Eleanor Wachtel (born 1947 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

) is a Canadian writer and broadcaster. She was the host of the flagship literary show '' Writers & Company'' on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in October 2015. Her interviews for ''Writers & Company'' are in-depth portraits of literary figures which over the years have included

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

and

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

.CCL Profiles in Learning (22 July 2009
Eleanor Wachtel: Research on the Radio
. Canadian Council on Learning. Retrieved on: 2011-07-03.

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded several major literary prizes, including the 2 ...

, author of ''Remains of the Day'', has called Wachtel "one of the very finest interviewers of authors I've come across anywhere in the world."Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
About the host
''Writers and Company'', cbc.ca. Retrieved on: 2011-07-03. At the end of their conversation in 2013,

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...

told her, "You do it better than anyone I know."

Early life

Wachtel was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1947. Interested in books and reading from an early age, she was introduced by her Grade 8 teacher to the works of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English writer best known for her 1847 novel, ''Wuthering Heights''. She also co-authored a book of poetry with her sisters Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte and Anne Bront� ...

. She found high school intellectually stimulating, "surrounded by gifted classmates with diverse backgrounds". She studied English literature at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, where she worked for the student newspaper and was on the executive of the Undergraduate Literary Society. Following McGill, Wachtel enrolled ("partly by default", she says) in a master's in journalism at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. On graduation from the journalism program she accompanied her anthropologist husband to Kenya.

Career

After living in Kenya, and the United States, she moved in the mid-1970s to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, where she worked as a freelance writer and broadcaster. During this time, she was adjunct professor of

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

. In the fall of 1987, Wachtel became literary commentator on CBC Stereo's ''State of the Arts'' in Toronto. Her next assignment was as writer-broadcaster for ''The Arts Tonight'', reporter for ''The Arts Report''. She hosted ''The Arts Today'' from 1996 to 2007. Wachtel has been host of CBC Radio's ''Writers & Company'' since its inception in 1990. A selection of Wachtel's interviews called ''Writers & Company'' was published in 1993; ''More Writers & Company'' was published by Knopf Canada in the fall of 1996. In 2003, another selection of her interviews, titled ''Original Minds'', was brought out by HarperCollins. In 2016,

Biblioasis Biblioasis is a Canadian independent bookstore and publishing company, based in Windsor, Ontario.Carol Shields Carol Ann Shields (née Warner; June 2, 1935 – July 16, 2003) was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel ''The Stone Diaries'', which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as t ...

and Marjorie Anderson, and ''Lost Classics'' (2000), edited by

and others. In 2007, Wachtel published ''Random Illuminations: Conversations With Carol Shields''. Wachtel has co-edited two books: ''The Expo Story'' (1986), and ''Language in Her Eye'' (1990), and is the co-author of ''A Feminist Guide to the Canadian Constitution'' (1992). Since 2007, Wachtel has also hosted ''Wachtel on the Arts'' on ''

Ideas In philosophy and in common usage, an idea (from the Greek word: ἰδέα (idea), meaning 'a form, or a pattern') is the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophe ...

''. After 33 years hosting ''Writers & Company'', she announced her retirement in the spring of 2023. She subsequently served as the jury chair for the 2024

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

.Heloise Wood
"Wachtel, Diaz and Gunesekera named 2024 International Booker judges"
''The Bookseller'', 13 July 2023.

Awards and honours

In 2002, Wachtel won the Jack Award for the promotion of Canadian books and authors. In 2011, ''Writers & Company'' won a Silver Prize at the New York Festivals for World's Best Radio Programs. Wachtel has been awarded nine honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Literature from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

in Ottawa (2017), a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

in Montreal (2010), a Doctor of Letters from

in Montreal (2009), a Doctor of Laws, from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in Halifax (2007), and the

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(D.Litt.) from

, Burnaby, B.C. (2007);

Mount Saint Vincent University Mount Saint Vincent University, often referred to as the Mount, is a public, primarily undergraduate, university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was established in 1873. Mount Saint Vincent offers undergraduate Arts, Science, Edu ...

, Halifax (2002);

Emily Carr University of Art and Design The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art school, art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Van ...

, Vancouver (2001);

Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian ...

, Athabasca, Alberta (2000); St. Thomas University, Fredericton (1999). In 2004, Eleanor Wachtel was named to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, and in 2014 she was promoted from Member to Officer. In 2015, Wachtel was named to the Women's Executive Network's 100 Most Powerful Women list in the Arts & Communication field.

References

External links

Writers and Company site on CBC.caRecords of Eleanor Wachtel are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wachtel, Eleanor 1947 births Anglophone Quebec people Canadian feminists Canadian women radio hosts CBC Radio hosts Living people Officers of the Order of Canada Mass media people from Montreal Writers from Montreal