arts
Hosted by Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj · arts · EN
From Rakuten Kobo, the digital bookseller and maker of eReaders beloved by readers around the world, Kobo in Conversation brings you in-depth conversations with authors about how and why they write, the books and authors they admire, and so much more. Plus, occasional takes on what's going on in the business of books. And year-end roundups of reading recommendations from the Kobo staff.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
36%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchFrom Rakuten Kobo, the digital bookseller and maker of eReaders beloved by readers around the world, Kobo in Conversation brings you in-depth conversations with authors about how and why they write, the books and authors they admire, and so much more. Plus, occasional takes on what's going on in the business of books.
Kobo in Conversation is hosted by Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj. The show has published 190 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Carol Off on why Canada is a good idea" (21 October 2026, 43 minutes), "How Marc Bendavid found permission to write his award-winning novel" (14 October 2026, 49 minutes), and "Audrey Niffenegger on the Kobo Writing Life podcast" (7 October 2026, 36 minutes).
Kobo in Conversation publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 43 minutes across 190 episodes.
Booking probability for Kobo in Conversation is 36%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Kobo in Conversation requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Kobo in Conversation's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Kobo in Conversation are News, Magazine & Book Publishing. Kobo in Conversation has an arts audience.
Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj hosts Kobo in Conversation, an arts podcast with 190 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #28
Nathan Maharaj spoke with journalist Carol Off. She was the long-running cohost of CBC Radio's award-winning program, As it Happens . She is also the author of The Lion, The Fox, and the Eagle , The Ghosts of Medak...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with Marc Bendavid, winner of the 2026 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Literary Fiction for his novel The Sapling . It's a love story, but unlike any love story you've ever read. Klara Bloem is an...
This bonus episode comes courtesy of our friends at the Kobo Writing Life Podcast. Co-hosts Vanessa Salemi and Laura Granger interviewed Audrey Niffenegger , author of The Time Traveler's Wife and the long-awaited...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with Jamaluddin Aram, 2024 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize-winner and author of the novel Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday about his new collection of essays called The Blood of Things: A...
Episode #24
Producer and Kobo in Conversation co-host Nathan Maharaj enlisted the help of Kobo's Deandra Lalonde to guide readers through this overwhelming fall 2026 season of new books. Here are all the books Deandra and Nathan...
Episode #23
Michael Tamblyn spoke with TJ Klune, author of The House in the Cerulean Sea , Under the Whispering Door , and the Extraordinaries YA series, to name just a few of his many books. TJ's latest book is We Burned So Bright...
Michael Tamblyn spoke with novelist Shari Lapena. Since her 2016 novel The Couple Next Door , she's been known as one of the masters of domestic noir. In her newest book Getting Away With Murder , her 10th suspense...
Episode #21
Nadia Odunayo didn't set out to create the leading competitor to social reading app GoodReads. But somewhere along the way while building her website & app The StoryGraph she discovered that for a lot of folks that's...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with Anita Rau Badami, author of novels including the Commonwealth Prize winning The Hero's Walk . Her new book is Asha in Her Garden . It's the story of a woman named Asha, who lives now in...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with musician and novelist David Baerwald, author of The Fire Agent . It's a story spanning the world wars of the 20th century viewed through the eyes of Ernst Baerwald, a bright and idealistic...
In the spirit of "Christmas in July," we're presenting a special live episode of Kobo in Conversation from the Toronto International Festival of Authors' inaugural Ever After, the romance book festival. This was...
Michael Tamblyn spoke with Patrick Radden Keefe, who has been writing for the New Yorker since 2006 and is the author of nonfiction bestsellers including Empire of Pain and Say Nothing . His latest book is London...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with the novelist and journalist Jowita Bydlowska about her new book Unshaming: A Memoir of Recovery, Relapse, and What Comes After . It's a frank, unflinching recounting of the years following the...
Episode #15
For this special bonus episode of Kobo in Conversation , producer and co-host Nathan Maharaj was joined by one of Kobo's booksellers (and frequent Staff Picks contributor), Deandra Lalonde. They sort through the...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with novelist Sharon Bala , author of the award-winning 2018 novel, The Boat People . Her new book is called Good Guys . It's about a nearly bankrupt international aid charity called Children of the...
This week we're bringing you a conversation Michael Tamblyn had in 2021 with Natalie Zina Walschots about her extremely fun novel called Hench . It's about a world where superheroes are out there saving the day in super...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of the 2021 book The Disordered Cosmos , a highly personal reflection on the human and inherently flawed practice of scientific inquiry and her career...
Episode #11
Hosts Michael Tamblyn and Nathan Maharaj dove deep on the controversy around the book Shy Girl, which was cancelled by its publisher who alleged it was largely AI-generated. Links on Shy Girl : The video from January...
Michael Tamblyn spoke with novelist Heather Marshall. She is a writer of historical fiction, including her 2022 debut bestselling novel Looking for Jane and 2024's with The Secret History of Audrey James . Heather...
Nathan Maharaj spoke with novelist Rainbow Rowell. She's the author of books including Eleanor & Park , Fangirl , as well as the novel Slow Dance , which she discussed on the show in 2024. Rainbow Rowell's new book is...
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