The Artsy Raven Podcast about Writing and Art with host JF Garrard

JF Garrard
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JF Garrard (writer, editor and publisher) has frank conversations with writers, editors, publishers, artists, actors, directors and other art professionals about what inspires them to create and what led to their success. Writers on the podcast will showcase their work by reading from their book. Main Artsy Raven website with access to 100+ episodes: https://artsyraven.com/ Artsy Raven merch: https://darkhelixpress.com/merchandise The Artsy Raven is on Feed Spot’s list of Top 60 Literature Podcasts & Top 10 Canadian Literature Podcasts on the web.

  1. Ep127 Dark Thrills from Toxic Relationships with Jennifer van der Kleut

    1D AGO

    Ep127 Dark Thrills from Toxic Relationships with Jennifer van der Kleut

    Jennifer van der Kleut  discusses her background as a features journalist, the inspiration behind the toxic female relationships at the heart of The Better Mother, and how seeking professional guidance helped fast-track her journey to becoming a published author. Jennifer van der Kleut (née McBride) is an award-winning former journalist of both print and digital publications,including the DC affiliate of ABC7 News. A graduate of San Jose State University, she spent most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC, where she currently lives with her husband and two sons. For nearly a decade, she was the lead singer of theBay Area-based band Sweet Duration, and performed with artists like Jason Mraz, Big Country, Chantal Kreviazuk, and Stabbing Westward. When she’s not writing, she loves going to the beach with her family, going to concerts with hergirlfriends, and getting lost in the pages of a book.  In this episode, Jennifer reads from The Better Mother. Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Mother-Jennifer-van-Kleut/dp/B0F88ZNHDR/ Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonuscontent for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    37 min
  2. Ep126 Frontline Women Facing Climate Crisis with Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper

    FEB 13

    Ep126 Frontline Women Facing Climate Crisis with Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper

    Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper share the inspiration behindtheir latest documentary, EMERGENCE: WOMEN IN THE STORM, reflect on the challenges of filming in the midst of climate crisis, and explain why building deep trust with their subjects is essential to their storytelling. The documentary feature EMERGENCE: WOMEN IN THE STORM from award-winning directors Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper (Metamorphosis, Incandescence) is having a highly anticipated world premiere at the Victoria Film Festival on February 11th, 2026 at the Roxy Theatre and then havea Vancouver theatrical premiere at the VIFF Centre on February 25th. This unforgettable film follows female frontline responders,community leaders and disaster survivors as they demonstrate new ways to live and support one another in a time of climate disaster, facing heat domes, wildfire, and flooding in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Their perspectives reflect a survival instinct triggered by harrowing encounters with nature’s power. EMERGENCE: WOMEN IN THE STORM was filmed in Yarrow, Lytton, Boston Bar/Spuzzum, Chilliwack, Abbottsford, Princeton, Osoyoos, Vancouver, New Westminster in British Columbia, and in Yellowknife, North West Territories.  In this episode, we will be speaking to directors Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper. Links: https://www.victoriafilmfestival.com/product/emergence-women-in-the-storm/ https://viff.org/whats-on/emergence-women-in-the-storm/   Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    23 min
  3. Ep125 From Fringe Stage to Fiction with Roxy Dunn

    FEB 13

    Ep125 From Fringe Stage to Fiction with Roxy Dunn

    Roxy shares how performing in the Edinburgh Fringe Festivalsparked her journey into scriptwriting and novel writing, discusses the non-judgmental approach to relationships at the heart of Wants and Needs, and explains why perseverance is essential for every writer. Roxy Dunn’s debut novel, As Young As This, was a Best Book of 2024 in the Independent, Harper’s Bazaar, Stylist, Cosmopolitan and Sunday Times Style. She is also a screenwriter and alumna of the BBC Comedy Room.Her scripts have been optioned by several production companies, and her pilot Useless Millennials was commissioned and broadcasted on BBC Radio 4. Wants and Needs is her second novel. In this episode, Roxy reads from Wants and Needs.  Author links: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/799790/wants-and-needs-by-roxy-dunn/9781039014305 https://www.roxydunn.com/ https://www.instagram.com/roxy.dunn/ https://x.com/roxanadunn Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    26 min
  4. Ep119B Journey from Accounts to Stage with Diana Tso

