YA Write with Amy Mathers

The Canadian Children's Book Centre
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Every month, Amy Mathers talks to YA writers about their inspiration as a writer and their latest books.

  1. 12/01/2020

    2020 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award Finalists

    Amy sits down to talk with the 2020 finalists for the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award: L.D. Crichton (All Our Broken Pieces), Nafiza Azad (The Candle and the Flame), Natasha Deen (In the Key of Nira Ghani), Tom Ryan (Keep This to Yourself) and S.K. Ali (Love from A to Z).  Support the show

    1h 21m

  2. 10/03/2019

    2019 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award Nominees

    Amy sits down with all of the nominees of the 2019 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award: Kelley Armstrong (Aftermath), Catherine Lo (Easy Prey), Tanaz Bhathena (A Girl Like That), Michelle Barker (The House of One Thousand Eyes) and Janice Lynn Mather (Learning to Breathe).  *Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.  Support the show

    1h 1m

  3. 09/09/2019

    Fan Expos and Gaming with Anna Preimaza

    For the beginning of season two of YA Write, I am talking to Anna Preimaza, author of Kat and Meg Conquer the World and her latest, Fan the Fame. An expert on gaming and an avid YouTube fan, Preimaza discusses juggling two careers, creating her own fictional gaming world and writing for a teen audience with authenticity. Enjoy! *Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.  Support the show

    51 min

  4. 03/31/2019

    Murder and Mystery with Tom Ryan

    Caught up this week with Nova Scotian author Tom Ryan whose book, Keep This To Yourself, comes out in May. Ryan expands his range from contemporary teen fiction to mystery, reflecting the importance of equal representation of LGBTQ characters in all genres. Having lived in several parts of Canada, Ryan discusses when Canadian settings are important, and what he hopes to bring to a teen audience. Happy Reading! *Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.  Support the show

    43 min

  5. 02/01/2019

    Activism with Robin Stevenson

    Valentines Day is just around the corner so it seems appropriate that this month on YA Write I am talking to author and activist Robin Stevenson. A former social worker, Stevenson's empathy and care for those around her inspires both her writing and her social justice projects of which there are too many to count. Join us as Stevenson shares her activist roots and how they have informed her non-fiction books, Pride and My Body My Choice.  Happy Reading!  —Amy *Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children's Book Centre.  Support the show

    47 min

  6. 01/10/2019

    Explore writing with Sylvia McNicoll

    Going into my podcast with author Sylvia McNicoll, most recently known for Body Swap, I had ideas about what I wanted to ask her. Focusing on her last four YA/teen books alone, the themes of death, rebirth and second chances have fascinated me, especially since they keep reappearing and are obviously something Sylvia has wrestled with. Sometimes though, podcasts get away from me. While I did get to bring a bit of that out in my conversation with Sylvia, ultimately when she started to talk, all I wanted to do was listen. Her writing career has spanned decades and continents - experiencing first hand how our ideas of writing have changed over time. Sylvia knows how to engage her listener, and I could have continued our conversation for a lot longer. I say in the podcast that it was recorded for December, but we're releasing it in January because I have been dealing with health concerns. Hoping to bring you many new podcasts in 2019 - next month I have an excellent podcast recorded with author Robin Stevenson about the power of activism. Happy New Year and Happy Reading! *Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children's Book Centre. Support the show

    1h 9m

  7. 01/10/2019

    Visit the Past with Michelle Barker

    My guest this month for YA Write! is Michelle Barker, author of The House of One Thousand Eyes, a novel about life under the East German regime in Berlin after World War II. Listen as we explore the differences and commonalities of writing sci fi/fantasy and historical fiction, learn about the unimaginable tactics of the Stasi, and be inspired by Lena, a teen character who is thought to be simple minded but has more courage than most. I hope you will be as enthralled as I was. *Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Support the show

    49 min

  8. 01/10/2019

    Interview with the 2018 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award Nominees

    It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the Canadian Children’s Book Centre award nominees have been revealed, and the 2019 Forest of Reading lists will be close behind. I am happy to announce this year’s nominees for the Sylvan-sponsored Amy Mathers Teen Book Award are: The Agony of Bun O’Keefe by Heather Smith, Everything Beautiful is not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman, The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline, Munro vs. the Coyote by Darren Groth, and The Way Back Home by Allan Stratton! For the past few years, kidlit author, founder of Raising Readers, and Giller Prize marketing manager Michelle Kadarusman has been inviting me to Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists. It’s an evening filled with readings and powerful discussion about writing processes and ideas, as well as the creative muse. Every year it inspires me, and every year since the beginning I’ve thought how awesome it would be to have a similar discussion with my favourite people – teen authors. So this year, we did! I can still hardly believe it, but as I’ve learned since I started volunteering at the CCBC, the Canadian kidlit community is unfailingly generous. We coordinated five different schedules and three different time zones to get together in person, through Skype, Facetime and a long-distance phone line to include authors all the way from British Columbia to the United Kingdom. All to talk about teen books. It was like a dream – except it was real. I hope you enjoy the results – sadly, we lost Cherie Dimaline about halfway through and had to keep going without her – but a good time was had by all. Special thanks go to Emma Hunter and Robin Smith for their technical assistance with recording and sound editing – I could not have done it without them. While I am looking forward to finding out the winner at the TD Book Awards on October 29th, I am reminded of Allan Stratton’s insight during our podcast – that while awards pick out a few books to showcase, their main purpose is to highlight the category. The book nominees are exceptional this year and I highly recommend them, but are also just a small representation of the excellence 2017 had to offer in Canadian teen fiction. Until next month, Happy Reading! *Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Support the show

    1h 26m
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About

Every month, Amy Mathers talks to YA writers about their inspiration as a writer and their latest books.

Information

  • Creator
    The Canadian Children's Book Centre
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2020
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2020 YA Write with Amy Mathers
  • Show Website
    YA Write with Amy Mathers