The Next Chapter with Antonio Michael Downing

Elsie Silver has become one of the most popular romance writers in the world. She's best known for her small town, slow burn romance novels, which exploded onto bestseller lists and sent production companies scrambling to be the first to adapt her work. Elsie’s new book, Fever Dream, is the first in a new series set in and around the fictional town of Emerald Lake, B.C. This week she talks about what sparked the flame of her rapidly rising career, and which books and series influenced her along the way.

Books discussed on this week's show include:
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Dancer by Shelley Peterson
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning
Fever Dream by Elsie Silver

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When Jennifer Chevalier isn’t digging up the latest political scoop on The House on CBC Radio, she’s unearthing untold stories of women in history. She has always been particularly interested in the women labeled as witches throughout history. In her debut novel, she writes about the women who came to New France from Normandy to be brides, with a hint of witchcraft. Plus, CBC Books associate producer Ailey Yamamoto talks about the intersection between video games and high art.

Books discussed on this week's show include:
The Winter Witch by Jennifer Chevalier
Of Floating Isles: On Growing Pains and Video Games by Kawika Guillermo

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The last Saturday of April is Independent Bookstore Day. This week Carmela Vedar, the owner of The Book Wardrobe, joins the show to talk about her store in Streetsville, Mississauga and how it came to be. Plus, scholar David Williams discusses the everlasting impact of the great Irish poet, Seamus Heaney.

Books discussed on this week's show include:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Wintering Out by Seamus Heaney

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Kim Echlin doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff. She's an author, translator and teacher who has written about political unrest and violence, and, in her reading life, is inspired by the writers who do the same. Her favourite writers bear witness to the world’s darkness and make meaning from these difficult stories. Kim’s latest book of essays pays tribute to her favourites, and it’s called Tell Others: Storytelling for a World in Turmoil. Plus, Toronto musician Lia Pappas-Kemps talks about her undying love for Zadie Smith.

Books discussed on this week's show include:
Tell Others: Storytelling for a World in Turmoil by Kim Echlin
Intimations by Zadie Smith

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Graham Wright is a musician who spent almost twenty years playing keyboards in the band Tokyo Police Club, and has also done solo projects. Even before he developed his love for music, he had a passion for books. He joins the show this week to recommend three of his recent reads, all of which riff on the idea of home or at least finding your place in a hard to pin down world. Plus, CBC Books producer Daphné Santos-Vieira on the CBC Poetry Prize, and recommends a poetry collection that hit home.

Books discussed on this week's show include:
Pay as You Go by David Eskor Johnson
How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang
Julius, Julius by Aurora Steward de Pena
Yield by Jaime Forsythe

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