This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend Katherine Koller writes for stage, screen and page. Her plays include Coal Valley, The Seed Savers and Last Chance Leduc, which won the Alberta Playwriting Competition. Excerpts from her opera, The Handless Maiden, played in Vancouver this year and Hope Soup, for radio, was recorded at the 2019 Edmonton Fringe. Her web documentary, about Edmonton youth changing their world, is at sustainablemeyeg.ca. Art Lessons, her debut novel, was a finalist for both the Edmonton Book Prize and the Alberta Readers’ Choice Award. Her new collection of short stories, about second chances, is Winning Chance. Katherinekoller.ca    

Reading West

Episode 16: Katherine Koller

This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend Bernadette Wagner, writer, editor, and community based educator, has recent work in Absent Mothers (DP: 2017) and Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada (AUP: 2016). Her poetry and nonfiction have been broadcast on radio and TV, recorded on video and film, and published in magazines and anthologies. Shortlisted for the Saskatchewan First Book Award, she toured This hot place (Thistledown, 2010), her first poetry collection, across the country. An activist for social justice, a spokesperson for various feminist organizations, a founder of the Prairie Lily Feminist Society and Friends of Regina Public Library, a board member for the Saskatchewan Writers Guild and Sage Hill Writing Experience, a past Literary Co-ordinator and two-time Chair of the Cathedral Village Arts Festival, and the inaugural literary artist-in-residence at the Last Mountain Lake Cultural Centre, Bernadette lives in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Dry Valley encapsulates one woman’s relationship with herself, her alcoholic spouse, and the world, in three different Saskatchewan landscapes. The poems offer a fascinating interplay between mindful explorations of self and immersions in the challenging complexities of interpersonal relationships, social issues and meaningful engagement with the environment. The quiet, meditative quality of the longer lyrics rub up against the edgier narrative poems, contributing a wonderful tension to the manuscript. With figurative language kept to a minimum, the poems rely on detail, giving a real-time felt presence and the speaker a heightened reliability.

Episode 15: Bernadette Wagner

Jennifer Graham was born and raised during the apartheid era of South Africa. She left her homeland in 1975, at age nineteen, for England, because it was illegal for her and her then boyfriend, who is also South African, to have a romantic relationship merely because of pigmentation - she was brown and he was white. Jennifer studied elementary education at McGill University in Montreal and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication/print journalism from the University of Mobile, in 2001. Jennifer has numerous published magazine and newspaper articles. Her memoir, An Immoral Proposal, published in 2013, is her first book. Jennifer is a member of the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild. She is also an AWA (Amherst Writers and Artists) affiliate with whom she trained as a facilitator in the AWA method. An Immoral Proposal is available through Amazon and Kindle. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend

Episode 14: Jennifer Graham

Nicholas Olson is the author of several works of short fiction and essays, including a new series of illustrated zines of short stories with accompanying audiobook narrations. Books and audiobooks can be found at ballsofrice.bandcamp.com, other works can be found at ballsofrice.com. More books and audiobooks coming summer 2017.   Links: ballsofrice.com (blog/essays),  ballsofrice.bandcamp.com (for audiobooks/store),  twitter: @nicwolson     Story: A Brief Interaction Music: Matthew Meehan of Sonhowler (sonhowler.bandcamp.com) Narrator: Kris Hedlund of Rah Rah (http://www.rahrahband.com) Other: Originally appeared in SWG Spring Magazine   Story: That's My Team Music: D.A. Kissick (dakissick.bandcamp.com) Narration: Nicholas Olson Other: Best of Regina Selection in Briarpatch Magazine Writing in the Margins Contest This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend

Episode 13: Nicholas Olson

Shari Narine is an award-winning journalist who has served as editor for newspapers and magazines. Currently she works at the Aboriginal Multi Media Society (AMMSA), Playhouse Publications, in Edmonton. After having a handful of short stories published in various journals, she wrote Oil Change at Rath’s Garage, her first novel. Narine grew up in Daysland, a small town in Alberta, and has travelled extensively within Canada and to six continents (and has ridden camels on four). This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 12: Shari Narine

