Arts
ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Melanie Siebert, author of Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health. Heads Up was a finalist for the 2021 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. In their conversation Melanie talks the interviews and stories she integrated into the book as well as how we have defined what's normal while pathologizing the various spectrums of human experience. ABOUT MELANIE SIEBERT: Melanie Siebert is a youth and family counsellor in Victoria, British Columbia. She works with people to transform depression, anxiety, trauma and inner conflict into meaning, purpose and hope. She also specializes in suicide intervention and prevention. Melanie has a Master of Social Work and a Master of Fine Arts. Her first poetry collection, Deepwater Vee (McClelland & Stewart), was a finalist for Canada's Governor General's Literary Award in 2010. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Director of Programming and Communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in The Puritan, Untethered, Invisible publishing's invisiblog, This Magazine and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book titled Head Over Feet: The Lasting Heartache of First Loves. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.