Kobo in Conversation

Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Books
  • Updated Biweekly

From Rakuten Kobo, the digital bookseller and maker of eReaders beloved by readers around the world, Kobo in Conversation brings you in-depth conversations with authors about how and why they write, the books and authors they admire, and so much more. Plus, occasional takes on what's going on in the business of books. And year-end roundups of reading recommendations from the Kobo staff.

  1. May 27

    Natalie Zina Walschots on good bosses and bad guys [encore]

    This week we're bringing you a conversation Michael Tamblyn had in 2021 with Natalie Zina Walschots about her extremely fun novel called Hench. It's about a world where superheroes are out there saving the day in super ways, while villains, who are a lot like you and me, run organizations bent on taking over the world while also trying to keep scores up on Glassdoor. Natalie's just released a sequel to Hench, and it's called Villain.    [From 2021:] We learned about some of the fantastical worlds Natalie enjoyed exploring as a young reader "often for sheer escapism," as well as the writers she drew inspiration from while starting out as a writer herself, and as a lifelong student of supervillainy: Robert O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Z for Zachariah High fantasy including J. R. R. Tolkien, but also Shannara, Dragonlance, and "anything with a wizard holding an orb on the cover" or "a skeleton holding a sword" Christian Bök, Karen Solie, bp Nichol, and other writers "doing super weird things with language and the structural materiality of language..." Soon I Will Be Invincible "was the first book I read from the perspective of a supervillain." "Paradise Lost is really important to me ... the relationship between Satan the adversary to the world informs the way I write villains." Neil Gaiman's Sandman, where "a character who's a villain in one context becomes the protagonist in another." Vicious by V E Schwab Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and various writings of Catherynne M. Valente for their "messed up fairy tale feel."

    59 min

  2. May 13

    Why Chanda Prescod-Weinstein sees hope in cosmic curiosity

    Nathan Maharaj spoke with physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of the 2021 book The Disordered Cosmos, a highly personal reflection on the human and inherently flawed practice of scientific inquiry and her career as a Black Jewish scientist. Her new book is The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie. In it she explains to readers, what's really going on with quantum cats? what does a light-swallowing black hole actually look like? what can we learn about quantum theory from the Afrofuturist jazz musician Sun Ra? —and a whole lot more. Why Chanda Prescod-Weinstein sees hope in cosmic curiosity

    53 min

  3. May 6

    Booktalking - All about Shy Girl and whether AI in publishing is more like plutonium or salt

    Hosts Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj dove deep on the controversy around the book Shy Girl, which was cancelled by its publisher who alleged it was largely AI-generated. Links on Shy Girl: The video from January 2026 that seems to have led to Shy Girl's cancellation: i'm pretty sure this book is ai slop - YouTube Publishing news journalist Alexandra Alter on the controversy over the cancellation of Shy Girl: A.I. Is Writing Fiction. Publishers Are Unprepared. - The New York Times Publishing industry analyst Thad McIlroy on what NYT omitted from their piece: I Broke the Year's Biggest Literary Story. The New York Times Took the Credit | The Walrus Two very "inside baseball" overviews of what happened: The New Publishing Standard's deep dive on Shy Girl Publisher's Weekly industry analysis What might be the last extant page on any of Hachette's sites about the book: Shy Girl: Read the femgore revenge novel that EVERYONE is talking about! by Mia Ballard - Books - Hachette Australia Other links from this episode: Why AI detection is hard People who frequently use ChatGPT for writing tasks are accurate and robust detectors of AI-generated text - ACL Anthology (mistakenly attributed to MIT in the episode) Past episodes of this show that touched on the use of AI in book publishing: Michael bets on "AI Sally Rooney" (from October 2024) Anna Gomez enlisted AI for research assistance when writing a romance road trip (November 2024) Sean Michaels wrote a book about AI and art by using AI for parts of it (November 2023) More author interviews at kobo.com/conversation Find past Booktalking episodes here

    48 min

  4. Apr 29

    How Heather Marshall brings readers into places of the past

    Michael Tamblyn spoke with novelist Heather Marshall. She is a writer of historical fiction, including her 2022 debut bestselling novel Looking for Jane and 2024's with The Secret History of Audrey James. Heather Marshall's new book is Liberty Street. It's the story of a young journalist's quest to expose the cruelty and corruption of the Mercer Women's Prison from the inside, the women she meets there, and a police detective trying to uncover a secret 30 years later. How Heather Marshall brings readers into places of the past

    37 min

  5. Apr 15

    Why Rainbow Rowell's Cherry Baby had to be her sexiest book yet

    Nathan Maharaj spoke with novelist Rainbow Rowell. She's the author of books including Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, as well as the novel Slow Dance, which she discussed on the show in 2024. Rainbow Rowell's new book is the novel Cherry Baby. It's about a woman named Cherish, who everybody calls Cherry, at a moment in her life when her marriage seems to have ended and she's figuring out what comes next.  Why Rainbow Rowell's Cherry Baby had to be her sexiest book yet

    50 min

  6. Apr 1

    Tara Gereaux on finding the words for an unspoken identity

    Nathan Maharaj spoke with Tara Gereaux, author of the novel Saltus and the novella Size of a Fist. Her new book is called Wild People Quiet. Set in 1946, it's the story of Florence, or Mrs. Banks as she's known down at Pratt's Insurance, the company where she's worked diligently for years. While out for lunch with her colleagues one day, Florence encounters a man whose mere presence threatens to upend the life she's made for herself in the town of Torduvalle, Saskatchewan.  Tara Gereaux on finding the words for an unspoken identity

    34 min

  7. Mar 18

    How Eliana Ramage set her sights on the stars for her debut novel

    Michael Tamblyn spoke with Eliana Ramage, author of To the Moon and Back. It's a novel about Steph, a young Cherokee woman who from the earliest age is obsessed with space and space travel, dreaming about one day becoming a NASA astronaut.  How Eliana Ramage set her sights on the stars for her debut novel

    53 min

  8. Mar 4

    George Newman on getting good at bad ideas—so great ideas can happen

    Nathan spoke with George Newman, psychologist and associate professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. His new book is How Great Ideas Happen: The Hidden Steps Behind Breakthrough Success. It's a guide to generating ideas, hopefully great ideas, and learning about mental habits that often get in the way, and how creativity is a skill you can train and exercise.  George Newman on getting good at bad ideas—so great ideas can happen | Kobo Books Blog

    42 min
See All (175)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

From Rakuten Kobo, the digital bookseller and maker of eReaders beloved by readers around the world, Kobo in Conversation brings you in-depth conversations with authors about how and why they write, the books and authors they admire, and so much more. Plus, occasional takes on what's going on in the business of books. And year-end roundups of reading recommendations from the Kobo staff.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    175
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Kobo in Conversation

You Might Also Like