The CBC Literary Prizes are where Canadian writing stars are made… and this week, we’ll prove it to you. In the first season of Bookends, Mattea Roach spoke with some of the winners, finalists and jurors of the prizes. This week, we’re revisiting Mattea's conversations with Zilla Jones, Dorian McNamara, David Huebert, Zoe Whittall, and Rachel Robb. You can learn more about the prizes at cbcbooks.ca.

Hear the full conversations here:

• An opera singer gives voice to the Grenadian revolution
• Meet the winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize
• David Huebert: Exploring the complexity of our relationship with oil through fiction
• Zoe Whittall: Why heartbreak is a valid form of grief
• Rachel Robb: Exploring reconciliation and the natural world