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Brent van Staalduinen Rejected Central Podcast

I am the award-winning and bestselling author of the novels UNTHINKABLE, NOTHING BUT LIFE, BOY, and SAINTS, UNEXPECTED, as well as the story collection CUT ROAD. My stories appear in literary journals on both sides of the Atlantic, and have won the Bristol Short Story Prize, The Fiddlehead Best Fiction Award, the Lush Triumphant Literary Award, and numerous other accolades. A recovering army medic, tree planter, radio announcer, and high school English teacher, I now spend my time podcasting, writing, teaching, and figuring out what it means to be a Family man.

Recent Content

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Rc Mini: Raffling The Last Rc Mug To Benefit Mental Health &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
RC Mini: Raffling THE LAST RC Mug to benefit Mental Health

As a final thank you to the incredible #mentalhealth professionals saving lives (including Dave's) and making our communities better, to benefit COAST (Crisis Outreach And Support Team), we're rafflin…

As a final thank you…

As a final thank you to the incredible #mentalhealth professionals saving lives (including Dave's) and making our communities better, to benefit COAST (Crisis Outreach And Support Team), we're raffling off THE VERY LAST of our (awesome) limited-edition Rejected Central mugs! Full details here: https://www.rejectedcentral.com/ Rejected Central has been a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Thanks for listening!   Rejected Central Links: Podcast Official Website Brent's Author Website Dave's LinkedIn RC on Instagram …

Listen · 4:29
The Only Way Is The Rejected Way: Andrew Forbes | Episode 65 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
The Only Way is the Rejected Way: Andrew Forbes | Episode 65

For the final episode of Rejected Central, Brent & Dave sit down with award-winning writer Andrew Forbes to talk about rejection, baseball, and the importance of perseverance and stubbornness in p…

For the final episod…

For the final episode of Rejected Central, Brent & Dave sit down with award-winning writer Andrew Forbes to talk about rejection, baseball, and the importance of perseverance and stubbornness in pursuit of life's most valuable things. Brent & Dave also reflect on their experiences with the podcast and thank the important humans who've helped make the Rejected Central podcast possible (including you!).  Rejected Central has been a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Thanks for listening! Guest Links: Andrew…

Listen · 59:53
Failing Better: Nicole Zylstra | Episode 64 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Failing Better: Nicole Zylstra | Episode 64

In the penultimate Rejected Central episode, we chat with actor, writer, musician, stand up comedian, and playwright Nicole Zylstra! She has faced rejection and risen above and considers herself "Cana…

In the penultimate R…

In the penultimate Rejected Central episode, we chat with actor, writer, musician, stand up comedian, and playwright Nicole Zylstra! She has faced rejection and risen above and considers herself "Canadian Famous" (and says we might be that, too) and opens up about a life in improv and the art and Love of failing better. Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, follow us online and social media, and let us know what you think. Thanks for listening! Guest Link: …

Listen · 46:50
Unrejecting Mondays: Ron Monteiro | Episode 63 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Unrejecting Mondays: Ron Monteiro | Episode 63

Ron Monteiro is an author, life trainer, podcaster, accountant, entrepreneur, and proud askhole. Though grieving his team Arsenal's latest stumbles, he joins us to talk about what it means to transfor…

Ron Monteiro is an a…

Ron Monteiro is an author, life trainer, podcaster, accountant, entrepreneur, and proud askhole. Though grieving his team Arsenal's latest stumbles, he joins us to talk about what it means to transform oneself in the late summer of one's career and how a quiet life can inform even the most outgoing among us.  Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, follow us online and social media, and let us know what you think. Thanks for listening! Guest Links: Ron's Lin…

Listen · 35:38
Tension: Su Chang | Episode 63 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Tension: Su Chang | Episode 63

Brent and Dave chat with Chinese-Canadian author Su Chang about the tension between exploring today's truth and the cost it has for those who went before, as well as what it means to write in the insp…

Brent and Dave chat …

Brent and Dave chat with Chinese-Canadian author Su Chang about the tension between exploring today's truth and the cost it has for those who went before, as well as what it means to write in the inspired shadow of a father who is a great writer himself. Su's journey reminds us that for Chinese emigrants, maintaining Relationships with people still in China — as well as with China itself — is delicate, but is also a story worth telling. Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever yo…

Listen · 41:45
Failing Upwards: Elizabeth Mateer | Episode 61 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Failing Upwards: Elizabeth Mateer | Episode 61

Elizabeth Mateer is a former professional dancer and actor who now writes poetry as a diversion from her work as a fellow in neuropsychology at Harvard University. We chat about the inevitable rejecti…

