The broadcaster and author Gregor Craigie discusses his novel Radio Jetlag (Cormorant Books, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

Radio Jetlag by Gregor Craigie (Cormorant Books, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Radio Jetlag

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Gregor Craigie joins me again. The acclaimed broadcaster and author recently published a new novel, Radio Jetlag. The book’s central character, Stephen Millburn has moved from Ottawa to take up the early-morning duties at a Victoria, BC talk radio station. The early, early morning hours are tough, and Stephen also has parental duties. The book provides marvelous insight into the life of a morning radio personality, who’s got to balance journalism with attracting an audience. There are clashes with Mr. Caulfeild, the station’s owner, and the attendant challenges of living in an increasingly unaffordable city in Canada. I’ll ask Mr. Craigie about his own work and what he might have gleaned from his job as a morning radio host on the public broadcaster, as well as the unique sort of people that work all sorts of jobs in the morning, whether it’s at a radio station, or the guy at the Tim Horton’s working overnight. The story of homelessness is something that Gregor has covered in Victoria, and an encampment on the lawn of Victoria’s courthouse is something that’s pivotal to the story in Radio Jetlag. It’s a fun book, and also well-plotted. Mr. Craigie’s ability to communicate was already evident in his great broadcasting work, and that he’s managed to deploy those skills in a novel, is evidence of his prodigious talent. Gregor Craigie is the host of CBC Radio One’s On the Island in Victoria. He first appeared on the podcast in 2021 when On Borrowed Time, an important book on earthquakes, was published. It went on to be nominated for the Writers’ Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy. This new book is published by Cormorant Books. We taped this interview in mid-August. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Gregor Craigie; Mr. Craigie, good morning.

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