Read The North
In Season 2, explore every genre on your bookshelf in this behind-the-scenes deep dive featuring interviews with authors, booksellers, and publishing insiders! Host Rebecca Diem examines what exactly genre is and how it is used to help readers find their perfect match, in bookstores and online. Season 2 guests include booktuber Ariel Bissett, literary agent Carly Watters, editor Anita Chong, authors Amy Stuart, Uzma Jalaluddin, Naben Ruthnum, Helen Knott, John Brady McDonald, and Amal El-Mohtar, and booksellers from Toronto’s favourite independent bookshops! Presented by The Word On The Street & Met Radio. Tune every other Wednesday this summer at 9:12AM and 5:02PM beginning July 5 - August 30th to listen to the Read The North live on Met Radio 1280AM or at metradio.ca. Celebrate the 36th anniversary of The Word On The Street with us September 27-28,2025 at David Pecaut Square. Details and more at: toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca
Episodes
Memoir, creative non-fiction, narrative non-fiction… What happens to genre when reality and storytelling are combined? Featuring author Helen Knott, executive editor Anita Chong of McClelland & Stewart, and multimedia artist John Brady McDonald.
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Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Production Assistance and Episode Art by Haley Richardson
Special thanks to our guests, Helen Knott, Anita Chong...
Today we find ourselves asking ‘What the SF-eff?’ as we explore the limitless imaginations of science fiction and fantasy writers.
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Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Production Assistance and Episode Art by Haley Richardson
Special thanks to our guests, Chris Szego of Bakka-Phoenix Books, Kerry C. Byrne of Augur Magazine and Tales & Feathers Magazine, and author Amal El-Mohtar
Presented by T...
Face your fears with host Rebecca Diem, and dive deep into the spine-tingling mystery, thriller, and horror genres.
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Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Production Assistance and Episode Art by Haley Richardson
Special thanks to our guests, Amy Stuart, Naben Ruthnum, and Chris Krawczyk of Little Ghosts
Presented by The Word On The Street & Met Radio 1280AM
Grab your favourite enemies-to-lovers, get cozy in only one bed, and get ready for a happily-ever-after: today’s episode is all about romance!
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Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Production Assistance and Episode Art by Haley Richardson
Special thanks to our guests, Jenny Pool, Carly Watters, and Uzma Jalaluddin
Presented by The Word On The Street & Met Radio 1280AM
Follow @torontoWOTS on Inst...
Welcome back for Season 2 of Read The North! In this episode, we explore CanLit as a genre (or not), and how genre plays a role in helping you find your next favourite book!
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Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Production Assistance and Episode Art by Haley Richardson
Special thanks to our guests, Ariel Bissett, Kyle Buckley, and Sophie Paas-Lang.
Presented by The Word On The Street & Met Radi...
Explore every genre on your bookshelf in this behind-the-scenes deep dive featuring interviews with authors, booksellers, and publishing insiders! Host Rebecca Diem examines what exactly genre is and how it is used to help readers find their perfect match, in bookstores and online. Season 2 guests include booktuber Ariel Bissett, literary agent Carly Watters, editor Anita Chong, authors Amy Stuart, Uzma Jalaluddin, Naben Ruthnam, H...
In the series finale, we return to the beating heart of the festival. Thank you to our community of book lovers and authors who make The Word On The Street such a special place to connect with each other.
Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Special thanks to Waubgeshig Rice, Jael Richardson, Jesse Wente, Maria Zuppardi, Peggy Nash, Jen Albert, and David P. Leonard.
Reading List:
Visit a few of Toronto's famed independent bookstores and sneak into the archives of the Merril Collection with us in this celebration of booksellers, librarians, and their communities.
Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Special thanks to Anjula Gogia, Cory Doctorow, Sephora Henderson, and John Degen. You can learn more about Judith Merril and The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Specul...
In this episode, we go behind-the-scenes of the publishing industry with Canada's world-class independent presses to see how a book is made and meet a few of the people who make them happen.
Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Special thanks to Alana Wilcox of Coach House Books, Jen Albert of ECW Press, Semerah Al-Hillal of House of Anansi/Groundwood Books, and Maria Zuppardi of Dundurn Press &...
To understand where CanLit, or Canadian Literature, came to be what it is today, we need to go back in time to when it was first imagined into being. In this episode we cover the 1951 Massey Report, the founding of the Writers’ Union and arts councils, and how we’re investing in the stories we tell about ourselves today.
Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Special thanks to our guests Nick Moun...
The Word On The Street’s annual festival in downtown Toronto has endured for more than 30 years. But with the onset of a global pandemic in 2020, the festival’s future was far from assured…
Hosted by Rebecca Diem
Produced by Quinton Bradshaw
Music by James Ellercamp
Special thanks to Carolyn Taylor, Ceta Ramkhalawansingh, Cory Doctorow, Jael Richardson, Anjula Gogia, and Nick Mount.
It's the behind-the-scenes look into the workings of Canada's literary industry you've always wanted, a deep dive into publishing, bookselling, and writing. Tune in to Read The North, a history of CanLit, as told by Toronto's favourite book festival!
Since 1990, The Word On The Street (a.k.a. "WOTS") has featured books by Canadian and Indigenous authors at a free, annual street fair created to promote literacy and celebrate the writ...
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