In The Riveter, Jack Wang explores the untold stories of Asian Canadians during the Second World War. The novel follows Josiah Chang, a Chinese Canadian soldier navigating the horrors of war while facing discrimination at home. Jack joins Mattea Roach to talk about the historical context of the novel, the complexities of writing about war and the value of diverse perspectives.

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• V.V. Ganeshananthan: Exploring the complexity of Sri Lanka's civil war in her prize-winning novel, Brotherless Night
• Teresa Wong: Illustrating her family's past — in all its ordinary and epic moments

If you feel like your phone is tracking your every move, or that AI is getting a little too advanced for comfort… You’re not the only one. Helen Phillips’ latest dystopian thriller, Hum, is set in a near future where climate change has devastated life as we know it — and superintelligent robots have become an irreplaceable part of society. Helen talks to Mattea Roach about her complicated relationship with technology, parenting in the digital age and reclaiming our humanity through the little joys.

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• Jeff VanderMeer: How his blockbuster Southern Reach series reflects our own fight against climate change
• Nalo Hopkinson: How Caribbean folktales inspired her fantastical novel, Blackheart Man

In I Might Be in Trouble, a struggling writer wakes up to find last night’s date dead in his bed — and it only gets worse from there. The novel is YA writer Daniel Aleman’s first foray into adult fiction and it touches on themes of loneliness, the trials of modern dating and the lengths we go to find connection in a fragmented world.

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• Rumaan Alam: How would you spend a billion dollars?
• Pasha Malla: Parodying a wellness resort with horror and humour