Elizabeth Mateer is …

Elizabeth Mateer is a former professional dancer and actor who now writes poetry as a diversion from her work as a fellow in neuropsychology at Harvard University. We chat about the inevitable rejections in the artistic life, what it's like to be a research-focused doctoral fellow in Trump's America, and how reject is about learning, or in her words, "failing upwards." Her book of poetry Searching for Home is titled after a poem she calls a "love letter to a friend." Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Pa…

Listen · 44:46
Mixed Feelings: Pope Francis Special Mini | Episode 60 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Mixed Feelings: Pope Francis Special Mini | Episode 60

The death of Pope Francis at the age of 88 has predictably generated a tsunami of Emotions rushing in from around the globe. Looking past the shiny progressive tributes, flowery words, Vatican-generat…

The death of Pope Fr…

The death of Pope Francis at the age of 88 has predictably generated a tsunami of emotions rushing in from around the globe. Looking past the shiny progressive tributes, flowery words, Vatican-generated propaganda, and wasn't-he-fabulous refrains, Brent & Dave pause for a moment to suggest that his work isn't nearly finished, and the Church still hasn't answered for an awful lot of horrors it has inflicted on the vulnerable and marginalized. Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherev…

Listen · 18:56
You Don'T Have To Be Right: Aamir Hussain | Episode 59 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
You Don't Have to be Right: Aamir Hussain | Episode 59

Aamir Hussain is a writer, political advocate, TTRPGer, and all-round interesting guy. He joins us to talk about the disappointments and rejections that have brought him to today, where he's releasing…

Aamir Hussain is a w…

Aamir Hussain is a writer, political advocate, TTRPGer, and all-round interesting guy. He joins us to talk about the disappointments and rejections that have brought him to today, where he's releasing a book into the world. He also talks about election disappointments, life as a Muslim who really believes in listening to others, and how writing about a speculative matriarchal society in his novel Under the Crescent Moon can challenge us all. Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever…

Listen · 49:47
7 Popes, The Church, And Rejection: Philip Shenon | Episode 58 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
7 Popes, the Church, and Rejection: Philip Shenon | Episode 58

Celebrating the release of his newest bestseller Jesus Wept: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of Catholic Church, veteran journalist and writer Philip Shenon joins us to talk about Rejection, t…

Celebrating the rele…

Celebrating the release of his newest bestseller Jesus Wept: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of Catholic Church, veteran journalist and writer Philip Shenon joins us to talk about Rejection, the Church, the 7 modern popes who have shaped how we think about Catholicism, and the one thing the Church should be talking about more. Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, follow us online and social media, and let us know what you think. Thanks for listening…

Listen · 34:33
Rejection And Romantasy: Anuja Varghese | Episode 57 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Rejection and Romantasy: Anuja Varghese | Episode 57

Brent and Dave sit down with award-winning and story-redefining writer Anuja Varghese to talk rejection, writing across the genres, writing for writing's sake, and what cats can teach us about rejecti…

Brent and Dave sit d…

Brent and Dave sit down with award-winning and story-redefining writer Anuja Varghese to talk rejection, writing across the genres, writing for writing's sake, and what cats can teach us about rejection.  Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, follow us online and social media, and let us know what you think. Thanks for listening!

Listen · 36:55
Lights, Camera, Rejection: Carrie Schiffler | Episode 56 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Lights, Camera, Rejection: Carrie Schiffler | Episode 56

Actor, writer, director, producer, and life-lover Carrie Schiffler joins us to talk about her memoir From the Corner of Bad and Ass (and the forthcoming Beyond the Corner of Bad and Ass) rejection and…

Actor, writer, direc…

Actor, writer, director, producer, and life-lover Carrie Schiffler joins us to talk about her memoir From the Corner of Bad and Ass (and the forthcoming Beyond the Corner of Bad and Ass) rejection and perseverance and how a life in the arts can carry a person forward. In a wide-ranging conversation, we get real about all of it: laughter, pain, Trauma, and joy, and how creativity is sometimes the only response. Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, follow us …

Listen · 47:36
Creating Safety: Jen Watt | Episode 55 &Raquo; Rc Cover Full Color 1500X1500 Jwy95Z
Creating Safety: Jen Watt | Episode 55

Our instincts might say otherwise, but uncertainty can indeed be a safe space. Therapist and writer Jen Watt joins us in studio to have a wide-ranging and revealing conversation about creativity, pare…

Our instincts might …

Our instincts might say otherwise, but uncertainty can indeed be a safe space. Therapist and writer Jen Watt joins us in studio to have a wide-ranging and revealing conversation about creativity, parental kid-shaping, religious questioning, and creating safety.  Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, follow us online and social media, and let us know what you think. Thanks for listening!

Listen · 44:43