Season Two, Episode 9: Richard Van Camp

I’ve been so looking forward to sharing my conversation with Richard Van Camp, whose childhood obsession with the works of Stephen King (and so many other iconic authors!) was a force behind BEAST, the 30th book of Richard’s 30 years in publishing. BEAST is the kind of book that his younger self would have wanted to read, although I think readers of all ages will appreciate this story blending horror, Indigenous tradition, teenage yearning, friendship, adventure, and a kickass ‘80s soundtrack.

Pickle Me This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

With his characteristic exuberance, Richard talks to me about how he used to have ration his Stephen King reading back when he was a teenager, about how King’s IT was the book that spoke to his soul, and about how he’s learned from King’s novels how to up the stakes for his characters (and their readers). He also tells me how the foundation of BEAST is an actual peace treaty between the Tłįchǫ and the Chipewyan peoples, and how he hopes this novel inspires readers to consider the peace that needs upholding in their own worlds and their responsibilities toward that.

Returning to his favourite setting of Fort Simmer, Northwest Territories, Richard Van Camp brings his exuberant style to a captivating teen novel that blends the supernatural with 1980s-era nostalgia to reflect on friendship, tradition and forgiveness.

For as long as Lawson can remember, his life in a small Northwest Territories town has revolved around “the Treaty” between the Dogrib and the Chipewyan, set down centuries ago to prevent the return of bloody warfare between the two peoples.

On the Dogrib side, Lawson and his family have done their best to keep the pact alive with the neighbouring Cranes, a family with ancestral ties to a revered Chipewyan war chief. But even as Lawson and his father dutifully tidy the Cranes’ property as an act of respect, their counterparts offer little more than scowls and derision in return, despite the fact that both families are responsible for protecting the treaty.

Worse still, it seems that one of the Cranes’ boys is doing all he can to revive the old conflict: Silver, fresh out of jail, has placed himself in the service of a cruel, ghoulish spirit bent on destroying the peace. Now it's up to Isaiah Valentine, a Cree Grass Dancer, Shari Burns, a Metis psychic, and Lawson Sauron, a Dogrib Yabati—or protector—to face what Silver Cranes has called back.

This latest feat of storytelling magic by celebrated author Richard Van Camp blends sharply observed realism and hair-raising horror as it plays out against a 1980s-era backdrop replete with Platinum Blonde songs and episodes of Degrassi Junior High. Unfolding in the fictional town of Fort Simmer—the setting of previous Van Camp stories—Beast delivers a gripping, spirited tale that pits the powers of tradition against the pull of a vengeful past.

Born in Fort Smith, NWT, bestselling author Richard Van Camp is a member of the Dogrib (Tłįchǫ) Dene Nation. A graduate of the En’owkin Centre’s writing program in Penticton, BC, he completed his BFA in writing at the University of Victoria and received an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. His work has won many awards and honours, among them the Blue Metropolis First Peoples Literary Prize and the title of Storyteller of the Year from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kerryreads.substack.com/subscribe