Watershed Writers w/ Tanis MacDonald
A podcast dedicated to interviewing local writers practicing their art and craft in the Grand River region. You can listen to the show every Saturday morning at 10am on Midtown Radio KW. Supported by the Waterloo Region Arts Fund.
- Update frequency
- every 9 days
- Average duration
- 56 minutes
- Episodes
- 31
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2024
WLU Writer in Residence NASSER HUSSAIN on his work's playfully seriousness
Join host Tanis MacDonald this week on Watershed Writers when she talks to Nasser Hussain — Wilfrid Laurier University's 2024 Edna Staebler Writer in Residence — about the PLAYFUL SERIOUSNESS which i…
Kitchener poet CHRIS BANKS on the speed of life and humour as an author's tool
Tanis MacDonald is joined by the celebrated and prolific Kitchener poet Chris Banks to discuss the speed of life in the 21st Century, writing metaphors for anxiety, and using humour to cast light on …
Hamilton writer ANUJA VARGHESE on her Governor General's Award winning collection "Chrysalis"
Host Tanis MacDonald brings us Anuja Varghese, winner of this year’s Governor General’s Award for Fiction to discuss her genre-bending use of gothic elements in the familiar settings of her horror-ad…
Waterloo writer CARRIE SNYDER on real-life fiction
Tanis MacDonald spends an hour talking with author and mentor Carrie Snyder on her career writing through real-life FRICTION — and how her writing is informed by her busy life in the Grand River comm…
Paris, Ontario author ALISON FISHBURN on purity culture and fellowship
Tanis MacDonald sits down with Alison Fishburn to talk about purity culture, writing about class and finding fellowship as an author, and her award-winning performance in her one-woman play… Church B…
UW prof and author SARAH TOLMIE on medieval lit and writing novellas
Tanis MacDonald hosts Sarah Tolmie to laugh about medieval literature, learn about Sarah’s astonishing novella-writing process, and to discover the meaning of… WEIRD FICTION!
Waterloo author CAROL DUNCAN on writing the historical fantastic
Carol Duncan talks to us about writing short stories inflected with Caribbean history and culture, and about her research roots when writing the historical fantastic. Her collection of short stories,…
TO & FRO: Season 4 Sneak Peek and Retrospective
We kick off our fourth season with the ‘To and Fro’ episode. We’ll take a look back at writers we’ve interviewed, a sneak peek at who we’ll be talking to this fall, and discover what local authors ar…
JESSICA VITALIS on writing big issues for young people and her forthcoming book "The Coyote Queen"
Tanis speaks with novelist Jessica Vitalis about her work for middle-grade readers treating big issues like life, death, empathy, and social justice in The Rabbit’s Gift and her forthcoming Coyote Qu…
DAVID WALTNER TOEWS on backyard birds and his book "A Conspriacy of Chickens"
This week on Watershed Writers, we talk with writer and epidemiologist David Waltner-Toews about the fun and frustrations of raising backyard birds, and his new book, A Conspiracy of Chickens.
Historian and author PEGGY PLET on weaving black stories into local and global history
This week, Tanis learns from Waterloo Region author and historian Peggy Plet about her work weaving the stories of Black settlers back into the fabric of both local and global history, and her new bo…
CLARENCE CACHAGEE and SETH RATZLAFF talk "North Wind Man", finding their voice, and local allyship
In this episode of Watershed Writers, Tanis talks with co-authors Clarence Cachagee and Seth Ratzlaff about finding a voice, reconnecting with one's culture, and allyship between Indigenous and non-I…
Music journalist CORAL ANDREWS on her new memoir about legendary Kitchener club "The Back Door"
In this episode, Tanis MacDonald talks with local dj and music journalist, Coral Andrews about her memoir about The Back Door — Kitchener’s legendary underground bar and dance club — and its role in …
LAURIE D. GRAHAM discusses the poetry of place and displacement
Join Tanis and her guest Laurie D. Graham as they discuss Laurie's latest work, 'Fast Commute' and her approach to the poetry of place and displacement with respect and compassion.
DONNA MORRISSEY on how fiction informs memoir
Tanis MacDonald's guest is celebrated Canadian novelist Donna Morrissey, discussing her tenure as this year's Writer In Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University. Find out how 'fiction informs memoir' …
Kitchener's BENJAMIN LEFEBVRE discusses coming out subversions in his novel "In the Key of Dale"
KIMIA ESLAH on writing fiction to serve social justice and her novel "Sister Seen, Sister Heard"
Local poet and novelist PAMELA MORDECAI on writing fiction and the power of vernacular
This episode features Jamaican-Canadian poet, novelist, and children's writer Pamela Mordecai talking with Tanis MacDonald about her long career in writing, and about being bold and irreverent on the…
Kitchener author PAMELA MULLOY discusses her book "As Little As Nothing", why she writes about war, and her new non-fiction project