This episode features Leona Theis reading from the intro of her new, award-winning novel If Sylvie Had Nine Lives. Leona writes novels, short stories, and personal essays. She hopes to craft work that is funny, serious, and absorbing all in the same package. Her story collection, Sightlines (Coteau, 2000) won two Saskatchewan Book Awards. Leona's work has been shortlisted four times for the CBC Literary Award, which she won in 2007 for creative nonfiction. Her novel-in-progress, If Sylvie Had Nine Lives, won the John V Hicks manuscript award in 2016. Her short fiction has appeared most recently in Journey Prize Stories 26, and in American Short Fiction, where it won the short story prize. Her personal essays have appeared in Canada and the United States in such venues as Brick, The New Quarterly, Numero Cinq, and Best Canadian Essays. Leona has worked in the literary community as an editor, mentor, workshop leader, and writer-in-residence. She divides her time between her home in Saskatoon and a cabin in the boreal forest. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 11: Leona Theis

James Trettwer reads his story story "Godsend," which will be published in the anthology Wanderlust in May 2017.  James is currently working on a collection of linked stories, two of which are included in Wanderlust, published by Thistledown Press. The novella Thorn-Fields from this collection won third place in the 2016 John V. Hicks' Long Manuscript Award. A third story previously won second place in the Saskatchewan Writers Guild Short Manuscript Awards. James writes from Regina where he lives with Sherry and their fat little dog, Maggie.   This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.  

Episode 10: James Trettwer

Sean Johnston is from Asquith, Saskatchewan. His first book, A Day Does Not Go By, won the 2003 ReLit Award for short fiction. His most recent book is the short story collection We Don't Listen to Them. He lives in Kelowna, B.C., where he teaches at Okanagan College. Sean reads "He Hasn't Been to the Bank in Weeks," from We Don't Listen to Them, which can be ordered at the local bookstore, from Thistledown Press, or Amazon. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 9: Sean Johnston

Transplanting Hope: My life – Someone Else’s Heart provides an in-depth look at breaking down medical and social barriers and persevering in times of great difficulties and pain. An extremely rare diagnosis of lymphangectasia (enlarged lymph vessels) left 13 year old Kristy Thackeray feeling weak and extremely ill. After numerous tests, doctors learned that there was something else, something much more serious, going on with Kristy. She was told she also had the rare heart disease, restrictive cardiomyopathy. Kristy needed a new heart. Kristy Thackeray lives in Chestermere, AB with her husband, Wade, their two teenage girls, Shaylynn and McKayla, and their Alaskan malamute, Breaker. Kristy received her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Victoria, and currently works as a community resource coordinator for a non-for-profit organization in Calgary, AB.  A portion of the proceeds from this book will be used to start a foundation to help donor families. For more information please contact Kristy via Facebook, Twitter or by visting her website www.kristythackeray.com Readers can purchase Kristy's memoir at drug stores in Elk Point, AB; The Steaming Cup in Brooks, AB; The Friends of University Hospital, University of Alberta in  Edmonton AB; and online at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 8: Kristy Thackeray

Sally Meadows is a five-time national/international award-nominated author, singer/songwriter, and speaker who lives in Saskatoon. Sally travels all around Saskatchewan and beyond in support of her children’s picture book The Two Trees, raising autism awareness and giving school-age children the opportunity to learn about trees, dinosaurs, minerals, and more through fun hands-on activities. You can purchase this book at McNally Robinson, Turning the Tide, and My Whimsey Store, all in Saskatoon. It can also be ordered from major bookstore retailers including Chapters/Indigo/Coles, Amazon, and at sallymeadows.com. If you'd like Sally to read at your school, local library, or other non-profit, please contact Sally at sally@sallymeadows.com. Funding is available for such readings through the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 7: Sally Meadows

If you're a fan of true crime or genealogy, this episode's book is for you. Entangled Roots, the Mystery of Peterborough’s  Headless Corpse, was published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing, Nov. 2014. It was reviewed in Canada’s History Magazine. From the 49th Shelf: The 1894 death of David Scollie in Peterborough, Ontario, has haunted both the town and the family of Hessie Gray, the sharp-tongued Irish woman accused of his murder. Hessie's descendant, Bev Lundahl, has searched a century's worth of historical documents looking for the truth. If David Scollie died in a house fire, as it seemed, why had his head disappeared? How did he meet his grotesque death? And what did three men of the Hiawatha Reserve know about the charred remains? Like the primal blasts of the searing winter storm, the repercussions of this event--the collision of two cultures--has reverberated down the decades. This flashpoint in her family history created shockwaves that propelled the author into unfamiliar territory to begin a journey into the heart of First Nations country and follow an obscure trail that would expose the bones of Canadian history. Bev has also had articles published in Transition magazine (CMHA), Canada’s History Magazine (formerly The Beaver), Folklore magazine, The Heritage Gazette of the Trent Valley, Lifestyles newspaper (Estevan SK.), and on  www.travelthruhistory.com web-site. Her book is presently on an optional review book list for an on-line Canadian history course taught at Trent University in Peterborough. ON. The book is available through Chapters, Amazon.  SK Books in Regina, Henders Drugs in Estevan SK. and some other independent book stores. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 6: Bev Lundahl

