The Artsy Raven Podcast about Writing and Art with host JF Garrard

Jon Chiang reflects on how he found his voice as a documentarian, the experience of bringing SPRING AFTER SPRING to life, why having a side job can be essential for emerging filmmakers.

Jon Chiang of Chifa Studios is an award-winning Chinese-Peruvian filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. Growing up straddling multiple identities, his upbringing has shaped his approach to his films. He’s worked with broadcasters including CBC, Knowledge Network and TELUS originalsand his films have screened at many film festivals including Whistler Film Festival, Vancouver Asian Film Festival and Reel Asian to name a few.

SPRING AFTER SPRING follows three Chinese Canadian sisters who all defied their mother’s wishes and became accomplished dancers. After their mother’s death, they reunite to lead Vancouver’s Chinatown Parade, forcedto choose between honouring their past or letting it go. SPRING AFTER SPRING recently had a successful world premiere at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival in November 2025 where it won the award for Best Canadian Feature.

Film information:
SPRING AFTER SPRING will have a screening and Q&A panelon Feb. 1st, 2026 at the Chinatown Storytelling Centre in Vancouver.
Then it will have a theatrical run at the VIFF Centre on Feb. 6th, 8th, 9th, 15th and 17th. It will launch on the Knowledge Network for viewers across the country on February 17th.
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/spring-after-spring-community-film-screening-tickets-1979911102405
https://viff.org/whats-on/spring-after-spring/
https://www.knowledge.ca/program/spring-after-spring

Artsy Raven links:
For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join our exclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/

If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard

Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

Gemma Amor dives into how she transformed her short fiction into compelling podcast productions, why feminist body horror can be used to tackle thorny issues, and how writing from a place of joy strengthens connections with readers.

Gemma Amor is a Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated horror author, editor, illustrator, and podcaster based in Bristol, UK. She was named one of Esquire's Writers Shaping Horror's Next Golden Age, and recently featured in Ellen Datlow's prestigious Best Horror of the Year anthology, Vol. 15.
Gemma loves to write about misunderstood monsters, both human and supernatural, as well as feminist horror. 

In this episode, Gemma reads from Itch!
Website link: https://gemmaamorauthor.com/
Podcast link featuring Gemma’s stories: https://www.thenosleeppodcast.com/

Artsy Raven links:
For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join our exclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/

If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard

Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonuscontent for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

Hadil Ghoneim discusses writing in two languages, theimportance of keeping folktales alive, and how an online community supported the creation of her latest folktale book.

Hadil Ghoneim writes in Arabic and English. She has written many fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. Her book The Nights of Shaharzizi won the International award for Arabic Children's Literature, and Sisters Hana and Shefa was a finalist for best picture book for the same award. Her nonfiction essays for adult readers have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Arab LitQuarterly, and other publications. When not writing (or playing tennis), Hadil is engaged in community projects revolving around culture, dialogue and storytelling. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

At time 21:14 she reads from Arabic Folktales for Children: Timeless Stories to Share in English and Arabic.

Book link: https://www.tuttlepublishing.com/middle-east/arabic-folktales-for-children-9780804858076

Author website: https://hadilghoneim.com/

Artsy Raven links:
For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join our exclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/

If you really like this show, please feel free tosend us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard

Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonuscontent for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

Rachel Howzell Hall discusses how she navigates writing boththrillers and romantasies, the challenges of worldbuilding, and why she chooses to publish all her work under her own name rather than a pen name.

Rachel Howzell Hall is the critically acclaimed author of the Amazon Charts bestseller We Lie Here, These Toxic Things (nominated for the Anthony, Strand, and International Thriller Award), as well as And Now She’s Gone (nominated for theLos Angeles Times Book Prize). Rachel is a former member of the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America and was a featured writer on NPR’s acclaimed “Crime in the City” series and the National Endowment for the Arts weekly podcast. Rachel lives in Los Angeles with her husband anddaughter.

In this episode, she reads from The Cruel Dawn.

Author website -  rachelhowzell.com

Artsy Raven links:
For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join ourexclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/

If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard

Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard

Bruce Allen discusses his journey into Japanese literaturetranslation, his experience working with Ishimure Michiko, and why Spring Castle is considered her magnum opus, emphasizing that successful translation requires patience to move beyond the surface and capture the spirit of the text.

About the Author
Ishimure Michiko (1927-2018) is regarded as one of Japan's most important modern writers. She published over 50 worksranging from novels, non-fiction, Noh drama and poetry to essays, memoirs and children's stories. She received numerous international and Japanese literary awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award from the Philippines (1973) and the Asahi Prize for literature in Japan (2001). Her best-known work, Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow; Our Minamata Disease (1969), was reprinted over 30 times in Japan and has been translated into English and several otherlanguages. This work, along with several other books focusing on the Minamata Disease incident, led to her being known as the "mother of the Japanese environmental movement" and the "Rachel Carson of Japan."

About the Translator
Bruce Allen is retired Professor of translation and global environmental literature at Seisen University in Tokyo. Histranslations include Ishimure Michiko 's novel Lake of Heaven, Japanese Tales of Fantasy and Folklore, and Toward the Paradise of Flowers, a documentary film on Ishimure. He is editor of Ishimure Michiko's Writing in Ecological Perspective: Between Sea and Sky. His translation of several chapters of Spring Castle was recognized by the Kyoko Iriye Selden Memorial Translation Prize of Cornell University.

Book link: https://www.tuttlepublishing.com/japan/spring-castle-9784805319659

Artsy Raven links:
For more about The Artsy Raven Podcast or to join our exclusive Artsy Raven club to receive free books and other cool stuff, visit: https://artsyraven.com/

If you really like this show, please feel free to send us a digital tip https://ko-fi.com/jfgarrard

Patreon subscribers remember to access your bonus content for each episode: https://www.patreon.com/jfgarrard