ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Anthony Nerada. Anthony is the author of Skater Boy, which is a finalist for the 2025 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. On the episode, Anthony talks about how his own experiences as a teen inspired his main character Wes, he also talks the evolution of queer romance, and why we should all be reading queer romances. To find out more about Skater Boy: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/skater-boy/ To view the 2025 BC and Yukon Book Prizes shortlists: bcyukonbookprizes.com/2025/04/10/bc-…sts-announced/ ABOUT ANTHONY NERADA: Anthony Nerada became a writer after his fifth-grade teacher told him it was his destiny. Since then, he’s read too many books (if there is such a thing) and explored worlds far outside the reaches of his own. Anthony holds a BA in psychology and two diplomas (one in public relations, the other in publishing), which allow him to write the day away while simultaneously psychoanalyzing his friends. Anthony lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples. Skater Boy is his debut novel. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Interim Executive Director for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.