House of Mystery is a collection of fairy tale poems about mermaids, monsters, mothers, and more. It's available at Chapters in Regina, McNally Robinson in Saskatoon, and online at Amazon. It's also available as an e-book. Courtney Bates-Hardy is a poet and the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Book Awards. She holds a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of Regina. Her poems have appeared in a variety of literary magazines, including Room, Carousel, and On Spec. Her poems have been featured in Imaginarium 4: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing and long-listed for The Best Canadian Poetry 2015. In her spare time, she reads comic books and practices yoga. She lives in Regina with her husband and their cat, Jean Grey. House of Mystery is her debut collection. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 5: Courtney Bates-Hardy

Edna Alford's short story collections include A Sleep Full of Dreams and The Garden of Eloise Loon. She is a recipient of the Marian Engel Award and the Gerald Lampert Award. As an editor she co-founded the magazine Dandelion and edited fiction for Grain. Edna has co-edited several anthologies, including Meltwater, Rip-rap, and Intersections, published by the Banff Centre.  She also edited Gloria Sawai's A Song for Nettie Johnson, which won the Governor General's Award for Fiction,along with short story collections by Bonnie Burnard, Fred Stenson and many others. Alford also served as associate director of the Banff Centre's Writing Studio for over a decade. During that time, she mentored several award-winning writers, including Yann Martel and Lisa Moore.[10] She also sat on Coteau Books' editorial board along with several literary juries. In this episode, Edna reads The Lineman, from her second collection, The Garden of Eloise Loon. Readers can find her books at www.abebooks.com or at their local libraries. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.    

Episode 4: Edna Alford

Reading West features Canadian writers talking about their books...specifically writers who live in Western Canada.  Episode Three features an interview with Vermilion author and photographer Billi Miller and a reading from Edmonton author Theresa Shea. Billi Miller's book, Farmwives in Profile, began as an observation and conversation. Soon profiling farm women became a passion project. The book details heartfelt Q & As about each woman's life as a farm wife, photos, and recipes. Some families have also paid tribute to their mothers by including a written piece detailing the impact she had on their lives. For more info, or to purchase the book, visit http://www.farmwivesbook.com The Unfinished Child is Theresa Shea's first novel. It was a finalist for the Alberta Book Awards (fiction) and for theh Alberta Readers' Choice Award. A book club favourite, the novel has sold over 10,000 copies. Theresa is currently finishing a novel that is set in the United States and deals with race relations leading up to and including the civil rights movement. The mother of three great teenagers, she lives and writers in Edmonton. Readers can purchase Theresa's book from Audreys Books in Edmonton, through other independent bookstores, Amazon, or from the publisher (Brindle and Glass). It's also available as an e-book. This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/ Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.

Episode 3: Billi J Miller and Theresa Shea

Reading West features Canadian writers talking about their books...specifically writers who live in Western Canada.  On November 21, Lisa dropped in on the Vertigo Reading Series in Regina, Sask. Vertigo features writers and musicians performing for an artist. The series is produced and hosted by Tara Dawn Solheim. This episode features Walter Hildebrandt reading from his poetry collection Documentaries, published by NeWest Press. Charles Noble also reads from his latest collection, Mack the Naïf, published by Ekstasis Editions. Kate Sutherland takes a look at wildlife-human interactions in How to Draw a Rhinoceros (BookThug, 2016). And finally we had original music by Myla. Check out her music on Soundcloud. Theme music is Flax Flower Blue by Best Kept Secret Girlfriend.  This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West is open to featuring published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature, but writers working in other genres are welcome to inquire. For more information on submitting, visit lisaguenther.com/reading-west-podcast/  You can also check out the show on Facebook at www.facebook.com/readingwest/

Episode 2: Vertigo

This podcast features Western Canadian authors reading from their novels, short fiction, poetry, memoirs, or non-fiction. It is created and hosted by Saskatchewan novelist Lisa Guenther. Reading West features published authors from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. For the most part, the podcast focuses on literature (contemporary CanLit), but writers working in other genres are welcome.