    FEB 6

    Ep119B Journey from Accounts to Stage with Diana Tso

    Diana Tso shares her journey from working in AccountsReceivable to becoming a storyteller, theatre artist, playwright, and artist in education, discusses why sharing stories about her culture and women matters, and reflects on the importance of finding joy in her work. NOTE: This episode is in North American Cantonese (ie Cantonese with English in between the Chinese words)! Diana Tso is a storyteller, theatre artist, playwright andartist in education. She’s a graduate of the University of Toronto in English Literature & of Ecole Internationale de Théâtre de Jacques Lecoq in France. She's performed internationally for over 25 years. As a playwright her storiesbring to light the resilience of women in war and re-imagine mythology from the female perspective. Her plays Red Snow, Comfort, Spring Moon, and Monkey Queen are available at the Canadian Play Outlet. Details about the English-language world premiere of PuSongling: Strange Tales at https://www.crowstheatre.com/ https://www.crowstheatre.com/shows-events/pu-songling-strange-tales Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    36 min
  5. Ep124 Exploring Magical Realism with Harper Ross

    FEB 6

    Ep124 Exploring Magical Realism with Harper Ross

    Harper Ross discusses magical realism, finding magic in theordinary, and learning the art of patience in writing. HARPER ROSS has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with the dramatic story worlds in books and movies. After leaving herlegal practice to raise her kids, she discovered her own creative side and began writing novels that explore friendship, family, and forgiveness. Because she also appreciates the magic in everyday life—from the spark of attraction to those serendipitous moments we all experience—you’ll find a dash of that in her work too. When she’s not at the keyboard, she’s likely to be singing badly in her car, dancing in her kitchen, or walking her adorable dog, Mo. She’s also a lucky wife and mother to a very patient and supportive family. Website: https://harperrossbooks.com/ Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Unwritten-Rules-Magic-Harper-Ross/dp/1250394554/ In this episode, Harper reads from The Unwritten Rules ofMagic. Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    31 min
  6. Ep123 From Television to City Spies with James Ponti

    FEB 6

    Ep123 From Television to City Spies with James Ponti

    James Ponti shares how his career in television led him towriting multiple bestselling middle grade series of books, the real-life inspirations behind the City Spies books, and why writing for yourself matters most. James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author offour middle grade book series: The Sherlock Society following a group of young detectives; City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different stateaward lists, and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. His new book, Europa, goes on sale February 10, 2026 from Aladdin. In this episode, James reads from Europa. Author website: https://www.jamesponti.com/ Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    40 min
  7. Ep122 Exploring the Concept of Crisis with James Cairns

    FEB 1

    Ep122 Exploring the Concept of Crisis with James Cairns

    James Cairns explores how crisis shapes our world, why hechose to write about it beyond academic constraints, and the creative risk of starting to write before feeling fully ready. James Cairns lives with his family in Paris, Ontario, onterritory that the Haldimand HAULD a min Treaty of 1784 recognizes as belonging to the Six Nations of the Grand River in perpetuity. He is a professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies, Law and Social Justice at Wilfrid LaurierUniversity, where his courses and research focus on political theory and social movements. James is a staff writer at the Hamilton Review of Books,and the community relations director for the Paris-based Riverside Reading Series. James has published three books with the University of Toronto Press, most recently, The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope (2017), as well as numerous essays in many periodicals. In this episode, James reads from In Crisis, On Crisis:Essays in Troubled Times. Book webpage: https://bookstore.wolsakandwynn.ca/products/in-crisis-on-crisis Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    42 min
  8. Ep121 Myths That Ignite Stories and Worlds with Tracy Wolff

    FEB 1

    Ep121 Myths That Ignite Stories and Worlds with Tracy Wolff

    Tracy Wolff shares how working with middle-grade students who hated reading inspired her to start writing, explains her process for choosing a myth for each new book, and talks about the joy she finds in worldbuilding. Tracy Wolff is the #1 New York Times, #1 internationally, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Crave series as well as many other novels. A lover of mythology, vampires, and getting lost in a great book, she’s spent her whole life asking “what if” and “what happens next”—questions being a writer has helped her answer again and again. At six, she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow, a unicorn, and a shapeshifting prince—and atseven, she forayed into the wonderful world of middle grade literature with her first Judy Blume novel. A one-time English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing fun, action-packed, romantic stories with fantastical worlds and characters who leap off the page. She has written all her seventy-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her partner, her sons, and their three adorable dogs. In this episode, Tracy reads from The Aftermyth. Author website: https://tracywolffauthor.com/ Artsy Raven links: For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join our exclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/ If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonuscontent for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

    26 min
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About

JF Garrard (writer, editor and publisher) has frank conversations with writers, editors, publishers, artists, actors, directors and other art professionals about what inspires them to create and what led to their success. Writers on the podcast will showcase their work by reading from their book. Main Artsy Raven website with access to 100+ episodes: https://artsyraven.com/ Artsy Raven merch: https://darkhelixpress.com/merchandise The Artsy Raven is on Feed Spot’s list of Top 60 Literature Podcasts & Top 10 Canadian Literature Podcasts on the web.

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