what would you do to protect the people you love? Megha tells Mattea Roach about writing a fictionalized Kolkata, how the story was inspired by her own immigration journey and the challenge of holding onto your morals when everything falls apart.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• What if your dreams could land you in jail?
• Kiran Desai’s novel is worth the 20-year wait

To be a good cult leader, you’ll need some natural charisma and a pathological desire for control … and according to Rob Benvie, it might also help if you're a bit of a buffoon. Rob explores this personality mix in his latest novel, The Damagers. The book follows a 15-year-old girl named Zina in 1950s America. After a tragic event, she becomes entangled in an isolated spiritual commune ... in other words, a cult. At the centre of the story is Zina’s own desire for power, which puts her in a complicated struggle with the cult's magnetic but foolish leader. This week, Rob joins Mattea Roach to talk about why cult stories resonate today and what it means to have a vision for the way we live together.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• When young men murder, what can we learn?
• Who was the woman Kafka loved?

Louise Penny is one of the biggest mystery novelists alive today … but it didn’t start out that way. Her latest novel, The Black Wolf, is the 20th in her bestselling Armand Gamache series. So how did Louise go from empty book events to packed concert halls? This week, Bookends brings you on-stage at Toronto’s historic Massey Hall. Joined by nearly 2000 of her fans, Louise told Mattea Roach about her long journey to becoming an author, why she’ll never tire of her characters and how pain has made her a better writer.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Chris Hadfield — from astronaut to author
• Kiran Desai’s novel is worth the 20-year wait

Jane Austen is one of the most enduring novelists of all time. But what do we know about the woman behind the stories? To celebrate Austen’s 250th birthday, we’re revisiting Eleanor Wachtel’s conversation with Carol Shields about her 2001 biography, Jane Austen: A Life. Carol Shields herself was a writer and a lifelong Austen fan, and she talks about how Austen’s stories about marriage, money and family offer insight into who the novelist really was.

• Check out the rest of the Writers & Company archive: https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/writers-company

After releasing her breakout hit My Sister the Serial Killer in 2018, Oyinkan Braithwaite struggled to write under the pressure of high expectations. She worried about being a one-hit wonder … but her new novel, Cursed Daughters, proves otherwise. The book follows three generations of women from a family that is believed to be cursed, dooming them all to remain single forever. To make matters worse, one of the young women looks so much like her deceased aunt that her relatives think she's a reincarnation. It’s a story about family, legacy and how to live freely when your closest loved ones believe your fate is sealed. This week, Oyinkan tells Mattea Roach about how the novel came to be, why she writes complex dynamics between women and what it means to live and work as an artist.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s triumphant return to fiction
• Here’s what you have wrong about teen moms

Christmas is a time for togetherness, good food … and lying to your family about your love life. At least, that’s the case in Uzma Jalaluddin’s new holiday rom-com, Yours for the Season. The book stars Sameera and Tom, whose career ambitions lead them into a fake-dating situation. The holidays get even messier when Sameera and Tom’s families decide to spend Christmas together … and to top it all off, Sameera’s family has never celebrated Christmas before. It’s a holiday faux-mance that takes a deeper look into faith, family and culture, with a healthy helping of delicious food and Christmas hijinks. Uzma joins Mattea Roach to talk about the cultural nuances at the centre of the book, her own relationship with the holidays and why Die Hard is actually a rom-com.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Nita Prose: The Maid series returns with a Christmas twist
• Fans asked for another happy ending — Carley Fortune delivered

Video games make you violent. Video games corrupt the youth. Video games rot your brain! You’ve probably heard that narrative before … but Kawika Guillermo offers a fresh take in their new essay collection, Of Floating Isles: On Growing Pains and Video Games. The book is part memoir, part cultural analysis about the roles that video games play in our lives. For Kawika, games aren’t just a mindless escape — they’re thoughtful works of art that help us understand our identities and the world we live in. Kawika joins Mattea to talk about gaming as a catalyst for social change, rethinking shooting games and how video games helped them grapple with grief.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Why this Pulitzer Prize winner is done with writing books
• Weightlifting made Casey Johnston stronger — in muscle and mind

What’s more horrifying than slashers, monsters … and Vancouver real estate? This week, Bookends brings you on-stage at the Vancouver Writers Fest. Back in October, Mattea Roach was joined by writers Mona Awad, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Jen Sookfong Lee for a special panel about how the horror genre reflects our lived experiences. All three authors have written horror stories that go deeper than jump scares or screams in the dark. Their novels tell us the truth about the world through metaphor, myth and monsters … and share why real life is sometimes scarier than fantasy.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Why Mona Awad gave the Bunnies a say
• Erica McKeen: Using horror and surrealism to explore grief, care and love in new novel Cicada Summer